[1] In putting this forward, Garbe was especially keen to prove the superiority of his design compared with the four-cylinder, saturated steam, compound locomotives, particularly its predecessor, the Prussian Class S 7.

The long boiler was located well forward in order to spread the weight to the front carrying wheels and to keep the axle load within the maximum limits, thus giving the engine the typical appearance of a "Garbe locomotive".

The heavy balancing masses of the driving gear were badly affected by weight savings.

A remedy was achieved by coupling the tender closer to the locomotive and thus raising the compression of the buffer springs.

The driver's cab was initially built with a tapered front and conical smokebox doors in order to reduce wind resistance.

An unfortunate side effect of the streamlined driver's cab, however, was that the engine crew were dazzled at night by reflexions from the diagonally oriented front window panes.

The S 6 achieved its highest indicated power of 1,160 PS (870 kW or 1,170 hp) at a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).