Richard von Helmholtz

Richard Wilhelm Ferdinand von Helmholtz (born September 28, 1852 in Königsberg , † September 10, 1934 in Munich ) was a German engineer and designer of steam locomotives .

Life

Richard von Helmholtz was the son of the physicist Hermann von Helmholtz and his first wife Olga, geb. from Velten. The family followed his father's calling in 1855 to Bonn and 1858 to Heidelberg, where Richard grew up and attended grammar school. After attending the Polytechnic in Stuttgart and an internship with Borsig in Berlin, he studied mechanical engineering at the TH Munich , among others with Johann Bauschinger and Carl von Linde .

The by v. Helmholtz designed Bavarian Pt 2/3, later series 70.0

After completing his studies, he began working as a designer at the Krauss locomotive factory in Munich in 1876 , where he soon rose to head the design offices. In this position he largely determined the fortunes of the company for decades, especially after Georg Krauss withdrew from the management in 1885, until his retirement in 1918. In the course of his activity he dealt with all components of the steam locomotive, such as improvements and simplification of the Heusinger control , but also with less conspicuous parts such as the development of a new type of sand spreader .

In 1887 he conducted his pioneering scientific study of the behavior of locomotives in curves and the wear and tear of wheels and rails . The practical result of this theoretical work was the construction of the Krauss-Helmholtz steering frame in 1888 , which was used in many locomotives with running axles - not just steam locomotives. The Austrian designer Karl Gölsdorf drew further conclusions from the investigations by Helmholtz and developed the laterally movable coupling axle , the so-called Gölsdorf axle , which became the standard in locomotive construction.

For example, the following locomotive types were designed and built at Krauss under von Helmholtz:

• the Bavarian D VIII
• the Bavarian AA I , a variant of the B XI built only in one copy with a preload axle
• the Bavarian D XII (Pt2 / 5) and the almost identical Palatine P2.II, a machine built with a total of 174 units without a fixed wheelbase
• the Palatinate P 5
• the Bavarian Pt 2/3

Quite a few of the Helmholtz locomotives have proven themselves well and have been in operation for over 50 years. With such a long innovative activity, however, it was inevitable that some concepts subsequently turned out to be mistaken. This is what happened, for example, with the Palatine P 3.II , an express train locomotive with a preload axle to improve the starting behavior, built in 1900 and shown at the World Exhibition in Paris . The machine did not prove itself, as early as 1902 the preload axle was removed and the machine converted into a normal 2'B1 'locomotive.

During his work at Krauss, von Helmholtz published numerous articles on the history of the development of locomotives, mainly in Die Lokomotive , a specialist journal for railway technology published in Vienna. After his retirement he expanded this writing activity. Based on his own archive and the Krauss library, which he also looked after, and benefited from an excellent memory into old age, he dealt with the historical development of steam locomotives, partly as an author and partly as an editor.

Works

• Richard von Helmholtz, Wilhelm Staby: The development of the locomotive in the area of ​​the Association of German Railway Administrations . Oldenbourg, Munich and Berlin 1930. (Reprint: Callwey, Munich 1981. ISBN 3-7667-0542-3 )
• Richard von Helmholtz: The historic locomotives of the Baden State Railways . Reichsbahndirektion Karlsruhe, 1936. (Reprint: German Society for Railway History, 1982, ISBN 3-921700-36-1 )

literature

• Günter Metzeltin: The locomotive - lexicon of its inventors, designers, leaders a. Sponsor . German Society for Railway History, Karlsruhe 1971
• Karl-Ernst Maedel , Alfred B. Gottwaldt : German steam locomotives - The history of development . Transpress, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-344-70912-7
• Andreas Knipping : The class 70. The Bavarian tank locomotive for light trains and its sister in Baden . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 1998, ISBN 388255-170-4
• Franz Werner: Hermann Helmholtz 'Heidelberg Years (1858-1871) . Special publications of the Heidelberg City Archives, Vol. 8. With 52 illustrations. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1997, ISBN 3-540-62602-6
• Erhard Born:  Helmholtz, Richard von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , p. 501 f. ( Digitized version ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ So in: Erhard Born:  Helmholtz, Richard von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , p. 501 f. ( Digitized version ) .; according to other sources between 1873 and 1881.
2. ↑ In Die Lokomotive 1927, No. 11, a tribute to Helmholtz appeared on the front page for his 75th birthday. on-line

Web links

• Literature by and about Richard von Helmholtz in the catalog of the German National Library