The class 478 was a heavy shunter introduced in 1926 to replace old tender locomotives which had previously been used for shunting. It was based on the class 378 which had the wheel arrangement 2-8-2T, but did not have the carrying axles, what resulted in the wheel arrangement 0-8-0T. For a higher tractive effort, the diameter of the cylinders had been increased from 450 to 530 mm.
In 1926 and 1927, 50 were built by three manufacturers. In World War II, they were numbered 92 2501 to 2550 by the Reichsbahn. After the war, the ÖBB made them class 392. After the last one was retired in 1972, only 392.2510 and 392.2530 are still existing and owned by the ÖGEG, with 2530 still in working order.