what is it?
The steam locomotive class k.u.k HB 578 was a tank engine operated by the Imperial and Royal Military Field Railway (k.u.k. Heeresfeldbahn) in Austria-Hungary. In World War I, the Austrian Military Railway placed their order for additional locomotives with Henschel in Kassel, because the Austrian locomotive factories were working at full capacity.
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 110 years ago, in 1916.
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1916–1917
- retired
- 1966
- status
- retired
- number built
- 22
- kind
- steam locomotive
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- builders
- Henschel & Sohn
- top speed
- 45 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 0-8-0T
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1718261, Wikipedia: Kuk HB Class 578 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.