Obviously the large single engines and the resulting power transmission by connecting rods made for poor operation characteristics at high speed.

Nevertheless, it was not before 1913 that first electric main line locomotives with nose-suspended, fast-going single motors were commissioned.

The decisive breakthrough was finally made in the 1920s, as large numbers of electric trainsets were developed for the electrification of the Berlin Stadtbahn in 1928.

The smaller Class E 04 [de] was derived for lighter service in the less mountainous middle German regions.

With regards to the power, top speed and elegant design in 1937 during the Universal Exposition in Paris a Gold Medal was awarded to Class E 18.

Eight locomotives based on the E 18 series were ordered by Bundesbahn Österreich (BBÖ) in 1937 for the electrification of the Salzburg to Linz line.

To cope with the steeper gradients in Austria's mountainous geography these units were equipped with stronger motors (developed for class E 19) and their top speed was reduced to 130 km/h (81 mph) by a different gear transmission ratio, resulting in a significantly higher tractive effort.

The seven units deployed in Silesia were in 1945 transferred to Bavaria in order not to leave them to the advancing Red Army.

However, during the second half of the 1950s DR began to restore electrification to its lines and therefore needed fast electric locomotives.

Six damaged E 18 locomotives had been stored at the AEG factory in Hennigsdorf since the war, from which three usable units were re-assembled in 1958-60.

These two mavericks retained German gear transmission ratios, and were ÖBB's fastest locomotives until Class 1042.5 was commissioned in the late 1960s.

The town of Gemünden am Main is seeking to turn E 18 24 into a worthy monument with its long tradition as a railway hub, but at present it is being restored in Weimar by the TEV Thüringer Eisenbahn.