The Class 150 is an electric heavy freight locomotive built for German Federal Railways

Deutsche Bundesbahn

The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...

 between 1957 and 1973. They were built as heavy freight movers to be used on the increasingly electrified main lines of the DB, where they were set to replace the steam traction.

In 1957 the first locomotive, 150 001, was delivered by AEG

AEG

Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....

 and Krupp

Krupp

The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...

. Altogether 194 locomotives were ordered and delivered.

Originally the Class 150 was also suitable for passenger service, however it did not have any steam or electric heating capability for the passenger coaches.

To date, the Class 150's starting tractive effort of 450 kN (450,000 N) remains unparalleled on German rails - in fact it was very close to the breaking force of the chain couplings used at the time of its production.
Some engines were therefore fitted with automatic coupling (type unicupler AK69e) to haul heavy ore-trains.