Steam Locomotive with a Tender.

Class 24 - Prairie Pony in Prussia. Between 1926 and 1938, a total of 95 units of the class 24 were purchased for the flat, long branch lines in East and West Prussia. These locomotives were nicknamed the "Prairie Pony" and were designed as a passenger locomotive, but were soon used as a general-purpose locomotive. This 16.96 meter / 55 foot 7-11/16 inch long locomotive reached a maximum speed of 90 km/h / 56 mph. It was a parallel class to the class 64 and gave very good results in the tasks assigned to it. The division of Germany and the areas surrendered to Poland resulted in 38 units finally coming to the German Federal Railroad, where they continued to perform valuable service on branch lines, often with "Donnerbüchsen / Thunder Box" passenger cars. Gradually, they were replaced in many locations by the class VT 95 and VT 98 red rail busses, were retired and scrapped. Their last home base was Rheydt; there they left regular service in 1966 on the German Federal Railroad. In Poland the 34 locomotives left there after World War II were indispensable up to 1976. Four Prairie Ponies remain preserved as museum pieces; one of them is from the roster of the Polish State Railroad (PKP).