Based on a couple of discussions on here lately the issue of the rail system of the Germans being inadequate and the Autobahn being useless came up. Long ago back in college I remember reading something similar, so when I looked into it again, it seems the Autobahn was effectively a useless investment until quite a while after the war and mostly just made invading Germany easier for the Allies. Apparently the Reichsbahn, the rail system, as severely worn out due to years of neglect thanks to the Great Depression, Weimar instability, and even overuse in WW1. The benefits of the Autobahn were mostly political it seems, stimulating the concrete industry, which helped Nazi donors, used a lot of unemployed labor, and made the career of Fritz Todt, while at the same time being a great photo-op for the Nazis who looked like the wave of the future, despite Hitler being against the Autobahn until shortly before deciding to invest in it. Meanwhile the rail system was left high and dry, a problem that would be acutely felt during the war and require Germany to end up manufacturing more locomotives than the major Allied powers combined to make up for losses and their pre-war deficits.
So what if the Nazis opted for practical instead of PR investments? What if the Reichsbahn got nearly all the Autobahn money to rebuild itself starting in 1933? How would that change the politics of Nazi Germany early on, given that Fritz Todt won't have his career made by the Autobahn project (the civilian rail system would be able to run it's own refurbishment), there wouldn't be nearly as great a PR opportunity for Hitler, as repairs/upgrades/new trains aren't as 'sexy' as a new highway system, and the concrete industry wouldn't get it's stimulus and cheap unemployed less skilled labor wouldn't find nearly as many jobs in Reichbahn contracting than with specifically Nazi led road construction jobs? Materially what would it mean to have a fully functional rail system for the Nazis down the road once war starts?