Speeding down the Reichsautobahnen
The Speed series of 50 cigarette cards issued by W.D. & H.O. Wills in 1938 provide a fascinating vignette of the Streamlined Age just before the world descended into total war. One card featured the high-speed coaches built by Mercedes-Benz to link cities on Germany’s showpiece autobahn network.
The streamlined diesel-powered vehicles seated 30 passengers and travelled at speeds of over 70 mph.
No other country could match Germany for high-speed road networks until well into the postwar years. The United States did not launch its Interstate Highway programme until 1956, the United Kingdom was even slower to follow suit with its motorways.
Ironically, after a postwar Germany began to recover and rebuild, scheduled high-speed coach services did not return until the 21st century. In common with other European Union member countries, the state-owned Deutsches Bundesbahn and its DB successor enjoyed protected status against road competition in both freight and passenger operations. The transport market only began to be freed up in the 21st century.
Speeding down the Reichsautobahnen
The Speed series of 50 cigarette cards issued by W.D. & H.O. Wills in 1938 provide a fascinating vignette of the Streamlined Age just before the world descended into total war. One card featured the high-speed coaches built by Mercedes-Benz to link cities on Germany’s showpiece autobahn network.
The streamlined diesel-powered vehicles seated 30 passengers and travelled at speeds of over 70 mph.
No other country could match Germany for high-speed road networks until well into the postwar years. The United States did not launch its Interstate Highway programme until 1956, the United Kingdom was even slower to follow suit with its motorways.
Ironically, after a postwar Germany began to recover and rebuild, scheduled high-speed coach services did not return until the 21st century. In common with other European Union member countries, the state-owned Deutsches Bundesbahn and its DB successor enjoyed protected status against road competition in both freight and passenger operations. The transport market only began to be freed up in the 21st century.