Pre War German Aero Design

[Blazeman]

http://www.retronaut.com/2011/09/the-rail-zeppelin-1929/

[CBQ Fan]

Cool!!!

[Iain]

Looks like a propeller-driven dildo.

[peteski]

LOL!
I have an N scale model of it (the propeller really spins too)!

[Baronjutter]

Looks cool,  looks like Wuppertal as well with the distinct suspended railway in the background of one of the shots.

[mirage]

It's not Wuppertal 

They wanted to conect Berlin (capital city of Germany in those days) and Hamburg. So the experinmental runs of the Zeppelin were made mostly between those two cities.

A 24 years lasting speed record of about 230 km/h / 143 Mph was also made on this track.

Here is the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schienenzeppelin

edit: here is a youtube video:

[nkalanaga]

I have heard that this wasn't too successful, with the biggest problem being numerous broken windows in both stations and other trains.  The prop wash blew the ballast off the track...

Another site with information on this and similar oddities:
http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/TRANSPORT/proprail/proprail.htm

And, if you really want some monstrosities to model, look in their Transport section:
http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/museum.htm

One of the pages in Steam Locos is a locomotive with polygonal wheels:
http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/polygon/polygon.htm
It didn't work too well...

My favorite is the Heilmann locomotive.  With a little support it could have given the diesel-electric a run for its money, as the large version had the performance of an FT diesel, but was built in the 1890s.  They had MU controls, produced 1350 HP, and could pull 400 tons at 62 mph.
http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/heilmann/heilmann.htm
The French railways didn't want them because the shop crews didn't want to have to learn new maintenance techniques for the electric portion.  The steam engine itself actually looks a lot like a diesel engine block.

[John]

I wonder how many people walked into the prop ..

Kind of looks like the "Thrommer"

[nkalanaga]

Is this the one some called the "Flying Hamburger"? 

[peteski]

Is this the one some called the "Flying Hamburger"?

No, that was a more pedestrian-looking train.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRG_Class_SVT_877

IIRC, there is also an N scale model of it.

[keeper]

IIRC, there is also an N scale model of it.

Yep, Kato made one. They show up on ebay regularly, well mostly ebay.de

Thomas

[sharriso]

Several years ago I read that this concept was used to test new aircraft structure and engine designs.  There were several projects like it in the late 1920s and 1930s which avoided treaty restrictions.

    Shawn and Sally Harrison
    - Modeling 1850s B&O

[nkalanaga]

Peteski:  Thank you.  Nice looking train, too.

Sharriso:  I'd never heard that (not being historically inclined) but it makes sense.  Certainly a propeller driven train doesn't seem economically viable, when Germany had perfectly good steam and electric locomotives that had to be both simpler and safer.

[Baronjutter]

It's not Wuppertal 

It's got to be, I think I even found the exact spot the photo was taken.
http://goo.gl/maps/Z14xg

Most everything has changed, but there's the suspended railway track in the background, and the public street right next to the railway.  Unless any other city in germany had the exact same design for a suspended railway over a river it's got to be Wuppertal in that photo.

[keeper]

It is Wuppertal