After the purchase of the 4-6-0T tank locomotives with the numbers 51 to 65, the Paris belt railway needed even more powerful locomotives which were primarily intended for freight service. The requirements included 550-tonne freight trains on one percent and 430 tonnes on 1.5 percent. At times of high passenger traffic volumes, additional passenger trains were to be hauled.

This time again tank locomotives with a front bogie and without trailing axles were ordered. The five locomotives therefore had a 4-8-0T wheel arrangement and a four-cylinder compound engine. While numbers 51 to 65 were tandem compounds, the new ones were De Glehn compounds which were common in France. The high-pressure cylinders were on the outside at the height of the rear axle of the bogie and drove the second driving wheel set, while the low-pressure cylinders were inside the bogie and drove the first driving wheel set.

Since all the cylinders were inclined and mounted higher up and the water tanks started behind the bogie, easy accessibility of the cylinders for maintenance was ensured. The leading bogie enabled them to move passenger trains at 70 km/h without sacrificing smooth running. The ability of the coupled axles to negotiate curves was realized by weakening the wheel flanges of the second and third axles and without side play in axles.

In 1915, the Great Southern & Western had number 900 built in Inchicore as a banker locomotive for the incline between Kingsbridge and Clondalkin. It had a 4-8-0T wheel arrangement, making it the only Irish broad gauge locomotive to have four coupled axles. It had inside cylinders, a Belpaire firebox and some common parts with the classes 362 and 368.

In 1924 an identical locomotive was built with the number 901. In reality, however, it turned out that they easily derailed in marshalling yards with tight curves. Number 900 was soon rebuilt into a 4-6-2T by removing the coupling rods to the last axle, but this did not have the desired effect. It was withdrawn in 1928 and the 901 in 1931 because they did not perform roles for which there were no other suitable locomotives.

The largest tank locomotives on the São Paulo Railway at the time had a 4-8-0T wheel arrangement and were called “Jumbos”. They were supplied by Avonside and were obviously intended for another railway company. So they came to this railway company in 1882 after they had been re-gauged to 5 feet and 3 inches. The first driving axle had no wheel flanges to improve running characteristics in curves.