Franz Keller (engineer)

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Franz Keller, portrait shot by court photographer Theodor Schuhmann

Franz Keller (born July 2, 1807 in Gerlachsheim ; † June 18, 1870 ) was a German civil engineer , Baden construction clerk and university professor who played a key role in building the Baden railway network.

Life

Keller's father was a senior bailiff in Gerlachsheim. After studying at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic and Vienna Polytechnic , he became a teacher at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic in 1832, succeeding Johann Gottfried Tulla . At the same time he worked as a building officer in the Grand-Ducal Baden Directorate of Water and Road Construction in Karlsruhe.

From 1848 to 1861, Keller was the “board member and first teacher” of the Polytechnic and at the same time senior building officer in the supreme building authority. This dual position meant that he could immediately use his practical experience for teaching and, on the other hand, use his scientific work to solve practical problems. Only in the summer months, during the main construction period, could he not take care of the lessons intensively enough, according to contemporary sources.

plant

In 1838 the Grand Duchy of Baden decided to build a railway from Mannheim to Basel, the Badische Hauptbahn . In this context, there was an intensive discussion as to whether the inexperienced engineers from Baden could do this or whether experienced engineers from Great Britain or Belgium should be involved. Finally, in 1838, the Grand Ducal Government sent three high-ranking Baden engineers to Great Britain and Belgium, where they should familiarize themselves with railway construction ; the youngest member of the group was Franz Keller. His extensive report, which he submitted on behalf of this technical commission, became the basis of the Baden railway network.

Cast iron bridge in Staufen im Breisgau

After a very short time, namely in 1838, construction of the new railway line could begin. Only engineers from Baden were used. In the early years of railway construction in Baden, Keller became one of the most important and influential engineers, on whose considerations the route of the Baden main line was based. He became head of the entire superstructure of the railways and station systems as well as all bridges. He also took on the same function on the other railway lines of the Odenwaldbahn , the Baden part of the Main-Neckar Railway and the Taubertal Railway , which runs through his original home. In addition, the Neckar Bridge Ladenburg , the Neckar Bridge near Neckarelz , the Rhine Bridge Kehl and the Rhine Bridge Mannheim were built according to his designs .

Franz Keller was one of the pioneers in the construction of iron bridges. It turned out, however, that the material he had chosen, the easily available and relatively inexpensive cast iron , was hardly suitable for the dynamic loads of rail traffic. On the route of the Baden main line, the bridges he designed were therefore soon replaced by bridges made from wrought iron, which was then also more readily available due to the progressive development of iron smelting . Only remnants of the structures designed by Keller can still be seen: girders of his Kinzigbrücke near Offenburg, which collapsed due to a pillar being washed under, are in the Technoseum , two main girders of his Elzbrücke near Hecklingen still carry the (former) road bridge in Staufen im Breisgau .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Baden biographies (see literature )
  2. ↑ Martin Trautz, Friedmar Voormann: The construction of iron bridges in southwest Germany from 1844 to 1889. With wood to iron (Part 1). In: Stahlbau , issue 1/2012, p. 58. ( online )
  3. ↑ Gerd Schwartz: The cast iron bridge from Staufen in Breisgau. Staufen 2014, p. 40 f. and pp. 67-74.
personal data
SURNAME Keller, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German civil engineer, Baden construction official and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1807
PLACE OF BIRTH Gerlachsheim
DATE OF DEATH June 18, 1870