Dringos

Dringos
	The Dringos railcar
Number:	1
Manufacturer:	Otto Steinitz
Year of construction (s):	1919
Retirement:	1919
Axis formula :	1'1'a
Genre :	Railcar
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Empty mass:	14 t
Top speed:	60 km / h
Drive:	propeller

The Dringos ( acronym from Dr .- Ing O tto S Teinitz) was an experimental railway motor car , equipped with propeller was powered. The aircraft engineer Otto Steinitz (1886-1964) designed the Dringos railcars in 1919 based on a freight car - chassis . The car was powered by two decommissioned 6-cylinder aircraft engines on the front sides, each of which drove a propeller.

mission

Otto Steinitz (center of the picture, with a light coat) on the dringos he constructed

On May 11, 1919, Steinitz carried out test drives on the 40-kilometer stretch between Grunewald and Beelitz , during which around 40 government representatives (including Reich Treasury Minister Georg Gothein ), state officials (including Gustav Wittfeld from the Prussian State Railways ) and members of the Weimar National Assembly were present . The Dringos reached a continuous speed of 60 km / h; Testing at higher speeds was not carried out because of the inadequate brakes.

Advantages and disadvantages

In view of the emergency after the First World War - but also in the long term - the concept promised itself economic advantages: Compared to other railcar concepts, the Dringos made it possible to save weight and to make sensible use of the existing aircraft engine stocks after the war . For this reason, it was initially forecast that it would soon be used in both passenger and freight traffic.

Other voices emphasized the disadvantages, in particular the low efficiency of the propeller drive, which was further reduced by the dependence on the wind direction. In addition, the service life of the aircraft engines of the time was shorter than that of other internal combustion engines at 600–800 hours . After nine months of testing, the railway administration recognized further disadvantages: the shunting operation was cumbersome and the drive made a lot of noise , which is why, among other things. the driver could not hear acoustic maneuvering signals . In addition, air currents and the development of dust had negative effects not only on people in the vicinity, but also on the turnout and signal lights, which were operated with an open flame at the time . The operation was uneconomical due to the fourfold fuel requirement alone, which is why the test drives were discontinued. The concept was therefore not pursued further in Austria either, although originally there was also interest due to the existing aircraft engines.

Result

Although the test drives were successful, the propeller-driven railcar aroused no interest and the prototype remained a one-off. Steinitz had filed a patent application for his invention on January 16, 1919 and received the German Reich patent DE371987C (Railway Vehicle Propelled by Air Screws ) on March 19, 1923 , but the patent was not used.

sources

The propeller train. A test drive . In: Berliner Tageblatt . 48th year, no. 236 , May 24, 1919, pp. 6 ( Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage [PDF]).
Hugo Gernsback (Ed.): The Electrical Experimenter. New Experimenter Company Inc., York, May 1920, p. 30.

Web links

Otto Steinitz's Dringos Propeller-Locomotive , Forsyth's Compendium of Curious Contraptions
Propellor-Driven Locomotives , The Museum of Retro Technology
Rail Zeppelin Propeller-Driven Railcar (Schienenzeppelin) , Old Machine Press

Individual evidence

↑ Motorized railcars. In: Illustrierte Motorzeitung / Illustrierte Motorzeitung. (Trade) journal for the entire engine sector) , April 30, 1924, p. 7 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / ilm
↑ From the realm of inventions. In: Österreichs Illustrierte Zeitung , June 8, 1919, p. 10 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / oiz
^ The propeller train. In: Workers will. Social democratic organ of the Alpine countries / workers will. Organ of the working people of the Alpine countries / workers will. Organ of the working people for Styria and Carinthia / workers will. Organ of the working people for Styria, Carinthia (and Carniola) Neue Zeit. Organ of the Styrian Socialist Party , August 30, 1919, p. 5 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / awi
↑ The aircraft engine in railroad operations. In: Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung , March 21, 1920, p. 10 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / aaz

[1] Motorized railcars. In: Illustrierte Motorzeitung / Illustrierte Motorzeitung. (Trade) journal for the entire engine sector) , April 30, 1924, p. 7 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / ilm

[2] From the realm of inventions. In: Österreichs Illustrierte Zeitung , June 8, 1919, p. 10 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / oiz

[3] The propeller train. In: Workers will. Social democratic organ of the Alpine countries / workers will. Organ of the working people of the Alpine countries / workers will. Organ of the working people for Styria and Carinthia / workers will. Organ of the working people for Styria, Carinthia (and Carniola) Neue Zeit. Organ of the Styrian Socialist Party , August 30, 1919, p. 5 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / awi

[4] The aircraft engine in railroad operations. In: Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung , March 21, 1920, p. 10 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / aaz