Locomotives--Streamliner

Pre-war Type 386 Locomotive of the Czechoslovak State Railway

 Polish (ex-German) Pm3 steam locomotive in Warsaw.

 'Lightweight' 2-cylinder 4-6-2 locomotive with add-on experimental streamlined casing
Deutsche Reichsbahn, 1930s

The first high-speed streamliner in Germany was the "Schienenzeppelin", an experimental propeller driven single car, built 1930. On 21 June 1931, it set a speed record of 230.2 km/h (143.0 mph) on a run between Berlin and Hamburg. In 1932 the propeller was removed and a hydraulic system installed. The Schienenzeppelin made 180 km/h (112 mph) in 1933.

The Schienenzeppelin led to the construction of the diesel-electric DRG Class SVT 877 "Flying Hamburger". This two-car train set had 98 seats and a top speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). During regular service starting on 15 May 1933, this train ran the 286 kilometres (178 mi) between Hamburg and Berlin in 138 minutes with an average speed of 124.4 km/h (77.3 mph). The SVT 877 was the prototype for the DRG Class SVT 137, first built in 1935 for use in the FDt express train service. During test drives, the SVT 137 "Bauart Leipzig" set a world speed record of 205 km/h (127 mph) in 1936. The fastest regular service with SVT 137 was between Hannover and Hamm with an average speed of 132.2 km/h (82.1 mph). This service lasted until 22 August 1939.

In 1935 Henschel & Son, a major manufacturer of steam locomotives, was able to upgrade its various steam locomotives to a high speed Streamliner type with a maximum speeds of up to 85 km/h (53 mph) by the addition of a removable shell over the old steam locomotive. The type was used on the Frankfurt am Main to Berlin route.

In the United Kingdom, development of streamlined passenger services began in 1934, with the Great Western Railway introducing relatively low-speed streamlined railcars, and the London and North Eastern Railway introducing the "Silver Jubilee" service using streamlined A4 class steam locomotives and full length trains rather than railcars. In 1938 on a test run, the locomotive Mallard built for this service broke the record for the fastest steam locomotive, reaching 126 mph (203 km/h). The London Midland and Scottish Railway introduced streamline locomotives of the Princess Coronation Class shortly before the outbreak of war.

The Ferrovie dello Stato (Italian railways) developed the FS Class ETR 200, a three-unit electric streamliner. The development started in 1934. These trains went into service in 1937. On 6 December 1937, an ETR 200 made a top speed of 201 km/h (125 mph) between Campoleone and Cisterna on the run Rome-Naples. In 1939 the ETR 212 even made 203 km/h (126 mph). The 219-kilometre (136 mi) journeys from Bologna to Milan were made in 77 minutes, meaning an average of 171 km/h (106 mph).

In the Netherlands, Nederlandse Spoorwegen introduced the Materieel 34 (DE3), a three unit 140 km/h (87 mph) streamlined diesel-electric trainset in 1934. An electric version, Materieel 36, went into service in 1936. From 1940 the "Dieselvijf" (DE5), a 160 km/h (99 mph) top speed five unit diesel-electric trainset based on DE3, completed the Dutch streamliner fleet. During test runs, a DE5 ran 175 km/h (109 mph). That year the similar electric Materieel 40 were first built.

In Czechoslovakia in 1934, Czechoslovak State Railways ordered two motor railcars with maximum speed 130 km/h (81 mph). The order was received by Tatra company, which was producing first streamlined mass-produced automobile Tatra 77 in that time. The railcar project was led by Tatra chief designer Hans Ledwinka and received streamlined design. Both ČSD Class M 290.0 were delivered in 1936 with desired 130 km/h (81 mph) maximum speed, although during test runs one car reached 148 km/h (92 mph) mark. They were run on Czechoslovak prominent route Prague-Bratislava under Slovenská strela (Slovak for "Slovak Arrow") brand.

Age of the flying boat

READY FOR TAKE-OFF The thrill of a take-off from water was one of the high points of clipper travel. Here, a Pan American Airways Sikorsky S-40 is shown taxiing for take-off from Miami, Florida, on its way to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The failure of airships left air-passenger transport over the world’s oceans exclusively to flying boats. In the 1930s these glamorous machines enjoyed a brief golden age as the aristocrats of long-distance aeroplane travel. The ascendancy of flying boats made sense in the conditions of the time. Although they were not necessarily capable of alighting safely on the open sea, they were, understandably, considered safer for transoceanic flight than land-planes. They could operate services to far-flung exotic locations without the need to build and maintain a chain of airfields. And their boat-like hulls lent themselves to more spacious and luxurious accommodation than contemporary land-based airliners. This allowed the flying boats to come closer in style to the luxury ocean liners with which they competed on most routes. It was no accident that flying-boat crews dressed in nautical fashion, or that those of the most famous fleet, operated by Pan American, were dubbed “clippers” after the fastest ships of the age of sail.

As in other areas of aviation, the United States lagged behind the Europeans in the development of commercial flying-boat services in the early 1920s, even on what the Monroe Doctrine had defined as its home turf – Central and South America. In August to September 1925, two German Dornier Wal flying boats carried out a demonstration flight from Colombia across the Caribbean to Miami, Florida, and offered to set up an airmail service linking the US with the Caribbean islands, and coastal states with South America. Stung in its national pride, the United States refused to play ball, but the incident highlighted the need for America to develop an overseas airmail system. The result was the Kelly Foreign Air Mail Act of 1928. As with US domestic commercial aviation, government-awarded airmail contracts were the springboard for the development of US international passenger services.

THE MIGHTY HINDENBURG

The LZ 129 Hindenburg sits in its hangar at Rhein-Main, Frankfurt, Germany. Designed to revolutionize passenger travel, this mighty airship was the largest man-made object ever to fly. Measuring 245m (804ft) long and 41m (135ft) in diameter, it could carry up to 72 passengers and around 60 crew members. With its fiery destruction in May 1937, the age of the zeppelins came to an end.

The first of these airships, the Hindenburg, came into service in 1936, sporting Nazi swastikas. Powered by four 1,100hp diesel engines, it could carry 50 passengers at over 128kph (80mph) in unparalleled luxury. Where the Graf Zeppelin had crammed its passengers into a gondola, the Hindenburg used part of the massive hull for passenger accommodation on two decks. The upper deck had promenades on each side where passengers could stroll and gaze through panoramic windows. There was a dining room with linen-covered tables, a writing room, and a lounge with a baby grand piano. On the lower deck were bathrooms, a shower room, the crew’s quarters, the kitchen, and a smoking room.

The latter drew attention to the Hindenburg’s one fatal flaw: its vast envelope was filled with inflammable hydrogen. The zeppelin’s designers had intended to use helium, but the United States refused to supply it. Nevertheless, German engineers were sure that the Hindenburg was safe. A refit in the winter of 1936–37 upgraded it to accommodate 72 passengers, and in May 1937 it was ready to resume scheduled services between Frankfurt and Lakehurst. Ambitious plans were afoot for a German–US consortium to run a transatlantic service that would employ four airships. And then came the inferno of 6 May. As the Hindenburg met its mysterious and fiery end, international airship travel also went up in flames.

Whatever the specific reasons for the Hindenburg disaster, statistics suggest that airships were never really safe enough for passenger transport. Out of 161 airships built over three decades, 60 were destroyed in accidents, either through fire or structural failure. They were in any case too expensive to build and too slow to have provided the kind of mass international air travel that exists today. But for the Hindenburg disaster, giant rigid airships might just have found a niche as the cruiseliners of the sky. As it is, they have become no more than a remembered curiosity.

COAST-TO-COAST

This Fokker T-2, powered by a 420hp Liberty engine, was originally designed as a transport plane for the US Army Air Service. Modified with extra fuel tanks built into the wings, it made the first non-stop flight across the USA in May 1923 piloted by Lieutenants John Macready and Oakley Kelly.

First Cross Country Flight by Lt Oakley Kelly and 1st Lt John McReady USAS was the first cargo aircraft planned and built in the Netherlands with hopes that the airline companies would order it. But the huge plane proved to be a miscalculation and Fokker sold both finished planes to the US Army Air Service for use as cargo planes.

The T-2 would probably have been forgotten if it had not unexpectedly set a world record. On May 2 1923, Lt Oakly Kelly and First Lt John McReady took off from New York on a flight to San Diego and landed after 26 hours and 50 minutes and 38 seconds in the air.

Crew: One pilot
Capacity: 12 passengers
Length: 49 ft 3 in
Wingspan: 81 ft 4 in
Height: 11 ft
Wing area: 372 ft²
Empty weight: 4,960 lb
Gross weight: 7,630 lb
Powerplant: 1 × Packard-built Liberty L12 piston engine,400 hp

Performance
Maximum speed: 93 mph
Range: 2,550 miles
Service ceiling: 10,500 ft

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The Aerowagon

 Schienenzeppelin

The Schienenzeppelin was not the first propeller driven railcar. Those laurels probably belong to the Soviet Aerowagon which Valerian Abakovsky designed to whisk important Soviet officials around their huge country. Sadly, on 24th July 1921 it whisked all those on board, including Abakovsky, off the tracks and to their untimely deaths, marking the end of a rarther promising project.

 Aerowagon

The Aerowagon may be regarded as a precursor to the German Schienenzeppelin railcar, the American M-497 Black Beetle railcar and the later Soviet turbojet train, all three of them being experimental vehicles featuring the combination of railcar and aircraft engine.

Valerian Abakovsky was a Russian inventor who died when his invention, the high-speed Aerowagon train engine, derailed on a test run, killing Abakovsky and five others. The Aerowagon had an airplane engine and propeller and was designed to carry Soviet officials to and from Moscow. Abakovsky's invention worked fine on the outgoing leg of the test run but crashed during its return to the capital city. Abakovsky was just 26 years old.

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