Around 1900, the operation on the Höllentalbahn in the Black Forest was handled with rack locomotives, as this included gradients of up to 5.5 percent. With increasing traffic on this main line, however, this operation was no longer reasonable, which is why an alternative with shorter travel times was sought. The solution was a powerful tank locomotive that was to run the entire route. Only on the steepest section it was intended that the train should be pushed by a rack locomotive. The development was the first tank locomotive with a 2-6-2T wheel arrangement in Germany, with which one had expected not only a high tractive effort but also identical running characteristics in both directions of travel.

In order to achieve a symmetrical construction of the chassis, both carrying axles were designed as Adams axles and all three coupled axles were fixed in the frame. Only the middle coupled axle was given weakened wheel flanges. This axle was driven via short connecting rods. A distinctive feature of the locomotives were the two steam domes on the front section of the boiler barrel, which were connected via a compensating pipe. The locomotives of all batches used saturated steam. Despite the lower weight compared to the later VI c, an output of around 540 hp was achieved.

Production comprised a total of eleven batches, the first nine of which were built between 1900 and 1908 by Maffei and the Karlsruhe mechanical engineering company. This made 131 copies, nine of which had to be handed over to Alsace-Lorraine and Belgium as reparations after the war. The rest were taken over by the Reichsbahn and given the numbers between 75 101 and 75 258, including some gaps.

In the years 1921 and 1923 another 42 pieces were procured by the Reichsbahn as 75 261 to 75 302. There had always been deviations between the individual batches, which mainly affected the weight and dimensions. Some locomotives had been given an inclined firebox and/or a counter-pressure brake for steep stretches. In addition, the coal supply was increased by an extension from initially two to three tonnes. The decommissioning of some of the locomotives had already begun in 1933. Since most of the remaining vehicles remained in their original area, after the Second World War the vast majority of them, 117 units, came to the Bundesbahn, where most were retired by 1957, but a few were not retired until 1962. Only seven units remained in the east with the Reichsbahn, some of which were used until 1965.

The VI c was developed to supplement the tank locomotives of class VI b, which should be considerably more powerful despite a similar appearance. This was achieved primarily through the use of superheated steam and the larger axle loads that were now possible. With the new locomotives, it should be possible to transport trains weighing 350 tonnes at 80 km/h on the level and to reach 35 km/h with 200 tonnes on the steeper sections of the Black Forest Railway at 1.7 percent. As a result, locomotives were developed that, with their reinforced construction and larger reserves, had a service weight that was around ten tonnes higher than that of the VI b.

As with the predecessor, both carring axles were designed as Adams axles, but the coupled wheels were enlarged from 1,480 to 1,600 mm, which now allowed a maximum speed of 90 km/h. The continuous plate frame had blanks at both ends to accommodate the Adams axes and also accommodated a water tank, which also served as to stiffen it up. According to the larger wheels, the position of the boiler was shifted upwards, and the new locomotives now only had a single steam dome. Due to the significantly larger boiler, it was possible to reduce the steam pressure from 13 to 12 bar and still achieve a significant increase in output.

Die Lokomotive, August 1918

Between 1914 and 1921, 135 pieces were made in a total of nine series, most of which came from Karlsruhe and some from Jung. There were differences in production between the series. First a feedwater heater was introduced, later a firebox made of steel instead of copper and finally a reinforced frame for the last two series. Due to the large number, the engines later made up a good half of all locomotives in Baden. After the First World War, 28 of them had to be handed in as reparations, and some of the others were also used on the S-Bahn in the years that followed. At the Reichsbahn all remaining engines became the classes 75⁴ and 75^10-11, with the former designating the lighter and the latter the heavier variants. After the Second World War, the Bundesbahn took over 66 units and used them until 1969.

The smallest tank locomotive of the BR standard program was the class 2 tank with a 2-6-2T wheel arrangement. It was derived from the LMS Ivatt class 2 2-6-2T and intended for mixed traffic. It had a smaller loading gauge than its LMS prototype and had a number of standard fittings. A very similar standard locomotive was the class 2 2-6-0.

Since there were already 130 Ivatt 2-6-2T, BR only ordered 30 of the standard type. The first 20 were built in Crewe and used in former LMS area. The other ten were built in Darlington and used in the Southern region. After they also came to other regions, their service life ended between 1963 and 1966. Since none were preserved, the Bluebell Railway is now rebuilding 2-6-0 No. 78059 into 2-6-2T No. 84030.

For power class 3, first a tank locomotive with a 2-6-2 wheel arrangement was developed. Its running gear was based on that of the Ivatt class 4 tender locomotive of the LMS, and other parts also came from this. However, the boiler was based on the GWR's standard No. 2 boiler used on the class “Large Prairie” 5101 and the class 5600. Shortly after the last locomotives were put into service, diesel multiple units were delivered, which contested part of their service area. Nevertheless, the first withdrawals did not take place until 1964 and the last ones were completed in 1967.

In 1925, when the standard locomotive program was still young, a passenger locomotive for branch lines with an axle load of 15 tonnes was to be developed. With a maximum speed of 90 km/h, this should also be able to be used in front of light trains on main lines. Above all, this locomotive was intended to replace a large number of different Länderbahn locomotives that had now reached an advanced age. Since there was no consent as to whether a tender locomotive or a tank locomotive should be developed, the class 24 was created as a tender locomotive and the class 64 as a tank locomotive. 

Both classes were identical in terms of chassis with the leading and the three coupled axles and also had the same boiler. The 64 also had a trailing axle that carried the coal supplies and part of the water supplies. As a result, the 64 could also run backwards at 90 km/h, which was not possible with the 24 with the tender. Both carrying axles were only stored in Bissel frames on almost all machines, only the last ten had a Krauss-Helmholtz bogie installed at the front.

In 1928 alone, 188 were made by a large number of manufacturers and by 1940 the number had risen to 520. Another order for 90 units was canceled in favor of the more urgently needed freight locomotives. A locomotive built in 1940 was delivered directly to the Elmshorn-Barmstedt-Oldesloer Eisenbahn (EBOE).

Schematic drawing with dimensions

DEWAG Halle

After the Second World War, 393 units were still available in Germany. Of these, 278 went to the Bundesbahn and 115 to the Reichsbahn. 37 were in Poland and thus went to the PKP as OKl2. These three railway companies retired them in the mid-1970s. Individual machines could be found in Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and Austria, which continued to be used. Today there are still 19 left, three of which are operational.

In 1942, the East Indian Railway initially had four tank locomotives with a 2-6-2T wheel arrangement built for suburban services in Calcutta. These were supplied by the Vulcan Foundry in England and designated Class WV. A good compromise between speed and traction was found with a driving wheel diameter of 67 inches. They had a Belpaire firebox and compensating levers on the three coupled axles. However, it quickly turned out that the water and coal reserves were too small.

WV No. 2210 on a works photo

Vulcan Foundry

As a result, ten more locomotives were built in 1942, which had a bogie instead of the trailing axle, which meant that significantly larger supplies could be accommodated. With that, the WM class was born and the four WVs were also rebuilt into the WM. Only after the restructuring of the Indian Railways, each 30 more locomotives from Vulcan and Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns were built.

One of George Jackson Churchward's first designs for the GWR was a 2-6-2T passenger tank locomotive intended for suburban service. The Prototype number 99 was completed in 1903 and formed the basis of a family of similar locomotives built through 1949, nicknamed “Large Prairies” to distinguish them from the GWR's smaller 2-6-2Ts. As with most of the locomotives in this family, the No. 99's driving wheel diameter was five feet and eight inches. This allowed sufficiently high speeds for their area of operation, but at the same time adequate traction was still available. With outside cylinders, it was modern for a British locomotive of the time, which made a larger cylinder diameter possible using the GWR's loading gauge. 

The first series consisted of 39 examples, all of which were delivered in 1903. These differed from the prototype in that the tops of the water tanks were sloped slightly at the front to improve visibility. After getting the numbers 3111 to 3149, the number 99 was redrawn to 3100 in 1912. As a result, the locomotives were now known as class 3100, but this changed again in 1927 with the renumbering to the numbers 5100 and 5111 to 5149.

Schematic drawing

Locomotive Magazine, August 1905

In 1938 and 1939 the prototype and nine other production examples were rebuilt with two inch smaller wheels and a new boiler with 225 instead of 200 psi pressure. These engines achieved a slightly higher tractive effort and were listed as Class 8100. However, since the increase in tractive power was negligible during operation, no further engines were converted and the class 8100 was used together with the class 5100.

Based on the Prairie locomotives later known as the class 3100 and class 5100, the GWR had 41 units of a reinforced variant made as the Class 3150 in 1906. The standard type 2 boiler was replaced with a larger type 4 boiler, which was mounted slightly higher here. Due to the higher weight, the axle load was assigned to the “Red” category instead of “Blue”, which reduced the area of use of the locomotives compared to their predecessors. However, the main suburban routes were string enough to allow the use of these locomotives. So they pulled the heavy local trains on these routes. The machines were retired between 1957 and 1960.

As early as 1938, the then chief engineer Charles Benjamin Collett had started a rebuilding program of five engines, which were to be used for pushing on ramps. These reduced the coupling wheel diameter by five inches to 1,600 mm, increased the boiler pressure from 200 to 225 psi and increased the cylinder diameter by half an inch. This increased the tractive effort by more than 20 percent. These machines were known as the Collett class 3100, but the number remained as five.