The type IV T designates tank locomotives with a 2-4-2T wheel arrangement for fast local transport, which were built by the Saxon machine factory Hartmann based on the Prussian T 51. Despite some serious problems with the running characteristics, 91 engines were built. Production began in 1897, when the locomotives were still designated as class VIII bb T according to the old scheme and bore the names of small Saxon towns. It was not until 1900 that they received the designation IV T and the numbers 1701 to 1791.
What was special about the chassis was that the two coupled wheel sets with an wheelbase of only 2,000 mm were very close together and the carrying wheels were 2,400 mm apart in front of and behind. Since the latter were designed as Adams axles and could therefore move independently, they ran unsteadily at high speeds and sometimes even derailed. Otherwise, the locomotives were conventionally designed with a two-cylinder saturated steam engine and drive on the second coupled axle. The plate frame also served as a water tank and was later expanded with additional tanks next to the boiler. The plate thickness of the frame was initially 12mm, but was later increased to 20mm while recesses for weight compensation were refilled.
In addition to the counterbalanced brake, the Westinghouse air brake was also used for braking from the first series. From a later series, the supplies were increased and the same conversions were made to the other locomotives. The water supply increased from 5.6 to 7.5 m³, and the coal supply was increased from 1.6 to 2 tonnes of coal.
From 1925, 85 units were in service with the Reichsbahn, which were designated as class 713 and thus given the numbers from 71 301 to 71 385. In the period that followed, the numbers shrank quickly, so that the East German Reichsbahn only received ten locomotives that were used until 1955. Two were used in Czechoslovakia, which had come there during the war.