BR 19.0

The steam locomotives of type XX HV of the Sächsische Eisenbahnen were in 1918 the bigest European express train steam locomotives. The first locomotive was delivered by Hartmann in Chemnitz on 9 March 1918 with number 4000. Until 1922, 23 locomotives were built. The locomotives were able to pull a train of 630 ton with a speed of 100 km/h, and a train of 495 ton on a hillside of 10‰ with a speed of 50 km/h.

After delivering the locomotives in 1922, 8 locomotives were stationed in Bw Stuttgart-Rosenstein and Frankfurt/M. But in 1925 these locomotives returned to Dresden. They had service on the lines: Dresden-Reichenbach-Hof and Hof-Reichenbach-Leipzig. The locomotives were satisfying but there were a couple of minor shortcomings in the construction.

Because the length of the Saxon turntables was 20 meter, this resulted in a divergent construction of the cylinders. For service on flatlands the locomotives were not so suitable because their big fuel consumption. Approximately the half of the locomotives was stationed in Bw Reichenbach (Vogtl), they had service on the lines to Regensburg, Bayreuth and Nürnberg.

In service at the DRG

The DRG took over all 23 locomotives. The locomotives were divided in the series 19 and got the numbers: 19 001 up to 19 023. During the second world war the 19 021 was destroyed and the 19 002, 004, 006, 019, 020, 023 were set aside in 1945.

In service at the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DDR)

For powertests of modern electrical and diesel locomotives the VES-M Halle needed in 1965 powerful resistance locomotives. They needed for this job four cylinder steam locomotives. They decided to use for this job the locomotives 19 015, 017 and the 022. In spite of their flaws - bad construction and a weak boiler - three locomotives were rebuilt. They choosed the locomotives on grounds of their good frames and transmission. Finally only the locomotives 19 015 and the 19 022 are rebuilt in 1961 in Raw Meiningen. The locomotives got a new boiler of type 39 E and a new cabin of the locomotives BR 23.10. The hardest part of the job was the construction of the new cylinders. In February 1964 the 19 015 entered service and in March 1965 the 19 022 was entering service. The 19 017 was going to the traffic museum in Dresden.