Many railways across Europe were built to satisfy military ambition. In the hinterland of Berlin there is a railway line which was constructed quite explicitly as a military plaything. In the Nazi period, the very existence of this railway influenced the preferred location for German experiments in missile and nuclear technologies.
article summary —
That part of southern Brandenburg described in the preceding feature includes a remarkable railway. The area is bisected by a former dedicated military railway, part of a 70-km line which was constructed between 1875 and 1897. The Königliche Militär-Eisenbahn or KME (Royal Military Railway) was a plaything of the Prussian military, but also an important proving ground for vehicle prototypes. A rail world-speed record was set on the KME in 1903.
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Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries manage hidden europe, a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe 
magazine. Nicky and Susanne are dedicated slow travellers. They delight in discovering the exotic in the everyday.
