Prototype information

Class 41 The locomotive industry developed the 2-8-2 class 41 locomotive for fast freight trains as part of the DRG's standard design locomotive program. The two sample units were delivered by Schwartzkopff in 1936. The running gear was a new development, and the boiler was the same as on the class 03. However, on the class 41 it was designed for 20 bar / 290 pounds per square inch. The axle load could be set at 18 or 20 metric tons. With the class 41 for the first time there was a general-purpose locomotive. The two pre-production units were followed by 364 regular production locomotives. There were slight improvements and almost all the German locomotive builders delivered them by 1941. The 90 km/h / 56 mph fast and around 1,900 horsepower locomotives were used in almost all areas.

After World War II, 216 locomotives remained on the DB. The worn-out St47K boilers on the units soon presented a problem. Since the class 41 was indispensable, the DB developed a completely welded high-performance boiler with a combustion chamber as a replacement. Compared to the previous long tube boiler, this new one had a higher percentage of high-quality radiative heating surfaces and could sustain a higher load. Between 1957 and 1961 the repair facility (AW) at Braunschweig installed this new boiler in 102 class 41 locomotives, which in conjunction with the removal of the front skirting clearly altered the look of the class 41 units. Forty of these converted locomotives also benefitted from oil main firing. The last oil-fired converted units were removed from service in 1977.