This photo of the experimental Schienenzeppelin (or “Zeppelin on wheels”) was taken by Times photographer from the Berlin Bureau in October 1930. The futuristic German bullet train featured a rear mounted propeller that “knifed through the rising mists to the roar of a 400-horsepower gasoline motor.” Its sleek aluminum chassis quickly broke railway speed records.
“Rail Zeppelin’ Speeds 143.75 Miles an Hour; World Record Is Set on Hamburg-Berlin Run,” a Times front page story declared on June 22, 1931. Its speed record stood for 23 years and was never surpassed by a gasoline-powered locomotive. Propeller safety concerns and reliability issues, however, prevented the Schienenzeppelin from being mass-produced. It was dismantled in 1939.
