Krause Invalid Carriages

'At the Leipzig Fair in autumn 1954 we discovered the Krause mobile. Many interested parties crowded around this exhibit and wanted to know a lot about this "tripod". Today we can present this vehicle to you.

The manufacturer, Louis Krause, Leipzig N 22, Elsbethstr. 7 /12 gave us some explanations on this. This three-wheeler was specially developed for the disabled but can also be used as a small car. It offers spacious space for two people and has a luggage compartment separate from the passenger cabin. Particularly wide doors covering the entire cabin, with good seat depth, allow unhindered entry and exit even with stiff legs.

Some important data: Engine: IFA RT 125/1, 125 ccm engine with cooling fan (RT 125-M 1), 5 hp, with 3-speed gearbox, hand kick starter which can be operated comfortably from the driver's seat.

• Brakes: Amply dimensioned inner shoe brakes with automatic compensation, lockable hand brake.
• Tyres: 3.50-12, interchangeable wheels and individually spring-loaded.
• Steering: Rotatable steering column (car-like) with special U-shaped handlebars.
• Dimensions: length 2400mm, width 1100mm, height 1400mm.
• Construction: central tube frame, body mostly made of light metal.
• Controls: clutch and brake pedal combined in such a way that operation is possible individually or simultaneously with just one foot.
• Twist grip on handlebar. Electric windscreen wipers and signal horn, direction indicators, horn and headlights - dimming can be conveniently operated from the handlebars, electric idle indicator."

Translated from: https://gdrfahrzeuge.blogspot.com/2023/06/der-deutsche-strassen-verkehr-heft-1.htmlspot.com/2023/04/der-deutsche-strassen-verkehr-january.html

Like Fritz Fend, the designer of the Messerschitt KR in West Germany, Louis Krause saw there was a market for motorized invalid carriages for the many disabled veterans of the Second World War. Using the ubiquitous IFA RT125cc motor as its engine, Krause developed a series of vehicles out of various spare motorcycle and bicycle parts. The fully enclosed invalid carriage that appeared on the cover of Der Deutsche Strassen Verkehr in January 1955 did not enter production, but a simplified single seat carriage, the Piccolo-Trumpf did.

The body of the Piccolo-Trumpf comprised the front end of the IWL Pitty scooter, which had been replaced by the more modern IWL Weisel in 1956, Krause was able to secure a stockpile of surplus Pitty front-shields, which were then mounted on a tube frame chassis. A simple, rotatable seat was fitted to the rear of the chassis and the engine was mounted on the left hand side of the carrige. Hand starter and hand controls were fitted to the motorcycle handlebars. As Fend had found, desperation for motorized transport meant that a vehicle designed for invalids also found an able bodied market.

Krause display at the Leipzig Messe.

The rather ramshackle and archaic looking Piccolo-Trumpf was replaced in the 1960s by the more modern Simson Duo. As indicated by the name, this vehicle was constructed from Simson motorcycle parts. The driving body comprised two Simson Kr1 or Kr2 moped bodies, joined together with a tube frame chassis. The headlamp/steering column was a standardized component from MZ, which was also used by Simson in its later mopeds. The Duo featured a two-seater bench seat, making it a more effective personal vehicle than the Piccolo-Trumpf.

For more info in German: http://www.simsonfreundeonline.de/picduo.html