A total of 45 locomotives were built by 1924. Their areas of operations included the Sonneberg–Probstzella line, the Spessart ramp, the Franconian Forest Railway, the Geislingen ramp (Geislinger Steige), the Schiefe Ebene and the Rübeland Railway, where they earned their nickname Bergkönigin ('mountain queen').
The locomotives were the most powerful tank engines procured by the DRG. They could haul a train load of 2,060 tonnes (2,030 long tons; 2,270 short tons) at a speed of 50 km/h (31 mph) on the flat and could still manage 430 tonnes (420 long tons; 470 short tons) at 25 km/h (16 mph) on a 25‰ (2.5%) incline. The very high traction load of 95.3 tonnes (93.8 long tons; 105.1 short tons) enabled it to cope with inclines of up to 70‰ (7%) without needing a rack and its Riggenbach counter-pressure brake ensured that it could brake even heavy loads on a downhill stretch.
