for both directions of travel, fitted on the forward bogie. A pointed fairing was installed in place of the propeller. The resulting vehicle was a B-1 with a powered front bogie. This version of the vehicle reached at the beginning of 1933. Due to many problems with the Schienenzeppelin prototype, the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft decided to go their own way in developing a high-speed railcar, leading to the Fliegender Hamburger (Flying Hamburger) in 1933. This new design was suitable for regular service and served also as the basis for later railcar developments. However, many of the Kruckenberg ideas, based on the experiments with Schienenzeppelin and high-speed rail travel, found their way into later DRG railcar designs. At the beginning of 1934 the Schienenzeppelin was rebuilt for the last time, and a Maybach GO 5 engine was installed. In July 1934 it was sold to Deutsche Reichsbahn (German Imperial Railway) for 10,000 Reichsmarks. Five years later, in 1939 the rail zeppelin was finally dismantled because its material was needed by the German army. Disadvantages The failure of the Schienenzeppelin has been attributed to everything from the dangers of using an open propeller in crowded railway stations to fierce competition between Kruckenberg's company and the Deutsche Reichsbahn's separate efforts to build high-speed railcars. One disadvantage of the rail zeppelin was the inherent difficulty of pulling additional wagons to form a train, because of its construction. Furthermore, the vehicle could not use its propeller to climb steep gradients, as the flow would separate when full power was applied. Thus an additional means of propulsion was needed for such circumstances. Safety concerns have been associated with running high-speed railcars on old track network, with the inadvisability of reversing the vehicle, and with operating a propeller close to passengers. See also Aérotrain, a French hovercraft train using ducted fans and jet engines Aerowagon Bennie Railplane References Further reading External links Experimental locomotives High-speed rail in Germany Experimental and prototype high-speed trains German railbuses Scrapped locomotives