Fireless steam locomotives, are used to this day primarily in industrial plants where there is an increased risk of fire and/or where larger amounts of steam are produced during operations. Although most of the operators of these machines were private companies, the Saxon State Railways also needed a shunting locomotive for their sleeper impregnation plant in Wülknitz, where both of these conditions were met. One of these machines was ordered from the Sächsische Maschinenfabrik in Chemnitz in 1917 and classified as type I F. In the previous three years, four identical locomotives had already been manufactured there for various industrial companies.

The principle of fireless locomotives is that hot steam is introduced into the boiler, which heats up the water already in it and gradually causes it to evaporate as well. With increasing operating time, the pressure in the boiler decreases, which also lowers the boiling point of the water, so that new steam can continue to be generated even after several hours of operation. Otherwise, the design of the running gear and engine is the same as that of a conventional steam locomotive. However, since the weight of the firebox was eliminated, the cylinders were usually placed at the rear under the cab for better balance.

The locomotive for the sleeper impregnation plant was put into service in 1917 and given the number 1 because it was the only locomotive of this type on the state railway. It remained in action in this plant all of its life, which was later referred to as the Wülknitz track structure plant. They were phased out around 1970, although large series of new steam storage locomotives were still being produced in the GDR even in the 1980s.