The two test locomotives for the first, newly developed electric locomotives E11 001 and 002 for the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR) fulfilled expectations. Following a number of improvements that were not
really required, production began in 1962 on the 1st Series E11 for the express train service and E42 for the freight and passenger train services. Unlike the locomotives delivered subsequently, the locomotives
had a total of four double ventilation grilles per side as well as stiffening ribs on the sides of the structure. The steps and handles were also different. The fronts of the E11 003-020 and E42 001-022 had a skirt below the buffer plank, which gave the locomotives a certain elegance. However, as in the case of the E10 operated by DB, these skirts caused difficulties during operation, which meant that they were removed during routine inspections or simply not reattached. In subsequent years, the series E 11 and E42 locomotives, which were now known as the 211 and 242, were encountered on the electrified DR lines. It was only with the arrival of the successor series 243 and the political shift which led to the merging of the Reichs- and Bundesbahn into DB AG that the progressive decommissioning of the series now known as the 109 and 142 began. However, a number are still operated by private railway companies to
