Novelty 2023: A total of 298 standard express train locomotives of the 03 series were built for the Deutsche Reichsbahn between 1930 and 1938 for use on routes with a maximum axle load of 18 t. The design was based on the 01 series, whose axle mass was over 20 t. To reduce overall mass, the 03 series featured a lighter billet frame and a smaller boiler and cylinder. While the first 122 machines were initially approved for a maximum speed of 120 km/h, this was set at 130 km/h for the later units ex works. In 1959, the DB inventory comprised a total of 145 examples of the BR 03. Nine years later this had narrowed to 45 of the locomotives, now known as the 003 series, of which the last three were finally commissioned in 1972. Arthur Honegger once dedicated a musical composition to the elegant.