Take a look at the photographs to admire the level of detailing.

The Prussian Class T18s were the last tank locomotives developed for the Prussian state railways. They emerged when a class of locomotive was conceived in 1912 that was to handle express and passenger trains in border areas or in shuttle services on short routes. A tank engine design with symmetrical running gear was envisaged because, unlike a tender locomotive, it could run equally fast forwards and backwards and could be operated on return journeys without having to be turned on a turntable. Its power and top speed were to be the same as those of the P 8. Robert Garbe designed this 4-6-4 (2'C2') tank locomotive for 100 km/h with a 17-ton axle load and contracted the Vulkan Werke in Stettin to build it. It was given the designation T18.

A total of 534 engines were built from 1912 to 1927, mainly by the Stettiner Maschinenbau AG Vulcan and, from 1923, also by Henschel, of which 458 alone went to the Prussian state railways and, subsequently, the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

The Reichsbahn took over 460 vehicles from Prussia and 20 from the Royal Württemberg State Railways, incorporating them into DRG Class 78 with operating numbers 78 001–282 and 78 351–528. Of these, number 78 093 came from Alsace-Lorraine and numbers 78 146–165 from Württemberg.

The Deutsche Bundesbahn took over 424 engines, and the Märklin miniature is based on one of those, and the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany 53 examples. In 1968 only 35 engines remained with the DR in East Germany.