This Breitspurbahn or broad gauge railway would have linked Paris to the Caspian Sea using a gauge of 3.7 metres or even 4 metres: over twice the standard European gauge width of 1.435 metres, map above. (Despite being dated 1943, it still shows Poland and Czechoslovakia in their pre-war borders; a little oversight that would not have pleased Herr Hitler?)
Info and drawings on this website
If Germany had won the war, this plan for a super train would have been a relatively easy project to engineer and construct when compared to the other actual technical and constructed projects from the Autobahn, Rockets, Jet Fighters, Advanced Koinstiger tank, and prewar Grand Prix cars. It could have been done
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the roadbed required for even that gauge would still have been less than that required for the standard two-lane road. But the weight of the trains envisaged mean that bridges would have to be super strong, curves and gradients minimal so lots of deep cuttings, and the whole system independent of anything else.
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