Steam locomotive class 001 with newly designed boiler of the German Federal Railways. Epoch IV.

■ Variant with newly designed boiler
■ Wheels with delicately designed spokes
■ Boiler with many separately applied parts

During the war the locomotives were not properly maintained and this was dramatically apparent on the express train locomotives of the series 01 from 1940 on. The vehicle fleet initially had a large number of locomotives of the series 01 but, however, only about 160 locomotives in adventurous technical conditions were put into operation. When the locomotives were providing their daily hard services, it became clear that extensive maintenance work was necessary to guarantee a stable operation. Thanks to experienced technicians and railway workers, many locomotives could be kept in operation until the 1960s. By the end of 1958, however, the decision was made to put 50 locomotives on a conversion programme which lasted until 1961. Not only a new boiler with a combustion chamber and new ash boxes had to be fittet but also the rusty surfaces needed to be repaired. They also removed the water supplying dome, the sandboxes and other components. This completely changed the look and the design of the locomotive.