Johann Culemeyer was a German engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

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Culemeyer was born in Hanover in 1883 and, in 1936, he became a director of the Deutsche Reichsbahn

Deutsche Reichsbahn

Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...

 and in that capacity was responsible for the construction, procurement and running of road vehicles, railway wagons and heavy transporters.

As early as 1931 he had designed a transportation system which was subsequently named after him, the "Culemeyer heavy trailer

Trailer (vehicle)

A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....

". This heavy road trailer enabled the transportation of goods wagons on the road. These trailers initially had four axles with 16 solid rubber wheels. From 1935, a six-axle, 24-wheel version was also produced.

Under the slogan

Slogan

A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...

 Die Eisenbahn ins Haus ('The Railway to Your Door') goods wagons were brought to factories and other places that did not have their own railway links from the nearest loading station. It was patented on 29 November 1931 under the name Fahrbares Anschlussgleis ('Rail Link on Wheels') and demonstrated to the public for the first time on 24 April 1931 at the Anhalter Bahnhof

Anhalter Bahnhof

The Anhalter Bahnhof is a former railway terminus in Berlin, Germany, approximately 600 metres southeast of Potsdamer Platz. Although the station was closed in 1952, the name lives on in the Berlin S-Bahn station of the same name.- Early days :...

 in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

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In the Deutsche Bundesbahn

Deutsche Bundesbahn

The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...

 the trailers were hauled by Kaelble tractors; the Deutsche Reichsbahn (GDR) in East Germany used Tatra tractors.

Whilst Culemeyer heavy trailers have been largely superseded on the roads by lorries, in some factories and firms they are still used occasionally.

On 4 November 1976 a private road belonging to the management of the former Reichsbahn authority (VdeR) in Berlin-Marienfelde (Tempelhof

Tempelhof

Tempelhof is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. It is now deserted and shows as a blank spot on maps of Berlin. Attempts are being made to save the still-existing...

) was named after Johann Culemeyer. The road is open to public traffic and is a cul-de-sac with several industrial sites along it, including the Berliner Werk der Converteam Deutschland that in 1984 moved there as the AEG-Stromrichterfabrik

AEG

Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....

. In the vicinity, there is also the Schwechtenstrasse, named after the architect of the Anhalter Bahnhof.

Culemeyer died in 1951 in Nordholz

Nordholz

Nordholz is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 25 km north of Bremerhaven, and 12 km southwest of Cuxhaven.Nordholz belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, established in 1180...

, Cuxhaven, in north Germany.