Henschel-Damphlastwagen

[Hans Rinsma]

Hi guys, I bought some time ago a serie Mercedes-Benz photos from a winter drive in Germany.
One of the cars in the Winterprüfungsfahrt was this Henschel, a steamtruck from the Deutschen Reichsbahn.
The Dampflastwagen with the licence number DR 55004 was ready to drive after
3 min. and 10 sec.
First start try-out in 3 min. and 40 sec. , there was no gearbox , so the truck was fast, after 13 sec. the car was on topspeed from 50 km/h.

I think it was a interesting vehicle Hans

[Theodor]

That's a very interesting machine indeed!

[Rick Research]

What was the fuel used to produce the steam? What kept the fuel supply going long enough to run for X distance?

Is that "air conditioning unit" behind the trolley-style cab the steam box?

[Hans Rinsma]

Henschel-dampflastwagen

Hi Rick, thanks for your Reply on my thread about this interesting vehicle.

Here you see the side of the lorry, the steam box is indeed behind the cab.
On the photo in the middle you see the steam box without the metall unit.
The picture left under is the cabin on the inside.

What was the fuel used to produce the steam? What kept the fuel supply going long enough to run for X distance?

Is that "air conditioning unit" behind the trolley-style cab the steam box?

[Hans Rinsma]

Henschel - dampflastwagen

The car was running on a German browncoal ( in germany they called this: Braunkohlenteeröldestillat ) the car used 60-75 Litre on the 100 KM/h.
The steambox was mounted on a groundplate, so it was easy to built out the complete steambox .
On the drawing you see the working of the steambox.

What was the fuel used to produce the steam? What kept the fuel supply going long enough to run for X distance?

Is that "air conditioning unit" behind the trolley-style cab the steam box?

[Hans Rinsma]

Henschel dampflastwagen

Here a photo of the Henschel Dampflastwagen called also Dampfkraft-lastwagen
on the side, I hope I make some things clear, regards Hans

[Rick Research]

Aside from the obvious "environmental issues," I wonder how this would work these days as a gasoline alternative, for mileage and cost?

Glad to see it ran on coal distillate liquid fuel and did not require a fireman shoveling lumps into an open flame, like on a locomotive!!!

[Henschel]

these trucks were built as research project by Henschel with a boiler design by the Doble brothers, Warren Doble worked at Henschel from 1932 until 1934. the project was shelved due to the increased price of the fuel.
around 18 vehicles were built between 1933 and 1935, 5 busses and 13 trucks, 10 of which worked at the Kassel depot of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

I'm currently working on a publication regarding this project and very interested in more details regarding the Winterprufungsfahrt. my sources do mention it but with little detail.
any other information regarding this project is greatly appreciated, I'm willing to trade sources on this project and other info regarding Henschel vehicles in general.

[SIS 5]

Hi,

do You know the chapter in the book "Alle Lastwagen from Henschel 1925 bis 1967" by Karl-Heinz Hesse & Henning A. Bauer, page 352 to 355 ?

Regards

Bert

[Henschel]

Hi,

do You know the chapter in the book "Alle Lastwagen from Henschel 1925 bis 1967" by Karl-Heinz Hesse & Henning A. Bauer, page 352 to 355 ?

Regards

Bert

Hi Bert,
thank you for your response, I'm very familiar with this book. i bought it shortly after it came out in 1996. This book started my interest in this topic and over the years i bought more books regarding the topic Henschel where they touched shortly on the steam lorry topic.

In the last six months I did more in depth research in this particular topic where writing a book the ultimate goals is, since there is a lot of information out there when you start digging for it and no-one has written a book on it, as far as i know.

regards,
Pieter

[Henschel]

Since a few months i am researching Henschel steam trucks, this is a project which took place in the 1930’s where Henschel of Kassel worked with Warren Doble of Doble Steam Motors from the US.
In this research i have found many very useful sources and found answers to a few questions, but more questions have arisen.
The highlights up until now are: obtaining a copy of BIOS final report 1748 German Development of steam-driven Road Vehicles and Railcars, this is a report of research done by the English forces in 1946 regarding the development of steam-driven road vehicles in Germany in the years prior and during the Second World War.
Furthermore I have gained access to a private archive regarding the Doble Steam Motors company.
Also the visit to the archive of the Deutsches TechnikMuseum in Berlin was very successful, I found there many relevant articles in issues of Zeitung Verein Deutsche Ingenieure and other german periodicals.
I would like to invite you to visit my website, http://www.hanomag-henschel.net/hens...trucks-busses/ to have a look at a short description of the project, a list of all the known vehicles which were involved, a list of sources i have used and a list of sources i’m looking for.