Karl Gölsdorf
Karl Gölsdorf (born June 8, 1861 in Vienna , † March 18, 1916 at Wolfsbergkogel am Semmering ) was an Austrian engineer and locomotive designer.
Life
As a schoolboy, Karl Gölsdorf was introduced to locomotive design by his father Louis Adolf Gölsdorf , who was the machinery director of the kuk Südbahn . He attended the Technical University in Vienna from 1880 to 1884 and graduated with distinction. In 1885 he joined the Wiener Maschinenfabrik as a design engineer. In 1889 he became assembly manager in locomotive production there. On November 1, 1891, he joined the design office of the Austrian State Railways as an engineer adjunct , and his creative work began. In 1893 he was an engineer together with Hermann von Littrow in Bureau 3 / a (Constructions-Bureau) of the subdivision for train transport and workshop service and Lake Constance shipping in the K. k. General-Direction of the Austrian State Railways employed from January 1st, 1993 with service class VIII .
In 1893 he invented a powerful start-up device for composite steam locomotives , as the devices previously used in Austria, with its sometimes difficult routes, did not allow a train to start reliably enough. He was also to thank for the practical proof that the high boiler position in steam locomotives did not have any disadvantages. A study trip to England in 1899 was also to have a decisive influence on the design language of his constructions.
Gölsdorf became known in particular for his invention of the laterally movable coupling axles for steam locomotives , the so-called Gölsdorf axle . The first machine to be equipped with this was a four-way coupled steam locomotive in 1897, the class 170 . Of this heavy locomotive, which was one of the most built of its time, over 800 pieces were produced. The 180 series with five coupled axles, of which the first, third and fifth were mounted laterally movable in the frame, proved that in the vast majority of cases, locomotives with multi-part frames and complicated joint designs were superfluous. From then on, this design was to become the standard for heavy freight locomotives.
Karl Gölsdorf was the chief designer of the kk Österreichische Staatsbahnen (kkStB) from 1893 to 1916 and developed 25 basic types (in 47 variants) of remarkable steam locomotives in his professional career. His designs include other such well-known types as the row 30 of the Vienna metropolitan railway , the Atlantics the series 108 and 310 . Of remarkable special designs he created cog railway locomotives series 269 of Erzbergbahn and the narrow- Yv for Ybbstalbahn .
Karl Gölsdorf always used the technical possibilities of the time. His class 310 from 1911, a triple-coupled express train locomotive with a four-cylinder superheated steam compound engine, is considered to be one of the most beautiful of this era and, since the reactivation of the 310.23 in 1986, has been the most famous creation of the designer.
Because of his work he became in 1910 from the Technical University of Hannover Dr.-Ing. e. H. appointed. In 1913 he was appointed head of section in the Ministry of Railways. Karl Gölsdorf was an active member of the Association of German Railway Administrations. He contributed his expertise as co-editor of the contemporary railway technology magazine . His photo collection, which is now in the possession of the Deutsches Museum , achieved particular fame in this context .
Karl Gölsdorf died unexpectedly during a stay on Semmering from an acute neck problem and not, as the contemporary media incorrectly announced, from the consequences of an accident with a locomotive. Gölsdorf was buried in an honorary grave at Hietzinger Friedhof (group 31, number 23).
Quotes
Far beyond the limits of the respective knowledge and the respective knowledge, however, lie - only veiled to the eye of the imagination - the limits of what can be achieved in the field of technology. (1898)
The formulation is ascribed to Gölsdorf: You cannot save a ton of weight on a locomotive - but you can save a kilo in a thousand places.
Honors
In 1919, Gölsdorfgasse in Vienna's Innere Stadt (1st district) was named after the designer.
On March 22, 2011, Austrian Post issued a special stamp worth EUR 0.65 for its 150th birthday .
literature
- Gölsdorf Karl. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 2, Publishing House of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1959, p. 16 f. (Direct links on p. 16 , p. 17 ).
- Josef Dultinger : Life and work of great personalities in Austrian railway history . Wort und Welt Verlag, Thaur / Tirol 1993, ISBN 3-85373-164-3 .
- Adolf Hofbauer: More than 6 decades after Gölsdorf's death - review of his work in steam locomotive construction with special consideration of the typification and his last locomotive construction. In: Lok Magazin , Issue 87, November / December 1977, pp. 483-486, Issue 88, January / February 1978, pp. 56-60 and Issue 89, March / April 1978, pp. 142-150.
- Hans Steffan: Dr. Ing.hc Karl Gölsdorf †. In: Die Lokomotive , year 1916, p. 69 ff. (Online at ANNO )
- Gregor Gatscher-Riedl: Perchtoldsdorf as the scene of European railway history. The summer residence of the ingenious locomotive designers Gölsdorf. In: Local history supplement [to the official gazette of the district authority Mödling], Volume 46, F. 4, (Mödling December 5, 2011), p. 4f.
- Paul Mechtler: Gölsdorf, Karl. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, ISBN 3-428-00187-7 , p. 517 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Richard Spiro: The Gölsdorf collection in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The locomotive, December 1926, Vienna 1926, pp. 227–229 ( [1] ).
Web links
- Literature by and about Karl Gölsdorf in the catalog of the German National Library
- Entry on Karl Gölsdorf in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
- 2011: - Karl Gölsdorf - his birthday is 150 years old on Bahnportal
Individual evidence
- ^ Self-published by KK Österreichische Staatsbahnen: Almanac for the personnel of the KK Österreichische Staatsbahnen per 1893 . Vienna, page 222
- ^ Honorary grave Gölsdorf Friedhof Hietzing , accessed on December 6, 2011.
- ↑ Entry on Karl Gölsdorf in the Austria Forum (as a stamp illustration)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gölsdorf, Karl |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian engineer and locomotive designer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 8, 1861 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 18, 1916 |
| Place of death | Semmering (Lower Austria) |