On the Royal Saxon State Railways, class VII referred to four-coupled tender locomotives which were suitable for both passenger and freight trains. In addition to 22 locomotives from Sächsische Maschinenfabrik Hartmann, there was a design by Schwartzkopff from Berlin, which was also known as Schw. VII. At the time these locomotives were ordered, the Saxon State Railways were still divided into a western and an eastern part. In this case, the Western State Railway needed a new locomotive for the newly opened section between Freiberg and Flöha on the Dresden-Werdau route.

They were constructed according to modern principles and had an inside plate frame, outside cylinders and Allan valve gear. Since only a regulator attachment was used to extract the saturated steam instead of a steam dome, the locomotive made a clean impression with its little obstructed boiler. Only the Belpaire firebox interrupted the clear lines of the boiler barrel. 

Ten machines were procured, which were named after people with important connections to Saxony, Saxon noble families and cities. They were taken over by the combined Saxon State Railways in 1871 and only received the designation VII there. They were retired between 1893 and 1906.