Zeppelin on Wheels

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.