Volkswagen: the unknown story of the Volkswagen train-wheeled car

SI’m for truck lovers Volkswagen They will be asked about Cost-20, The practical total will definitely not know what they are talking about. In fact, this mixture of one Volkswagen T1 (One is known as Polly) and Locomotive It is so unusual that even the most senior employees of Volkswagen commercial vehicles have not yet driven it.

The history of this Volkswagen that moves on the curious rally: in 1954 The Deutsche bundesbahn (German Federal Railways) Depa Purchase of a series of vehicles To perform maintenance work on Value-Added Services, signals and audit inspection and repair tasks. They could have developed or commissioned the development of an entire vehicle , but they understood that pruning The use of the body of T1 Together with Railway structure, Which will allow them to save costs.

15 units

The work was carried out by two companies, and Martin bilhac And the Wagon-und machenenbau GmbH donaworth, Who separately engaged in manually assembling a small number of units to complete a total fleet of 15 copies.

The engine was the same as the truck, a 1.2 L with a broken four-cylinder Which delivered 28 biography, And that in both 2.2 tons That cost – 20 pounds I managed to reach 70 km / h.

Outside, the headlights and pilots of the truck were covered for not complying with railway regulations and instead other lights were installed Two white lights in front and one red light In the back.

Steel wheels

The engine was installed on a welded steel structure , which was also installed on some 550mm steel wheels Of diameter with rubber elements between the rim and the wheel core to mitigate noise (can also be equipped with road tires). As for the brakes, they were from Hydraulic shoes, With the addition of a handbrake that operates on two wheels.

The interior consists of a row of seats for Two passengers in front, Another one in the middle for Three passengers And the third that they can travel Two more, But it can be folded in case it is necessary to make some kind of transfer.

The most curious thing about him is that Lack of steering wheel, Because it was not necessary. What was retained from the asphalt model was traditionally Three pedals and gear lever, With four gears and ATRs in March.

The ability to turn around

However, the chlf-20 does not need to retreat from the road traveled backwards , because the creators have developed a wonderful system that allows the truck to It will rotate 180 degrees And I can start the journey again by looking straight ahead.

The system consists of Platform descents Arrive at Rallis to consolidate and Hydraulic lifting device So the 2.2 tons of the truck. Once this process is completed by the corresponding controls, the simple power of A lonely man It was enough to make Rotate 180 degrees The truck is held by hand while the wheels float on the rails, after which the car is lowered again.

The model you see is destined to Railway depot From plattling / Bavaria, in Germany, then they work in Maintenance warehouse From the platling seals. He retired from service in OS 70 And then he is guarded in the Regine of Palatinate (South-West Germany), even in 1988 It was purchased by a German railway collector.

Now, the model that the original brochure describes as ” a small utobus or a railway truck with a body of Attractive, aerodynamic and properly equipped Volkswagen combi van“, Belongs to the Volkswagen brand cars and is one of its most unusual models.