The 1930s were a decade of major global innovations in the field of railway technology. New electric and diesel-powered locomotives revolutionised the world on rails. Steam locomotives were also improved and attracted a great deal of attention by breaking world records in Germany and Britain, attaining speeds of 200 km/h. How-ever, experts were well aware that the traditional steam engine had reached the end of the road, at least as far as further increases in speed were concerned. Possible solutions were offered by a number of innovations such as single-axle drive systems powered by small steam engines. The Kassel-based traditional locomotive manufacturer, Henschel, built a prototype locomotive for the Deutsche Reichsbahn in order to further investigate this technology. The novel single-engine technology was the only aspect of locomotive 19 1001 that reflected the state of the art in the field of steam technology at that time. Sensibly, the temptation to try out as many new elements as possible had been resisted, with the result that engineers could rely on tried and tested technology in order to concentrate on the development of the steam engines. The boiler was of the same type as the Series 44 goods locomotives, while the flow shell and tender were based on those of series 01.10. The running gear and force transmission incorporated components that had proven to be effective in electric locomotives.
Maximum performance of 1,685 hp at 80 km/h and maximum speeds of 180 km/h were achieved in trial runs with no difficulties whatsoever. In times of peace, this concept would have been developed even further.
Although the locomotive was delivered in the middle
of the war when the Deutsche Reichsbahn had other problems than engine research, it worked surprisingly smoothly and was put into service in 1943, operating from Hamburg-Altona to Berlin and Osnabrück. In 1944 it was seriously damaged in an air raid. On American instructions, it was repaired and sent to the USA in October 1945 as an example of modern German technology. Following a number of displays and test runs in the USA, it was finally scrapped in 1952. Even though it had proved its effectiveness, the technology used in the 19 1001 was no longer in demand at the time of the reconstruction of the German railway system. Conditions in post-war Germany demanded the use of simple traditional technology which produced fast results. It was soon decided to phase out steam locomotives and focus on developing electric and diesel machines. This marked the end of a promising attempt to achieve higher speeds with steam locomotives in routine operation.