Saxon V T

The Royal Saxon State Railways operated a number of freight tank locomotives under the designation V T. These were made between 1872 and 1920 with some modifications, but basically had the same design.

The locomotives had three coupled axles and no carrying axles and were primarily intended for use on branch lines and for shunting. The boilers were of the Crampton or Belpaire type and surrounded by water tanks that were drawn very far forward. The first series in particular had a very large and hemispherical steam dome, which was somewhat less conspicuous in the later engines. Other similarities were an internal Allan valve gear and axles, which were all fixed due to the short wheelbase.

The first machines built between 1872 and 1877 had a boiler pressure of 8.5 or 10 bars, were lighter than their successors with an axle load of between 13.5 and 15 tonnes and had water tanks that were brought forward to the buffer beam. In the years 1884 to 1892, coupled wheels with a diameter of 1,420 instead of 1,400 mm were installed and some changes were made to externally visible assemblies. These included a flat-topped steam dome, shorter water tanks, and a taller cab.

Despite the same maximum speed, the third series from 1895 to 1901 had wheels with a diameter of just 1,260 mm and a tank with a pressure of 12 bars, which significantly increased the tractive effort. Another distinguishing feature of these locomotives was the kink in the back of the driver's cab.

The last regularly manufactured series came with a few years delay and was built between 1914 and 1919. Externally, it differed from its direct predecessors in that it had a coal box behind the driver's cab and a higher boiler, but it was in the same range in terms of power. The first of this series were provided with gangways to the train, which is why the coal box was divided in the middle and the water boxes were narrower to allow running boards to the front. A single last machine was created in 1920 from the boiler of a locomotive that was intended for the Turkish State Railways and was no longer delivered due to the First World War.

A total of 147 locomotives were completed, of which the four series contained 30, 18, 92 and 16 units. The remaining machines were classified by the Reichsbahn as classes 89⁸² and 89², but many of them were already retired between 1923 and 1925. Most of the regular Reichsbahn locomotives were taken out of service at the beginning of the 1930s, but some were able to continue to be used in depots or as works locomotives. Of the relatively small number of locomotives in the GDR, the last were used until 1967.