Railway hearse, "Altona 23", 1:5 scale model Railway hearse, Side view 3 (on the left)

Around the 1900s, corpses could only be transported over long distances by rail. For this purpose, the Berlin based "German Waggon-Leihanstalt (leasing company)" purchased five specially designed coaches between 1904 and 1906. Each coach could carry three coffins. A 1st and 2nd class compartment was available to accommodate the respective accompanying persons. Due to a lack of use, the service was soon discontinued and the coaches were converted into conventional passenger coaches between 1911 and 1914. The model of the last of the reconditioned coaches, the "Altona 23", comes from the Hamburg model making company "Gebr. Vielhaven". In 1906 the Uerdingen Coach Factory donated the model to the Berlin Transport and Building Museum.

Side view from the left