Pro Train: DB Class 44

The Class 44 (German: Baureihe 44 or BR 44) was a ten-coupled, heavy goods train steam locomotive built for the Deutsche Reichsbahn as a standard steam engine class (Einheitsdampflokomotive). Its sub-class was G 56.20 and it had three cylinders. The class was intended for hauling goods trains of up to 1,200 tonnes on the routes through Germany's hilly regions (Mittelgebirge) and up to 600 tonnes on steep inclines. They were numbered 44 001-44 1989. The first 10 examples were built in 1926. These engines had a somewhat higher steam consumption than the first ten units of the DRG Class 43 procured in parallel for comparison purposes, and which were equipped with two cylinders. Not until 1937 were further 44s procured, because by then the rising demands of rail transportation could be better met with a triple-cylinder configuration. From 1926 to 1949, a total of 1,989 locomotives were manufactured. During the Second World War an austerity variant was built with simplified construction an