The train was originally named Führersonderzug "Amerika", purportedly because Hitler wanted to pay homage to the European conquest of the Americas.
[3] After Germany declared war on the United States, on December 11, 1941, the train was renamed to the Führersonderzug "Brandenburg".
[1][3][4] In late April 1945, Hitler ordered his aide and adjutant Julius Schaub to travel to Austria to destroy the Führersonderzug.
[5] The exact elements of the train are not known; documentation for each journey was destroyed after the trip to prevent it being used to plan an attack.
[6] Some details were revealed by the departure information "Bln 2009", when the train departed the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin on 23 June 1941, arriving at Wolfsschanze on 24 June 1941; The individual 10-16 components (locomotives and railway cars) in order were:[7][2] Otto Dietrich indicates that the Flakwagen never had to be used when Hitler was travelling.