In that way, he is known as one of the key pioneers of locomotive design because of his achievements concerning the use of superheated steam; his image is tarnished, however, by a conservatism that was proven wrong time and again contemporarily (e.g. by the Bavarian S 3/6, and thereafter André Chapelon designed highly successful modern compound locomotives, proving the success of every single innovation Garbe rejected).
The desire for further education led him to the Technische Hochschule in Breslau, where he worked in the main workshops of the Upper Silesian Railway and passed his exams as an engine driver in 1867.
In 1895 Garbe was nominated simultaneously as a board member of the Prussian Railway Division at Berlin and Head of Department for the Design and Procurement of Locomotives.
The locomotives developed on the basis of the policy issued by Garbe were characterised above all by good performance and simple construction.
A total of 3,948 examples were built (including the Rumanian copies) and they were working German railway routes until the end of the steam era around 1972–1974.
Garbe's major achievement in the field of technical steam locomotive development was the introduction of superheating, for which he was a keen advocate.