Locomotive portrait steam locomotive 99 237 / 99 7237-3
The 99 237 was built in 1955 by VEB Lokomotivbau Karl Marx in Babelsberg with the serial number 134.014.
Before the Second World War, VEB Karl Marx was still Ohrenstein and Koppel. It was part of a series of 17 locomotives that were commissioned between 1954 and 1956 based on the standard locomotives of the 9922 series.
The locomotive was delivered directly to the Eisfeld – Schönbrunn narrow-gauge railway in Thuringia. It was in service there until February 22, 1973. It thus narrowly missed the line's closure on March 31, 1973.
The locomotive then went to the Görlitz repair shop from February 23 to November 4, 1973, to be refurbished for the Harz Railway.
The Deutsche Reichsbahn decided to convert the Class 99 23 locomotives to oil firing starting in 1976. It was assumed that these powerful steam locomotives would remain in service in the Harz Mountains for a long time to come.
From March 14 to July 19, 1977, the 99 7237 was in the Görlitz regeneration depot, where it was converted to oil firing. However, the Reichsbahn had not anticipated the oil crisis of the early 1980s. Therefore, the conversion back to coal firing also took place in the Görlitz regeneration depot from August 18 to November 30, 1983.