Extreme Railcar Propulsion

While British and Irish railways saw railcars as a way to operate lines more economically, elsewhere in the was an experimental railcar designed and developed by aircraft engineer Franz Kruckenberg in 1929. It used an aircraft engine and two-bladed propeller at the rear of the vehicle, which on June 21, 1931 pushed the railcar to a remarkable 143mph on the Hamburg-Berlin main line. This speed was not beaten on rails until 1954 and remains a record for a petrol-driven rail vehicle. However, due to safety concerns (not to mention its numerous other impracticalities) it was sidelined and dismantled in 1939.