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Prototype:
The standard locomotive program of the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft (DRG) also included the development of a powerful freight locomotive. The locomotive with a three-cylinder engine, designated as the class 44, was expected to carry freight trains of up to 1,200 t in the low mountain range and up to 600 t via steep ramps. In 1926, the first 10 copies of the 22,620 mm long machines with the 1’E h3 axis sequence were delivered. They reached a top speed of 80 km / h forward, but still 50 km / h when reversing with the tender ahead. During the Second World War, the construction was simplified from 1942 onwards due to the war, and the specimens thus built were delivered as BR 44ÜK (transitional war locomotive).
After the end of the war, the locomotives delivered to the Reichsbahn remained with the following rail administrations:
- 1,242 pieces: Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB)
- 335 pieces: Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR)
- 67 pieces: Polskie Koleje Panstwowe (PKP)
- 3 pieces: Ceskoslovenské státní dráhy (CSD)
- 16 pieces: Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB)
- 14 pieces: French SNCF (designated as BR 150 X)
- 1 piece: Belgian SNCB
At DB and DR, numerous machines were converted to oil firing, and in eastern Germany even to coal dust firing. Until they were replaced by modern diesel and electric locomotives, the series 44 machines formed the backbone of the heavy freight train service throughout Germany. The machines were also called "Jumbo" because of their enormous tractive force. The last "pachyderms" were retired from the DB in 1977 and from the DR in 1986. After the official departure from the State Railways, some copies of the BR 44 - z. Partly operational - preserved on museum railways.