Louis Mékarski

Mékarski compressed air tram system in Paris, around 1900

Louis Mékarski ( Polish Ludwik Mękarski ) (* 1843 in Clermont-Ferrand ,, France ; † 1923 ) was a French designer of Polish descent.

In 1870 Ludwik Mékarski designed a pneumatic drive for trams . In 1876 Mékarski received the concession to operate a tram in Nantes , which began operating in 1879. Trams based on the Mękarski principle were also in service in the cities of London (1883) , Bern (1890), Vichy (1895), Aix-les-Bains (1896), La Rochelle (1899) and Saint-Quentin (1901).

Mékarski trams in Paris

The first tram in Paris to operate according to the Mékarski system began regular service in September 1894. Initially, 21 cars were used. From 1900 8 more lines were used with Mékarski railways, which mostly replaced horse-drawn trams. But soon they were supplanted by the electric trams. The last Mékarski vehicles in Paris were withdrawn in August 1914.

In memory of Mékarski

Today Rue Louis Mékarski in Nantes is named after him .

photos

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  Preserved Mékarski tram with pneumatic drive from Nantes

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  Historical photo of Mékarski trams

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  Illustration of a Mékarski tram. In the front right the air chamber

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  Operation of a Mékarski tram in Bern

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archives Nantes - Le Tramway Nantais, page 19 (French; PDF, 10.1 MB)
2. ↑ ^{a b} wynalazki.pl (Polish) ( Memento from May 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Mékarski trams in Nantes (English)
4. ↑ The Bern compressed air tram. In: Airpower. Retrieved January 9, 2020 . 
5. ↑ Compressed-Air Propulsion (English)
6. ↑ http://www.tramwayinfo.com/Tramframe.htm?http://www.tramwayinfo.com/tramways/Articles/Compair8.htm Mékarski-Bahnen in Paris (English) accessed on May 18, 2014

Web links

Commons : Louis Mékarski  - collection of images, videos and audio files