Prussian P 8

Prussian P 8

Company type	Steam locomotive
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1906
Headquarters	Germany
Products	Steam locomotives

Construction

P8 driver's cab

Robert Garbe, a proponent of uncomplicated engineering solutions, opted for a simple two-cylinder superheated steam drive in the design of the P 8. This locomotive notably capitalized on the then-new superheated steam technology developed by Wilhelm Schmidt—known as 'Hot Steam Schmidt'—which significantly enhanced its performance relative to contemporaries. The P 8 was recognized for its fuel efficiency and user-friendly operation, requiring minimal skill from the engineer. Initially, Garbe envisioned the P 8 as an express train engine capable of reaching speeds up to 110 km/h (68 mph), prompting early models to feature streamlined, tapered cabs designed to reduce wind resistance.

Despite its innovative features, initial reception from crews was lukewarm. While the boiler demonstrated excellent evaporation rates—evidenced by an early combustion chamber integrated at the front of the firebox—the locomotive suffered from several early mechanical issues, such as undersized driving rod bearings prone to overheating. Additionally, the loosely coupled Prussian box tender contributed to unsatisfactory ride stability when operating tender-first, a problem that was never fully resolved. Due to inadequate weight distribution, the originally projected maximum speed was not attained in practice; instead, a maximum of 100 km/h (60 mph) was deemed realistic.

A distinctive aspect of the P 8's design is the considerable spacing between its central and rear coupled axles. Initially, the locomotive featured only a steam dome positioned behind the sandbox; subsequent models incorporated a forward feed dome as well. Over time, various design modifications were implemented affecting elements such as the shape of driver's cab roofs, installation of smoke deflectors, and other external components.

Photographic evidence reveals multiple boiler configurations throughout production:

1. Side-mounted boiler feeds with steam dome located ahead of the sandbox 2. Side-mounted boiler feeds with steam dome positioned behind the sandbox 3. Top-mounted boiler feeds without a feed dome and steam dome behind the sandbox 4. Top-mounted boiler feeds with an additional feed dome and steam dome behind the sandbox

The earliest locomotives, identifiable by their "V" style cabs, predominantly utilized type (1) boilers, which appeared standard during initial production years. Post-World War I models introduced types (3) and (4), which eventually became widespread.

To facilitate turning on smaller turntables, the Prussian state railways equipped the P 8 with tenders originally designed to hold 21.5 m³ of water and 7 t of coal. Later on, Deutsche Bundesbahn replaced these with tenders from retired wartime locomotives—known as 'Kriegslokomotiven'—notably adopting bathtub-style ('Wannentender') tenders offering increased fuel capacity. This upgrade also allowed for an increase in maximum tender-first speed from 50 km/h (31 mph) to 85 km/h (53 mph).

In 1951, Deutsche Bundesbahn converted two P 8 locomotives by attaching small two-axle tenders connected via a shaft to enhance reverse running stability, effectively transforming them into 4-6-4T tank engines. These were classified as DB Class 78.10 and numbered above the Prussian T 18, but both units were retired by 1961.

Meanwhile, in East Germany, the Deutsche Reichsbahn repurposed long-distance tenders from retired DRG Class 17 locomotives for use with their P 8 fleet.

Employment

The P 8 was capable of pulling 300 t at 100 km/h (62 mph) and 400 t at 90 km/h (56 mph) on level terrain. Following both world wars, these locomotives were widespread across nearly all of Europe. The initial order for ten units was placed with Schwartzkopff (which later became Berliner Maschinenbau) in 1906. Trial runs were highly successful, with up to fourteen express coaches attached. The very first locomotive of this now internationally renowned class entered service in the Lower Rhine region under the designation "Coeln 2401".

Versatile in function, the P 8 was employed for a range of tasks, frequently leading both heavy express and freight trains. Railway administrations held these engines in high regard, as evidenced by their long service life: the last P 8s were retired by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1972 and by the Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1974. Over 500 locomotives of this class remained operational for five decades.

Most P 8 locomotives were manufactured by Schwartzkopff (later Berliner Maschinenbau), which produced 1,025 units. This was followed by Henschel in Kassel, responsible for 742 units. Apart from the Prussian state railways, the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg State Railways (Grossherzoglich Oldenburgische Staatseisenbahnen) acquired five, and the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway (Grossherzoglich Mecklenburgische Friedrich-Franz-Eisenbahn) obtained thirteen locomotives. Other German manufacturers such as Hartmann and Esslingen also produced Class P 8 engines over time.

P 8 Locomotives in the Baden State Railways

To address post-First World War locomotive shortages caused by reparations and extensive wartime damage, the Karlsruhe railway division constructed forty Prussian P 8 locomotives at the Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe. These units were deployed across Villingen, Mannheim, and Karlsruhe, bearing running numbers from 1153 to 1192. In 1925, under the Deutsche Reichsbahn, they were renumbered as 38 3793 through 38 3832.

P 8 Locomotives in other countries

Original Prussian P8 operating on PKP (Polish State Railways) as class Ok1 in August 1976

CFR (Căile Ferate Române, Romanian Railways) 230.000 series built domestically, double-heading near Sălişte close to Sibiu, 1972

Between 1906 and 1923, approximately 3,556 or 3,561 locomotives (depending on sources) were produced for German states, including around sixty or sixty-five units intended for World War I occupation duties in Warsaw and Brussels. After World War I ended, reparations required transferring 627 locomotives to Allied nations: Poland received 192 (reclassified as Ok1), Belgium acquired 167 (type 64), France obtained 162, Italy took possession of twenty-five (FS gruppo 675), Romania accepted eighteen (CFR 230-series), Lithuania received eleven (LG class K8), and Greece gained ten as SEK class Ζδ (ZETA-delta). Additionally, forty-one locomotives were allocated to the railways of the Saar.Template:Sfnb By 1923, the newly established Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) had supplemented its P 8 fleet with new builds, ultimately owning a total of 2,933 locomotives numbered from 38 1001 to 38 3832 and from 38 3951 to 38 4051. Beyond those built for German railways, an additional sixty-five locomotives were constructed for Poland between 1922 and 1923 (numbered PKP Ok1-201 to Ok1-265), while seventy-five units were produced in Romania between 1921 and 1930 as CFR's 230.000 series. Romania also acquired eighteen secondhand engines from the DRG and built two hundred thirty under license at Reșița and Malaxa between 1932 and 1939.Template:Sfnb

Including those constructed during the interwar period in Romania, a total of approximately 3,948 P 8 locomotives were manufactured worldwide—making it the most numerous passenger steam locomotive ever produced.Template:Fix/category

Incorporated into the DRG roster in 1935 were former Saar Railways engines numbered from 38 3833 to 38 3875;Template:Sfnb this group included two P 8s acquired shortly before from Alsace-Lorraine for border operations.Template:Sfnb

Following World War II, several locomotives—numbers including but not limited to: 38 1069, 1391, 1434, 1677, 1809, 1818, 2052, 2692, 3264, 3495 and 3525—remained stationed in Austria. Number 38 2052 was returned to the Deutsche Bundesbahn in 1952. Locomotives numbered 38 1391, 1434, 1818, 3495 and 3525 were transferred to the Soviet Union. The remainder formed Austria's ÖBB Class 638. In 2004, two Romanian-built examples of this type—often called P 8 'copies'—were acquired by the Austrian Society for Railway History (ÖGEG), one of which operates steam excursions bearing a fictional number ÖBB 638.1301. Polish Ok1 locomotives captured during World War II were taken over by Germany; however, after the war Poland received a total of four hundred twenty-nine former P 8 engines that remained in active service until 1981.

Three members of this class seized by British forces after World War II in Norway were sent to Copenhagen for repairs before being purchased by Danish State Railways. They entered service as DSB class T numbers 297, 298 and 299. The last surviving unit was dismantled in 1973.

France

A total of 162 locomotives received as reparations in France were allocated among five railway companies:Template:Sfnb

• The Chemins de fer de l'Est were assigned 25 locomotives, which they renumbered from 3311 to 3335. Under the SNCF's Région Est roster, these became 1-230.F.311 through 1-230.F.335.
• The Chemins de fer d'Alsace-Lorraine also received 25 units. They were renumbered 2350 to 2374 by the AL; the 22 that remained in service later carried numbers 1-230.F.352 to 1-230.F.374 in SNCF's Région Est.
• The Chemins de fer du Nord obtained the largest share with 75 locomotives, renumbered from 3.1601 to 3.1675. In SNCF's Région Nord, they were listed as 2-230.C.1 to 2-230.C.75.
• The Chemins de fer de l'État received 17 locomotives, numbered from 230-943 to 230-958. By 1946, only seven remained and were renumbered as 3-230.E.943 through 3-230.E.958 in SNCF's Région Ouest.
• The Chemin de fer du Midi was allocated 20 locomotives, initially numbered 3701 to 3720, later changed to 230-701 to 230-720 after the PO-Midi merger, and finally designated as 4-230.H.701 to 4-230.H.720 within SNCF's Région Sud-Ouest.

During the Second World War, numerous French P 8 locomotives were requisitioned by German authorities; although most were returned post-war, some were lost within East Germany and Poland. Following the conflict, SNCF centralized its P 8 fleet predominantly in the Région Est. Both État and its successor, the Région Ouest, had a strong aversion to former German locomotives and withdrew them promptly; consequently, only locomotive 3-230.E.943 remained operational by 1946 before being transferred to Région Est as 1-230.F.343. Among the former Midi engines, just one—4-230.H.714—did not survive until that year; the remaining nineteen were renumbered from 1-230.F.401 to 1-230.F.420. Additionally, four German locomotives discovered in France after the war entered service as numbers 1-230.F.600 to 1-230.F.694; these were later adjusted to numbers 1-230.F.601 through 1-230.F.604.

Between 1948 and 1950, nine locomotives from Région Nord were loaned to Luxembourg’s CFL and numbered from 3902 to 3910. Of these, four along with nine others transferred back to Région Est in 1950 were renumbered as 1-230.F.210 through 1-230.F.272. The Nord region extensively utilized its P 8s and retained as many as possible; their last P 8 was withdrawn in 1962, while Région Est retired its final unit in 1966.

The Netherlands

In response to significant losses of Dutch locomotives during World War II due to German requisition and destruction, five P 8 locomotives entered service with Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) in 1945 under the classification NS series 3850, numbered from 3851 to 3855.

All five units were returned to Germany by the year 1947.

Preserved P 8 Locomotives

Prussian P 8 number 38 2267, constructed in 1918

P 8 locomotive number 2455 Posen displayed at Leipzig

PFT locomotive number 64.169 operating on the Chemin de fer du Bocq heritage line

• Frankfurt locomotive number 2421, later known as 38 1182 (Berliner factory number 4485 of year 1910), is part of the DB Museum collection at Nuremberg (Verkehrsmuseum Nürnberg). It has an operational history spanning over six decades and was housed at the Gera depot (Historisches Bahnbetriebswerk Gera) as of 2008.
• Hannover unit number 2412, later 38 1444 (Linke-Hofmann serial number 963 from year 1913), was reacquired by Linke-Hofmann-Busch in 1961 and is exhibited within their private museum.
• Königsberg locomotive number 2458, later 38 1772 and subsequently DB number 038 772-0 (Schichau works number 2275 built in 1915), holds distinction as the final P 8 operated by Deutsche Bundesbahn. Officially withdrawn on December 5, 1974, it continued running farewell trips until February 13, 1975 after covering approximately 3,719,271 kilometres (2,311,048 mi) during service. Reactivated for special steam excursions during the mid-1980s by enthusiasts, it was retired again in 1993 and is now preserved as a mobile memorial at the Bahnbetriebswerk Hanau.
• Posen locomotive number 2431 (later Osten 2545, then numbered 38 2155, and finally PKP Ok1-359), built by Berliner (factory number 6388) in 1917, is maintained at the Polish Railways depot located in Wolsztyn.
• Erfurt engine number 2553, later 38 2267 (Henschel serial number 15695 from 1918), belongs to the Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum (Eisenbahnmuseum Bochum-Dahlhausen) and frequently leads nostalgic excursions throughout the Ruhr region; it is currently undergoing refurbishment.
• Elberfeld locomotive number 2535 (later 38 2383 and DB number 038 382-8), built by Henschel (16539 of 1919), was among the penultimate P 8s used by Deutsche Bundesbahn and has been displayed at the German Steam Locomotive Museum (Deutsches Dampflokomotiv-Museum, or DDM) in Neuenmarkt since 1977.
• Danzig unit number 2441 (later Stettin 2536, then 38 2425 and PKP Ok1-296), produced by Schichau (2739 of 1919), is preserved at the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin.
• Posen locomotive number 2455 (later Osten 2566, Breslau 2600, then 38 2460 and CFR designation 230.094), manufactured by Linke-Hofmann (1804 of 1919), was sold by DRG to Romania in August 1926 where it operated until about 1974. Acquired by Manuel Jussen in spring of 1998 and restored in Romania by 2001 representing early1920s era equipment, it has served since 2008 as motive power for the "train of remembrance" (Zug der Erinnerung). This locomotive is housed at the Dieringhausen Railway Museum (Eisenbahnmuseum Dieringhausen).
• Stettin engine number 2517 later known as 38 2884 (Vulcan factory number 3641 from year 1920) is now part of the collection at Nuremberg Transport Museum.
• Halle locomotive number 2586 (later 38 3180 and CFR designation 230.105), built by Linke-Hofmann (2257 of year1921), was transferred to Romania in1926 and repatriated back to Germany’s Bavarian Railway Museum located in Nördlingen in1998.
• Elberfeld unit number2580 later known as 38 3199 and CFR designation230.106 (Linke-Hofmann serial2276 built1921) was another P 8 sold to Romania where it served until1974 before being rediscovered in a scrapyard by enthusiasts who restored it fully operational in Klausenburg during1999 with Reichsbahn livery. Since2002 it has been active on museum runs based at the South German Railway Museum (Süddeutsches Eisenbahnmuseum) located in Heilbronn.
• Elberfeld locomotive3097 later designated 38 3650 (Borsig works11419 from1922) currently stands outdoors in a shopping center car park at Böblingen-Hulb near Stuttgart after being withdrawn from service at Tübingen in1972 following long duty at Hamburg-Harburg shed since delivery until1945; it was immobile at Bahnhof Breitenholz until sold for display purposes in1979 but has deteriorated due to exposure.
• Hannover engine2591 later numbered38 3711 and DB registered as 038 711-8 (Hohenzollern works4255 built1922) has been on static display (“plinthed”) since withdrawal in1974 at Berenbostel near Hannover.
• Hannover locomotive2676 later known as 38 3999 and CFR designation230.110 (Schichau serial2998 dating1923) was another unit sold off to Romania in1926 before being repatriated back to Germany in1999 where it now resides at the Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum.
• Altona engine2445 became ÉB6445 under Belgian State Railways then SNCB-NMBS class64 no64 045 (Henschel factory13855 from1916). This war reparation P 8 is coupled with tender22 153 and remains stored out of public view within Bruges museum depot facilities without operational status.
• The Belgian heritage railway organization Patrimoine Ferroviaire et Tourisme (PFT-TSP) acquired a refurbished P 8 locomotive from Romania in2002 which was relocated there in March2007. Formerly CFR class230 no084, it was repainted into Belgian colors bearing number64 169—reflecting that SNCB owned168 units as class64—and originally built by Henschel under factory number18939. In2013 this engine obtained a new boiler certificate theoretically allowing operation across Belgium’s entire rail network at speeds up to80 km/h before restrictions imposed by DVIS and Infrabel barred historic rolling stock on main lines.
• CFR locomotive 230.174 built by Reșița works (#211) dating1933 is exhibited at Austrian Railway History Company (ÖGEG) premises located in Ampflwang, Austria.
• CFR unit230.301 constructed at Reșița (#315) during1935 remains active on ÖGEG site under ÖBB designation 638.1301..

Remarks

By the late 1930s, the Deutsche Reichsbahn had already initiated plans to replace the aging P8 locomotive with a more modern design. This effort resulted in the creation of the DRG Class 23, though only two units were constructed by 1941. Subsequently, in 1950, the Deutsche Bundesbahn introduced the improved DB Class 23 as a successor to the P8. Production reached a total of 105 units by 1951. The transition to this newer locomotive class led to the final withdrawal of the last Class 23 merely one year following the retirement of the last P8.

See also

• Prussian state railways
• List of Prussian locomotives and railcars
• List of preserved steam locomotives in Germany

References

• Davies, John (November 2003). Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français locomotive list 1938–1975. Woodbridge, Queensland: Dr. John Davies. ISBN 0-9585541-2-9.
• Durrant, A. E. (1972). The Steam Locomotives of Eastern Europe. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4077-8.
• Template:Hütter-54bis59
• Scheingraber, Günther; Weisbrod, Manfred (1993). Preußen-Report. Band 7: Heißdampf-Personenzuglokomotiven P 6, P 8, P 10 und preußische Tender (in Deutsch). Hermann Merker Verlag. ISBN 3-922404-53-7.
• Template:Weisbrod-EFA1.5

Further reading

• Harder, Karl Julius (1974). Die P8, Entstehung und Geschichte einer europäischen Dampflokomotive (in Deutsch). Stuttgart: Francksche Verlagsbuchhandlung. ISBN 3-440-04116-6.
• Template:Hütter-01bis45
• Obermayer, Horst (January 2002). Typenblätter Band No. 1 (in Deutsch). Eisenbahn Journal Archiv. ISBN 3-89610-093-9.
• Template:Vandenberghen-SNCB12.2
• Template:Vandenberghen-SNCB12.3
• Template:Wagner-EFA2.3.1
• Template:Weisbrod-EFA1.1
• Wenzel; Gress. 100 Jahre Preußische P8 Eisenbahn-Kurier Special 80 (in Deutsch). EK Verlag Freiburg.
• MCMXCVII Literary international, inc. Atlas Editions UK LTD. 1998 (printed in EU) D1 613 401(2) 28. Encyclopedic Leaflet system.
• Jochen Kretschmann vividly recounts in numerous narratives the often harsh conditions experienced while operating the P8 under the DR (DDR), including challenges such as inferior lignite coal, inadequate nutrition, and extreme exhaustion among personnel.