DRG Class 98.10

The locomotives of DRG Class 98.10 (Baureihe 98.10 and, unofficially, the Bavarian GtL 4/5) were superheated steam locomotives with the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft.

After the Bavarian GtL 4/4 (Bayerische GtL 4/4) class engines had proved to be very reliable and had all been taken over by the Reichsbahn, it was decided to build further examples of them. However, because they were very slow with a top speed of 40 km/h, the design was modified and the so-called GtL 4/5 was built with an additional trailing axle, that was linked to the final coupled axle by a Krauss-Helmholtz bogie.

In 1929 Krauss supplied the first five examples of these machines. In 1930 and 1931 there followed further batches of six and ten locomotives respectively. The remaining engines were manufactured by the newly created firm of Krauss-Maffei in 1932 and 1933.

In spite of the extra carrying axle the top speed could only be raised to 45 km/h, so that later rebuilds or new engines were based on the GtL 4/4 (the rebuild becoming the DRG Class 98.11 (1′D)) and LAG Nos. 87 and 88 (1′D1′)).

All 45 locomotives of DRG Class 98.10 passed over to the Deutsche Bundesbahn after the Second World War. Their retirement began in 1957 and was complete by 1966.