The steam locomotive type P 8 of the Prussian state railways was constructed by the Berliner Maschinenbau AG (formerly Schwartzkopff) since 1906 and the Linke-Hofmann Werke in Breslau/Wroclaw by Robert Garbe. It was planned as a succession type for the P 6. In the plain the P 8 could carry 300 t with 100 km/h and 400 t with 90 km/h and was to be found after the world wars in almost all of Europe. The order for the construction of the first 10 machines was given to the company Schwartzkopff (the later Berliner Maschinenbau AG) in January, 1906. With up to 14 express train coaches on the hook the test runs proceeded brilliantly. The first machine of this soon internationally famous type was put into service under the designation" Coeln 2401" on the Lower Rhine. The P 8 was usable in an extremely versatile manner, and one found her, with the exception of the heavy express and goods trains, in front of almost every train.