The Saxon Class XII H2 steam locomotives were bought by the Royal Saxon State Railways specifically for the mountainous areas of Saxony. They were built by Hartmann between 1910 and 1927 in Chemnitz. The design of this passenger train locomotive was carried out in parallel with that of the express train classes, the Saxon X H1 and Saxon XII H. A total of 159 examples of this powerful locomotive were built by 1922.