The Gustav Zeuner chain steamer was built in 1894 as the first chain tow steamer of the second generation in the Übigau shipyard near Dresden. The ship is the only almost completely preserved relic of chain shipping on the Elbe. The ship was in service on the Elbe from 1895 to 1931 and is now a museum ship in the Magdeburg trading port. It is named after the German engineer Gustav Zeuner.
The iron and fully riveted chain steamer was built in Übigau from 1894 to 1895 [1] and put into service there in 1895. The second generation ship was equipped with a groundbreaking technical innovation, the “Bellingrath’s chain gripper wheel” with a diameter of 2320 mm. Far ahead of its time, it also had two water jet turbines, connected to the main engine via detachable couplings to improve maneuverability while driving on the chain and for problem-free and independent driving without a chain. These water jet turbines, an invention of Gustav Zeuner, who gave the ship its name, can be seen as the preliminary stage of modern water jet propulsion. One of the most important items of equipment was the towing gear with two tow ropes and two steam winches. A stable tow hook as well as an anchor and hand anchor winches at the bow and stern were also part of a smooth towing operation. Dragons with four flukes, which were common in inland navigation at the time, were used as anchors. After 1918 the hand wheel was replaced by chain drums.