9 steps to motorize a wind-up Rail Zeppelin

In 1931, a propeller-driven German railcar built by Franz Kruckenberg ran between Hamburg and Berlin. The Rail Zeppelin reached a speed of 142 mph, a record that stood for 20 years. The Rail Zeppelin, with a body similar to the Zeppelin airships, never went into production. Perhaps the idea of an open propeller operating so close to passenger platforms had a bad effect on investors.

parts of model train car — I designed my layout to showcase the fun and excitement of O gauge trains in as small a space as possible. One train that really attracts attention is the Rail Zeppelin. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Over the years, the German toy company Märklin made electric and windup models of the Rail Zeppelin.

More recently, the Schylling Co. made two tinplate versions, one decorated for Lionel Lines and the other with a chrome finish. The O gauge sheet-metal Rail Zeppelin is a windup toy that can run on three-rail track and sells for about $25.

I figured there must be a way to convert it to powered three-rail operation.

Looking around my local train store, I found an old Lionel diesel switcher that looked right for my conversion. The chassis of the 1970s-era Lionel DC switcher has a mounting bracket that makes it relatively easy to attach the Rail Zeppelin body. The locomotive I used was a no. 8769 Republic Steel switcher. Similar models are the nos. 8161, 8350, and 8670. I also added a separate motor to power the propeller.

I have a lot of fun running the Rail Zeppelin at various public events. It’s very popular with kids and gets long stares from adults.

Disassemble

disassembling a toy train — Gently bend back the tabs around the bottom edge of the Rail Zeppelin and separate the bottom plate from the body. At a point close to the wind up motor, cut the spring connecting the motor to the propeller. Remove the motor by bending its tabs back, then remove the front wheels and axle by bending the flaps that hold them. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Make two cuts

yellow metal base of toy train — With a metal-cutting wheel on a drill, cut the bottom plate near the sides, using the front outside corners of the rear wheel holes as starting points. Cut only as far as the tab slot behind the front wheel holes. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Make a third cut

cut metal frame — Cut across between the first two cuts, at the midpoint between the back of the rear wheel holes and the front end of the first cuts. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Make the chassis mounts

bent metal frame — Bend the metal at the ends of the horizontal cut, as shown in the photo. Bend the flaps back, just a bit past 90 degrees. Next, bend each flap at a point about 5/8 inch above the bottom plate, so that the flaps are pointing away from each other. The rear flap should then be bent back against itself so it can provide a mounting surface wide enough for the chassis bracket. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Tweak the alignment

frame with motor inside — Test-fit the switcher chassis to the bottom plate. You may have to re-bend the flaps to get the right alignment. Lift the bottom plate up with the chassis in place until the wheels just touch your work surface. Make sure the bottom plate will be horizontal when the chassis is supporting it, and ensure all four tabs on the chassis are resting on the horizontal sections of the bent flaps. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Attach the chassis

metal frame with engine — With the chassis resting in place, check wheel clearances and use a pencil to mark the location of the four bracket holes on the flaps. Then drill a small hole at each of the four locations. Attach the chassis with four 1/2-inch-long, no. 4 sheet-metal screws, with the motor toward the front end. This leaves room at the rear for the propeller motor. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Connect the rectifier

close up of motor and rectifier — Either a Radio Shack no. 276-1181 200V/6A or a 276-1173 400V/4A full-wave bridge rectifier will convert the AC track voltage to DC for the motors. Use a soldering iron to detach the wires leading to the motor. Attach the two wires, which come from the wheels and center-rail pickup, to the AC terminals of the rectifier. Solder new wire leads to the positive and negative motor terminals. With the chassis on powered track, test which way the motor leads should connect to the +/- terminals of the rectifier, so that the car moves forward instead of reverse. Solder the wires in place. Anchor the rectifier to the bottom plate with an adhesive pad. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Attach the propeller motor

I used a Lionel No. 600-8903-120 DC can motor with spur gear to power the propeller. Solder one end of a 12-10 AWG metal-butt splice connector to the spur gear so that the connector is parallel and centered to the motor shaft. Cut the propeller spring so a ½-inch length is available beyond the rear body section. Next, insert the end of the spring into the connector and use a crimping tool to attach it.
Use hook-and-loop fastener or adhesive pad to attach the motor to the Rail Zeppelin body ceiling so that the propeller is just shy of snug against the body.
Solder the wires from the propeller motor to the +/- terminals of the rectifier. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Reassemble

underside of toy train — When putting the Rail Zeppelin back together, make sure all wires are out of the way of moving parts. You may need to fold or cut the corners of the rear support flap to make clearance for the inside seam between body sections. Phillip K. Denslow photo

Rail Zeppelin toy train — At first, bend the tabs only slightly to hold the Rail Zeppelin together. Try running it to see if all is working well before completely bending the tabs into place. If the center of balance is good, then the vehicle should not bounce around very much. On an O-31 curve, the vehicle has about an inch of front and rear overhang, so watch out for any buildings and figures located nearby!

2 thoughts on “9 steps to motorize a wind-up Rail Zeppelin”

RON HIMEBACK says:

April 22, 2011 at 7:07 am

very interesting! has any other wind up or batter toy perhaps a bus ever been converted and motorized to run on an O-27 gauge train?

JOHN F METZGER says:

March 30, 2011 at 9:27 am

Would a front lead truck be needed for this projuct?

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