# German state railway norms

In German railway engineering, norms (Normalien) are standards for the design and production of railway vehicles. In the 1880s and 1890s, Prussian norms were developed for the locomotives, tenders and wagons of the Prussian state railways under the direction of the railway director responsible for railway engineering, Moritz Stambke. Later, these were largely adopted by the other state railways (Länderbahnen) in Germany.

## Engineering drawings

These norms are defined by engineering drawings to 1:40 scale on individual sheets and show the locomotives and wagons as full design drawings, referred to by their sheet (Musterblatt) numbers. The first drawings date from 1878. In 1885 the Minister for Public Works tasked the Hütte Academic Institute with the publication of the norms. The drawings were regularly updated as technical developments occurred. The last Prussian drawings were issued in 1923.

## Goods wagons

The design drawings for goods wagons were of special importance. The wagons built to these specifications appeared in large numbers and formed the bulk of the German wagon fleet until well after the Second World War. The 1973 DR Goods Wagon Handbook still contained most of the DSV wagon classes as well as the former Prussian Class II$^d$ wagons. The most important types are listed in the following table. Note that group II$^b$ are goods wagons based on old designs, II$^c$ goods wagons under 15 ton maximum load and II$^d$ goods wagons with at least 15 tons maximum load. A-group wagons are those built to the standard drawings of the DSV. Wagons according to sheets with other nos. are special designs, of which some were also built in large numbers.
| Description | Sheet No. | Payload | State Railway Class | State Railway Class | DRG Class from 1922 | DB Class from 1952 |
| Description | Sheet No. | Payload | to 1909/14 | from 1909/14 | DRG Class from 1922 | DB Class from 1952 |
| Goods van | 8 | 10 t | Gl | G | Gw Magdeburg | – |
| Goods van | II$^b$ 1 | 10 or 12.5 t | Gl | G | Gw Magdeburg | Gw 01 |
| Goods van | II$^b$ 3 | 15 t | Gml | Gm | G Hannover or Stettin | – |
| Goods van | II$^d$ 8 | 15 t 10 t | Gml Gnl | Gm N | G Hannover/Stettin Gwh Magdeburg | G 02 – |
| Goods van | A2 | 15 t | – | Gm, Nm | G(h) Kassel/München | G(h) 10 |
| Goods van (facultative wagon) with end platforms for occasional passenger transport | II$^b$ 1$^a$ | 10 t | Gnl | Ni | Giwh Magdeburg | – |
| Six-wheeled goods van for express goods | II$^c$ 13 | 10, later 15 t | G(n)l | N | Gh Hannover | – |
| Six-wheeled goods van for express goods | II$^c$ 13$^{II}$ | 6, later 15 t | G(n)wl | Nwl für Sz | Glpwhs Dresden | G(w)h(s) 05 |
| Large-capacity goods van (container glass wagon) | Ce5 | 15 t | Gml | Gml | Gl Dresden | Gl 06 |
| Large-capacity goods van (container glass wagon) | A9 | 15 t | – | Gml | Gl Dresden | Gl 11 |
| Double-deck livestock van for small animals | II$^c$ 1 | 10 t | Vel | Ven | Vpwh Altona | Vwh 04 |
| Double-deck livestock van for small animals | II$^c$ 1$^a$ | 10 t | Ve(n)lz | Venz | Vwh Altona | Vwh 04 |
| Double-deck livestock van for small animals | II$^c$ 1$^b$ | 10 t | Ve | Ven | Vpwh Altona | Vwh 03 |
| Double-deck livestock van for small animals | II$^d$ 10 | 15 t | Ve(n)mlz | Venmz | Vh Altona | Vh 04 |
| Double-deck livestock van for small animals | A8 | 15 t | – | Venmz | Vh Altona | Vh 14 |
| Livestock van for cattle and horses | II$^c$ 2 | 10 t | V(n)l | Vn | Gvwh Magdeburg | – |
| Open livestock wagon for cattle and horses | II$^c$ 3 | 10 t | VO(n)l | VO | Ovw Karlsruhe | − |
| Lidded wagon (lime wagon) | II$^c$ 8 | 10 or 12.5 t | Kr | K | Kw Elberfeld | Kw 05 |
| Lidded wagon (lime wagon) | II$^d$ 4 | 15 t | Km | Km | K Elberfeld | K 06 |
| Lidded wagon (lime wagon) | A7 | 15 t | – | Km | K Elberfeld | K 15 |
| Open goods wagon sides 85 to 100 cm high, removable for military vehicle transport, end doors | 10 | 10 t | Olk[u] | Ok[u] | Ow Karlsruhe, Xow Erfurt | – |
| Open goods wagon sides 85 to 100 cm high, removable for military vehicle transport, end doors | II$^b$ 2 | 10 or 12.5 t | Olk | Ok | Ow Karlsruhe | – |
| Open goods wagon sides 85 to 100 cm high, removable for military vehicle transport, end doors | II$^d$ 3 | 15 t | Omk | Omk | O Frankfurt/Würzburg | O 01 |
| Open goods wagon sides 85 to 100 cm high, removable for military vehicle transport, end doors | A1 | 15 t | – | Omk | O Halle | O 10 |
| Coal wagon sides 108 to 130 cm high, end doors | II$^c$ 4 | 10 or 12.5 t | Ork | Ok | Ow Karlsruhe | – |
| Coal wagon sides 108 to 130 cm high, end doors | II$^c$ 5 | 10 or 12.5 t | Ork[u] | Ok[u] | Ow Karlsruhe | – |
| Coal wagon sides 108 to 130 cm high, end doors | II$^d$ 1 | 15 t | Omk[u] | Omk[u] | O Schwerin | O 02 |
| Coal wagon sides 108 to 130 cm high, end doors | A6 | 15 t | – | Omk[u] | O Nürnberg | O 11 |
| Coke wagon sides 140 to 155 cm high, end doors | II$^c$ 7 | 10 or 12.5 t | Oclk[u] | Ock[u] | Ocw Münster | – |
| Coke wagon sides 140 to 155 cm high, end doors | II$^d$ 2 | 15 t | Ocmlk[u] | Ocmk[u] | Oc Münster | Oc 01 |
| Coke wagon sides 140 to 155 cm high, end doors | II$^d$ 2$^{III}$ | 20 t | Omlk[u] | Ommk[u] | Om Ludwigshafen | Om 04 |
| Coke wagon sides 140 to 155 cm high, end doors | A10 | 20 t | – | Ommk[u] | Om Breslau/Essen | Om 12 |
| Coal wagon sides 150 to 180 cm high, end doors | Cc7 | 20 t | Omk[u] | Ommk[u] | Om Ludwigshafen | Om 04 |
| Coal wagon sides 150 to 180 cm high, end doors | Ce93, Ce95 | 20 t | Omk[u] | Ommk[u] | Om Ludwigshafen | Om 04 |
| Coal wagon sides 150 to 180 cm high, end doors | Ce146 | 20 t | – | Ommk[u] | Om Ludwigshafen | Om 04 |
| Bogie coal wagon sides 130 cm high, end door | II$^d$ 7 (1st use) | 30 t | OOmk | OOmk | OO Oldenburg | – |
| Coal hopper wagon | II$^c$ 6 | 10 t | Otr[u] | Ot[u] | Otw Mainz | – |
| Coal hopper wagon | II$^c$ 12 | 12.5 t | Otr[u] | Ot[u] | Otw Mainz | – |
| Long low wagon with wooden stanchions | II$^c$ 10 | 10 or 12.5 t | Sl | R | Rw Stuttgart | Rw 01 |
| Long low wagon with wooden stanchions | II$^d$ 5 | 15 t | Sml | Rm | R Stuttgart | R 02 |
| Long low wagon with wooden stanchions | A4 | 15 t | – | Rm | R Stuttgart | R 10 |
| Flat wagon (rail wagon) 13 m loading length | Ce143 | 15 t | Sml | Sml | S Augsburg | S 05 |
| Flat wagon (rail wagon) 13 m loading length | A11 | 15 t | – | Sml | S Augsburg | S 14 |
| Bogie flat wagon (rail wagon) 12 to 18 m loading length | II$^c$ 9 | 20, later 25 t | SS | SS | SSkw Köln | – |
| Bogie flat wagon (rail wagon) 12 to 18 m loading length | II$^d$ 6 | 30, later 35 t | SSm | SSm | SSk Köln | SSk 07 |
| Bogie flat wagon (rail wagon) 12 to 18 m loading length | II$^d$ 6$^a$ | 30, later 35 t | SSml | SSml | SSk Köln | SSk 07 |
| Bogie flat wagon (rail wagon) 12 to 18 m loading length | II$^d$ 7 | 30, later 35 t | SSml | SSml | SSk Köln | SSk 08 |
| Bogie flat wagon (rail wagon) 12 to 18 m loading length | II$^d$ 7$^{II}$ | 35 t | – | SSml | SS Köln | SS 08 |
| Bogie flat wagon (rail wagon) 12 to 18 m loading length | A3 | 35 t | – | SSml | SS Köln | SS 15 |
| Bogie flat wagon (rail wagon) 12 to 18 m loading length | Ce168 | 38 t | – | SSml | SSl Köln | SSl 16 |
| Single bolster wagon (timber truck) | II$^c$ 11 | 10 t | HHrsz | Hsz | Hosw Regensburg | – |
| Single bolster wagon (timber truck) | II$^d$ 9 | 15 t | HHmrsz | Hmsz | Hos Regensburg | – |
| Single bolster wagon (timber truck) | A5 | 18, later 15 t | – | Hrmz | H Regensburg | H 10 |

## Other examples

Other examples of Prussian norms are:
| Pwg Pr 92c | Sheet II$^a$ 3 |
| Bogies | Sheet VI$^d$ 7$^{II}$ |
| Diamond bogie Verbandsbauart | Sheet B23 |
| S 6 (straight driver's cab end wall) | Sheet XIV-2a |
| G 3 | Sheet 15, 16, III-3 |
| T 9.1 | Sheet III-4f |
| T 10 | Sheet XIV-4b |
| Tender 4T18 | Sheet III-5e |
| Tender 4T21,5 | Sheet III-5h |
| Tender 4T21,5 | Sheet III-5l |
| Tender 4T31,5 | Sheet III-5m |