Prussian G 7.1

Prussian state railways

Industry	Railway
Founded	1893 (1893)
Headquarters	Germany
Products	Steam locomotives

The Prussian Class G 7.1 locomotives were freight steam engines operated by the Prussian state railways, characterized by a Whyte notation#0-8-0 arrangement of wheels configuration.

History

Production commenced in 1893 with the initial units manufactured by Stettiner Maschinenbau AG Vulcan, followed by several other prominent Prussian locomotive producers. The design incorporated a boiler identical to that used on the Prussian G 5.1 model.

Primarily engineered for hauling heavy freight on steep gradients, these locomotives predominantly served the western German and Silesian Eisenbahndirektion divisions. By the year 1909, the Prussian state railways had received a total of 1,002 units. During World War I, the demand for straightforward and durable locomotives led to an additional production run of approximately 200 engines between 1916 and 1917. Starting in 1916, the k.u.k. Heeresbahn of Austria acquired 35 units designated as Class 274, which were intended for operations on the broad gauge tracks of Russian Railways. The Lübeck-Büchen Railway procured three G 7.1 locomotives built in 1898 by Berliner Maschinenbau. Furthermore, seven units were allocated to Gutehoffnungshütte. The Palatinate Railway also commissioned twenty-seven G 4' locomotives based on the G 7.1 design.

By 1923, the Deutsche Reichsbahn had incorporated no fewer than 680 G 7.1 locomotives from the Prussian state railways into its fleet numbering system; by 1925 these were classified under numbers 55 001–660. In addition, fourteen more engines were absorbed from the Saar railway network in 1935, assigned numbers from 55 661 to 55 674. This group included one locomotive previously obtained by Saar Railways from Alsace-Lorraine for border operations. The three locomotives from the Lübeck-Büchen Railway were renumbered as 55 681–683 in the Reichsbahn roster by 1938.

During World War II, the Reichsbahn incorporated an additional 105 G 7.1 locomotives from Poland into its inventory, reusing numbers from retired engines. Moreover, units originating from Lithuania were added under numbers 55 274 and 55 691–694.

Following the conclusion of World War II, those G 7.1 engines that became part of the Deutsche Bundesbahn fleet were predominantly relegated to shunting roles before being withdrawn from service by 1957. In contrast, within the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn, these locomotives remained operational until as late as 1966, with locomotive number 55 642 among the last in service.

Preserved locomotives

Locomotive number 55 669 was decommissioned in 1964 and has since been exhibited at the Dresden Transport Museum located in Dresden. Image of locomotive 55 669

Following the Second World War, locomotives 55 196, 393, 400, 493, and 553 remained within Austrian borders. Except for 55 553, which was absorbed by 1950, these units were incorporated by the ÖBB into their ÖBB Class 655, maintaining their original running numbers. The final locomotive of this group, 655.393, was retired in 1957 after serving primarily as a shunting engine at Stadlau station.

These engines were paired with tenders classified as pr 3 T 12 and pr 3 T 16.5, both constructed during 1916 and 1917.

See also

• Prussian state railways
• List of Prussian locomotives and railcars

References

• Template:Hütter-54bis59
• Template:Weisbrod-EFA1.5

Further reading

• Template:Vandenberghen-SNCB12.2
• Template:Wagner-EFA2.3.2
• Template:Weisbrod-EFA1.2