Herbert Scheffel

Herbert Scheffel is a German - South African railway engineer who developed the Scheffel bogies named after him with radially adjustable axles. Scheffel was head of the engineering department of the South African Railways for a long time .

Scheffel graduated from the Technical University of Darmstadt in 1953 with a degree in general mechanical engineering and emigrated to South Africa in 1955 . There he became head of the mechanical engineering design department of South African Railways in 1966, where he mainly dealt with the development of self- steering bogies with radially adjustable axles. A first version of the Scheffel bogie he developed, the main feature of which is the cross anchors , was built in 1972. From 1985 to 1988 Scheffel was Chief Mechanical Engineer for South African Railways. After his retirement, Scheffel founded the company Railway Dynamic Systems , which works with the rolling stock manufacturer DCD .

Herbert Scheffel received the Shell Prize for Industrial Design in 1975 and the gold medal of the Associated Scientific and Technical Societies of South Africa in 1976.

Scheffel lives in Randburg , a suburb of Johannesburg .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wheel / rail wear and tension in vehicles with rigid and self-steering bogies. ZEV Rail, 2014, accessed on November 15, 2015 . 
2. ↑ DCD's Jika Hydraulic Self-steering Bogie. DCD, October 24, 2013, accessed November 15, 2015 .  
3. ↑ SA's Sheffel Bogie keeps on rolling - Cape Argus. In: Independent Online. Retrieved November 15, 2015 .