On the basis of the F series, which was produced until 1881, Maschinenfabrik Esslingen developed the Fc, the first examples of which were delivered in 1890. A two-cylinder compound engine was used to increase performance and efficiency compared to its predecessor. It was the first German goods locomotive with this type of engine.
Due to the greater weight of the compound cylinders, it had become necessary to redesign the locomotive in various aspects in order to maintain the even distribution of the load on all wheel sets. The boiler was therefore moved back a bit to balance the masses. Due to the now larger overhangs, the total wheelbase has been increased by eight inches and the arrangement of the springs has also been chosen differently. In addition to the more efficient engine, the new locomotive had a boiler pressure of 12 bar or 14 bar for locomotives built from 1897, which further increased power. Since the weight increased by about ten tonnes, it also had enough adhesive weight for heavy goods trains. Tests showed that the maximum speed could be reached on the flat with trains of up to 1,000 tons. 370 tons could still be towed at 25 km/h on gradients of one percent.
Initially, a screw brake was used as the braking system, which only affected the tender. Later, all locomotives were converted to air brakes. By 1909, 125 examples had been built, eight of which came from the Esslingen state railway workshop. In 1925 another 65 units came to the Reichsbahn, which received the numbers 53 801 to 53 865. The decommissioning, which was carried out relatively quickly, was completed by 1929.
