The "Scharnhorst"-class ships used the same powerplant as in the preceding : three 3-cylinder triple expansion engines. Each engine drove a single propeller; the center shaft on "Scharnhorst" was in diameter while the outer two were wide. "Gneisenau"s screws were slightly smaller, at wide on the center shaft and on the outer pair. The triple expansion engines were supplied with steam by 18 coal-fired marine-type boilers with 36 fire boxes. The engines were designed to provide , though on trials they achieved higher figures—28,782 ihp for "Scharnhorst" and 30,396 ihp for "Gneisenau". The ships were rated at a top speed of , though on trials "Scharnhorst" steamed at a maximum of , while "Gneisenau" ran at . The vessels carried of coal normally, though they were capable of storing up to of coal. This provided a maximum range of at a cruising speed of . The ships had a single rudder. The vessels' electrical plant consisted of four turbo-generators that delivered 260 kilowatts at 110 volts.