Schienenzeppelin

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Schienenzeppelin (Rail Zeppelin) was an experimental propeller driven railcar designed by German aircraft engineer Franz Kruckenberg in 1929. The prototype was equipped with one 600 hp BMW-VI aircraft engine and a pushing 4-blade propeller made of ash tree. The total length of Schienenzeppelin was 25.3 m and it weighed 18.5 tons. The height was 2.8 meters.

The chassis of Schienenzeppelin was designed aerodynamically having some resemblance to the era's popular Zeppelin airships and it was built in aircraft style to to reduce weight. The interior of railcar was spartan and designed in Bauhaus-style.

On 21 June, 1931 Schienenzeppelin set a new rail travel speed record of 230 km/h on the route Berlin-Hamburg between Karstädt and Dergenthin. The record remained unbroken for the next 23 years until 1954.

In 1932 the prototype was modified heavily. The propeller was removed and a hydraulic transmission added. The earlier 1-1 wheel arrangement was replaced by B-1 with the front axle replaced by a powered bogie.

Due to many problems with the Schienenzeppelin prototype, the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft decided to go their own way in developing a high speed railcar. In 1933 the DRG built a high-speed railcar of their own design and called it Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger). DRG's new design was suitable for regular service and served also as the basis for later railcar developments. However, many of the Kruckenberg ideas, based on the experiments with Schienenzeppelin and high speed rail travel, found their way later to DRG's railcar designs.

The failure of Schienenzeppelin has been attributed to everything from the dangers of using an open propeller in crowded railway stations to fierce competition between Kruckenberg's company and the Deutsche Reichsbahn's separate efforts to build highspeed railcars.

The Schienenzeppelin prototype was scrapped in 1939.cs:Kolejový zepelín de:Schienenzeppelin