Bavarian BB II
The Bavarian Class BB II engines were Mallet saturated steam locomotives in the service of the Royal Bavarian State Railways.
They were specially designed for branch lines with tight curves and supplied in two series. The first series comprised 29 engines and was built between 1899 and 1903. The other two machines were delivered in 1908 to the state railway and were somewhat longer and heavier than the other locomotives.
Although the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft took over all the vehicles in 1925 as DRG Class 98.7, all bar three were retired during the 1930s due to their unsatisfactory riding performance. The last three engines were used after 1940 as industrial locomotives.
One example, the 98 727, was sold in 1943 to the Regensburg factory of Südzucker AG and was given the operating number 4. It was donated in 1972 to the Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum and is still preserved today.
