#2363
DRG Class SVT 877
Deutsches Reich ·built by Waggonbau Görlitz· from 1932· diesel multiple unit
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Bundesarchiv Bild 102-14151, "Fliegender Hamburger", DRG 778: Unknown author Unknown author· CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- 2. Drg svt 137 225: Appaloosa· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The DRG Class SVT 877 Hamburg Flyer – sometimes also Flying Hamburger or in German Fliegender Hamburger – was Germany's first fast diesel train, and is credited with establishing the fastest regular railway connection in the world in its time. Correctly named the Baureihe SVT 877 (later DB Baureihe VT 04 000 a/b), the diesel-electric powered train was used to carry passengers on the Berlin–Hamburg line (roughly 286 km or 178 mi). It entered service in 1933.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 94 years ago, in 1932.
- Top speed is 1.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 15 minutes.
- 41.9 m long: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 25 years (1932–1957).
multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.
spec sheet
- built
- 1932
- in service from
- 1932
- retired
- 1957
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1
- kind
- multiple unit
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- Deutsches Reich
- builders
- Waggonbau Görlitz, Waggon- und Maschinenbau Görlitz
- operators
- Deutsche Reichsbahn, Deutsche Bundesbahn
- top speed
- 160 km/h
- power
- —
- length
- 41.9 m
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q638825, Wikipedia: DRG Class SVT 877 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.