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Prussian T 3

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Prussian T 3, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 29 November 2025
Prussian Class T 3
Company typeSteam locomotive
IndustryRailway
Founded1882
Headquarters
Germany
ProductsSteam locomotives

Template:Refimprove Template:Infobox locomotive

The Prussian Class T 3 steam locomotives, acquired for the Prussian state railways, were designed as 0-6-0 tank engines. Alongside the Prussian T 2, they represented the first series constructed according to German state railway norms standards. The initial units were manufactured by Henschel-Werke starting in 1882.

Design

Equipped with a wet steam engine, the T 3 featured two cylinders that powered the central coupled axle. An external Allan valve gear operated the slide valves. Water was stored in a well tank positioned between the frames beneath the boiler, while coal compartments flanked both sides of the firebox. Each coal bunker had a water filler pipe situated in front.

The suspension system included springs on the two front axles connected via equalising beams mounted above the running plate.

Early models of the T 3 lacked a steam dome, instead having a regulator housing atop the boiler, with admission pipes running directly outside to the cylinders. These locomotives bore an axle load near 10 t (refer to first photo).

From 1887 onwards, subsequent versions incorporated a steam dome with admission pipes relocated to the smokebox. This modification necessitated repositioning of the sandboxes and sanders. Additionally, capacities for water and coal were expanded. The cab's rear wall was redesigned to be straight, eliminating the previously sloped lower section. Consequently, overall length over buffers increased from 8,300 mm to 8,591 mm, and axle load rose to approximately 11 t (see second photo).

Beginning in 1903, further enhancements allowed the T 3 to carry up to 5 m3 of water and 1.9 t of coal. This reinforced variant, known as the "strengthened standard class" or "Standard class (6t)" (Normalbauart (6t)), featured an axle load of about 12 t.

T 3s in Other Railway Systems

Over 1,300 T 3 locomotives were produced for the Prussian state railways. Nevertheless, various other rail operators across Germany and internationally, ranging from industrial lines to state railways, also acquired engines modeled on the T 3 design. These included the:

DRG Classification and Numbering

File:Preußische T3 1741.jpg
The second variant of the T 3 featuring a steam dome

In 1925, the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) incorporated 511 Prussian T 3 locomotives into their roster as Class 89.70–75. The older series, comprising 473 units, were assigned numbers ranging from 89 7001 to 7456, then from 7473 to 7476, and finally from 7499 to 7511. Meanwhile, the 38 units of the reinforced version received numbers between 89 7457 and 7472 as well as from 89 7477 to 7498.

When the DRG absorbed locomotives from private railways later on, their numbering approach lacked consistency. Consequently, Class 89.75 came to include a variety of locomotive types, sometimes with sequential numbering that bridged different models.

  • Locomotives numbered immediately after the Prussian T3s—specifically those numbered 89 7512 through 7521—were not T 3s but industrial engines known as Class Pudel ("poodle"), manufactured by Jung for the former Bremen Harbour Railway units 10–19, which were acquired by DRG in 1930. These had a coupled axle load of 15 tons and were considerably heavier than the T 3. Their design featured a Walschaerts valve gear and a compact coal bunker positioned behind the cab.
  • The BLE’s T 3 locomotives, integrated into DRG in 1938, bore numbers from 89 7531 to 7540. Notably, engine number 89 7535 was reassigned within that same year to the Gardelegen-Neuhaldensleben-Weferlingen railway.
  • Locomotive number 89 7541, also sourced from the BLE, only shared similarities with the T 3 regarding its frame and running gear. However, its cylinder dimensions, grate size, and heating surface areas differed.
  • The three T 3 engines acquired from the KOE in 1941 were numbered as 89 7556, 89 7557, and 89 7559. Number 89 7558 was not a T 3 but belonged to a more powerful class known as the Bismarck class industrial locomotive built by Henschel.
  • The ZFE’s single T 3 locomotive was taken over in 1943 but retired immediately thereafter. Numbers ranging from 89 7560 to 89 7564 represented a different class with a coupled axle load of twelve tons; despite this, their power output was comparable to that of the T 3.

Post-World War II Developments

File:Berlin Bruecke Landwehrkanal Hoch und Anhalter Bahn.jpg
A T 3 locomotive crossing Berlin’s Landwehr Canal with a passenger train around the year 1900.

By early 1931, the DRG’s inventory of T 3 locomotives had dwindled to just 254 units. However, following the conclusion of the Second World War, many T 3s entered service under both the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany. The final withdrawals of these engines occurred during the mid-1960s.

Deutsche Reichsbahn

Following 1945, the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the GDR acquired numerous T 3 locomotives from industrial and private railway companies, which were assigned numbers such as 89 953, 5901–5903, 6001–6016, 6018, 6101–6132, 6134–6159, 6161, 6163, 6164, 6204–6211, 6215, 6216, 6218, 6220, 6221, 6228–6232, 6235, 6306, and 7566–7568, including units numbered 7571–7573 and 7578. Among these were several authentic Prussian T 3 locomotives.

One notable example was the former 89 7535 from the Gardelegen-Neuhaldensleben-Weferlingen railway, which was integrated into the DR fleet in 1949 and renumbered as 89 6220. This particular locomotive remained in service until 1967, marking it as the final T 3 operated by the DRG. Nonetheless, the last T 3 to remain active was an industrial engine used at the Warburg Sugar Factory until its retirement in 1979.

In addition, four locomotives originating from the Oderbruchbahn underwent conversion by the DR in 1960 and were fitted with tenders. These were designated as numbers 89 6222 through 89 6225. Initially, engine number 89 6222 received a four-wheeled tender, while the remaining three were equipped with Class 3 T 12 tenders; one of these later replaced the original four-wheeled tender. These locomotives concluded their operational lives with the Kreisbahn Beeskow–Fürstenwalde, which acquired them in 1950 and withdrew them from service in 1968.

Deutsche Bundesbahn

Approximately seventy T 3 locomotives found their way into the Deutsche Bundesbahn's roster, with the last unit—numbered 89 7538—being retired in 1963. Nevertheless, T 3 engines briefly reappeared within the DB fleet at a later date. These were industrial locomotives numbered 2 and 3 from the Ausbesserungswerk at Schwerte, officially incorporated into the DB fleet in 1968 as units 089 002 and 089 003 respectively. The locomotive formerly known as number 89 7531 was concealed behind number 089 003 and was ultimately withdrawn on June 21, 1968, becoming the final T 3 to serve under DB management.

Today

File:89 6009 1.jpg
DR locomotive number 89 6009 housed at the Dresden Transport Museum in Potsdam (1993)

A number of T 3 locomotives have been preserved and are displayed in museums today; some remain operational. Among these preserved engines is one equipped with a tender bearing number 89 6009 (previously numbered as 89 7403 prior to its conversion). This locomotive is maintained as a museum piece by DB AG and is stationed at the Dresden Transport Museum.

Gallery

References

  • Weisbrod-EFA1.5: pages 12–13

Further reading

  • Hütter-60bis91: pages 348, 399–417, 423–424
  • Weisbrod, Bäzold & Obermayer: Das große Typenbuch deutscher Lokomotiven, Transpress Verlag, ISBN 3-344-70751-5
  • Weisbrod-EFA1.3: pages 153–156

Film

External links

Related profiles

PPrussian G 4.2DDRG Class 89.0PPrussian T 5.1DDRG Class 99.21
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