In 1901, Karl Gölsdorf had the class 108 built, which was the first Atlantic in Austria-Hungary with a four-cylinder compound engine. The requirement was to accommodate a powerful express locomotive with the largest possible tender on the existing 16 meter turntables. This meant that the total wheelbase could be a maximum of 16,440 mm.

The length of the locomotive was kept short by extending the firebox to the rear edge of the frame. The crew stood on the platform between the locomotive and the tender, while the firebox had to be placed between the wheels between the second driving axle and the trailing axle due to the short wheelbase. The new, four-axle tender could hold 21 cubic meters of water and 9 cubic meters of coal, which allowed a long range.

The locomotives briefly produced up to 1,600 hp and could reach speeds of up to 143 km/h. However, for operational reasons, the maximum permitted speed was only 100 km/h. They were able to pull 220 tonnes at 75 km/h on an incline of one percent.

In addition to the 25 machines of the kkStB, the Südbahn also purchased eleven. After the First World War, the kkStB machines went to the ČSD, which remained in use there as the class 275.0 until 1948. However, those from the Südbahn came to the BBÖ in 1923 and remained in use until 1934.