When the Südbahn made the decision to procure new express locomotives in 1881, the focus was basically on the class 16a “Rittinger” built in 1873. Since the train weights had increased from 70 to 80 tonnes before to around 150 tonnes and the use on gradients of up to 2.5 percent was required, the tractive effort had to be greater. To achieve this, the wheel diameter was reduced from 1,900 to 1,720 mm and the rear coupled axle was placed under the firebox to increase the adhesive weight. As with the 16a, an outer frame and Stephenson valve gear were used.

Class 17c No. 372 in October 1977 at the ÖBB open day

TARS631

The first ten engines were delivered in 1882 and designated as class 17a. The Kaschau-Oderberger Bahn (KsOd) also bought ten more between 1884 and 1891. They almost used the axle load of 13 tonnes that was now permitted. During the official approval runs they reached 115 to 120 km/h without a load and with the usual load of an express train they could easily maintain 80 km/h.

Class 17d

Die Lokomotive, November 1904

In 1884 and 1890, the Southern Railway procured a total of 14 examples of a reinforced variant, which was listed as the 17b. This was followed by another 60 examples of a similar variant, which had a boiler pressure increased by one bar and a slightly larger boiler. They made full use of the axle load of 14 tonnes that was now permitted. Together with two other locomotives built in 1885, they became the class 17c.

Schematic drawing of the 17c

Die Lokomotive, July 1912

In view of the increasing train loads, a locomotive had already been built in 1888 that had larger coupling wheels and cylinders and a Belpaire firebox. Together with three other engines delivered in 1890, it was listed as class 17d.

After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the remaining locomotives were distributed to the successor states. Apart from Austria, this affected the states of Hungary, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. The BBÖ no longer had any pieces of the class 17a, the rest were distributed over several classes. These were class 103 for the last two 17bs, 403 for the two 17cs built in 1885, 503 for the production version of the 17c and class 603 for the 17d. In Austria the engines disappeared in the 1930s, in Yugoslavia only in the 1950s.

After the 0-8-0 wheel arrangement had established itself with the class 33 and 34 locomotives at the Semmering, the class 35a was created in 1871. Under the direction of Louis Adolf Gölsdorf, a new locomotive was created that, unlike its predecessors, had an inside frame and outside controls.

Since an axle load of 13 tonnes was now permitted, a significant increase in power was possible. With a length of 2,300 mm, the firebox achieved the best value for its time. Because it was completely behind the last axle and this could be moved sideways by 20 mm, there was a large overhanging mass. With a top speed of 35 km/h, however, this was of little consequence.

Sectional drawing with dimensions

Die Lokomotive, July 1929

Production comprised 25 machines from Wiener Neustadt, 25 from the StEG workshops and five from Floridsdorf in 1871 and 1872. After the Upper Italian SFAI had loaned a locomotive for testing, 60 almost identical locomotives were ordered in Wiener Neustadt. These led to the later FS class 420, which was built by other manufacturers until 1905.

The locomotives of the class 35a were able to pull 210 tonnes on a ramp with a gradient of 2.5 percent. In addition to the Semmering Railway, they were also used on the Brenner Railway and in the Karst Plateau of present-day Slovenia. Like their predecessors, they were later given Kobel chimneys.

After the Second World War, 20 examples came to the FS and became class 452 there. 23 units came to the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, of which 16 were later taken over by the JDŽ as class 132. The twelve locomotives remaining in Austria became the class 471 of the BBÖ. The three locomotives remaining in 1938 were classified by the Reichsbahn as 55 5601 to 5603.

After the class 35a, the Südbahn had ten other very similar locomotives built by Sigl in Wiener Neustadt. Since the 35a was said to have a boiler “overflowing” with tubes, the 35c received fewer heating tubes. The tube heating area fell from 159 to 138 square meters, while the grate area remained unchanged and the area of the firebox hardly changed. In addition, they were fitted with a Le-Chatelier-Ricour countersteam brake.

After the First World War, two came to the Italian State Railways, where they became Gruppo 454. The rest all came first to the state of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and were later classified by the JDŽ, just like their predecessors, in the class 132. Thus, the BBÖ did not receive any members of this class at all.

From 1903, Gölsdorf had 17 class 129 tank locomotives built, which had a 2-6-0T wheel arrangement and were intended for commuter service. In 1903, the Südbahn ordered eleven of these locomotives with larger supplies, which were given a trailing axle. The kkStB also ordered 239 of these locomotives, designated as the class 229, and rebuilt the class 129 in the same way. The Serbian State Railways and the EWA also received some machines. After the First World War, a total of 145 locomotives came to ČSD, where some were superheated and some were given a trailing bogie. The 90 locomotives of the BBÖ were classified by the Reichsbahn in the class 75⁹ from 1938.

Based on the class 229 2-6-2T tank locomotive of the Südbahn and kkStB, Ernst Prossy developed the class 629 for the Südbahn. In order to be able to increase power while maintaining the axle and meter loads, a leading bogie was used. With an unchanged driving wheel diameter of 1,614 mm (63.5 inches), they were suitable for passenger and light express trains. Approval was initially granted for 85 km/h and later increased to 90 km/h, and even 110 km/h was achieved on test runs.

After the Südbahn had received 15, Gölsdorf also adopted the design with small changes for the kkStB and had 25 more built. Larger numbers were only created after the First World War, when the BBÖ, the ČSD and the PKP had more machines built. The ČSD in particular ultimately made it to a total of 234 with its class 354.1 locomotives built by Škoda. These were characterized by two steam domes with a connecting pipe.