Steam locomotive BR 44 coal tender DR Ep.IV

Road number 44 1281-3

Steam locomotive series 44 with coal tender of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

¦ High-seated DR smoke deflectors
¦ Front pumps
¦ With ÜK driver's cab
¦ Circumferential sheet with apron
¦ Medium driving axles with smaller wheel flanges
¦ A clear view between the boiler and the chassis
¦ Current consumption of the locomotive and tender
¦ Use in heavy freight train service

The standard locomotive program of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG) also included the development of a powerful freight locomotive. The locomotive with a triple engine, known as the BR 44, was expected to transport freight trains up to 1,200 t in the low mountain range and up to 600 t over steep ramps. In 1926 the first 10 machines with the 1'E h3 wheel arrangement were delivered. It was not until 1937, after increased demands on train transport, that this locomotive went into series production and was procured in large numbers in various designs.

At the end of 1945 there were 277 locomotives in the Soviet occupation zone, which later became the territory of the GDR. Due to the demarcation after the end of the Second World War, only limited amounts of hard coal were available. Therefore one was initially forced to use indigenous brown coal. Due to the lower calorific value compared to hard coal, the locomotives only achieved about half of their actual output. In the sweat of their brow, the stokers shoveled enormous amounts of lignite into the firebox to make up for this shortcoming.