The Class 41, with its power and speed, was the quintessential universal loco of the pre-war Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG). Whether hauling heavy freight trains or in passenger service, on flat or hilly terrain, the 366 Class 41 locos built were used for virtually every type of train.
After World War II, they were equipped with new boilers and, in some cases, oil firing systems for the West German Federal Railway (DB), and in a reconstructed version for the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR). Throughout their long service, these locos proved themselves to be among the best German steam loco classes in terms of design.
Volume 1 deals extensively with the technical development of the class, from the decision to build a 1’ D 1’ loco in 1934 to the construction of prototypes 41 001 and 41 002. The first volume covers the work of L. Schwartzkopff in Wildau near Berlin, the problems with the St 47 boiler, and the conversion and reconstruction work carried out by DB and DR. Details of the deployment and home depots of the class begin volume 1 with the railway divisions of Berlin, Breslau, Cottbus, Dresden, Erfurt, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Greifswald, Halle (Saale), and Hamburg.
German text. Hardback. Over 400 colour and black & white photographs. 336 pages.