Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe
Encyclopedia
The Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe ('Karlsruhe Engineering Works') was a locomotive and railway wagon manufacturer in the early days of the German railways. It was based at Karlsruhe
in what is now the state of Baden-Württemberg
in southwestern Germany
.
The origins of the firm go back to an engineering works founded in Karlsruhe in 1837 by Emil Kessler
and Theodor Martiensen. In 1842, the first steam locomotive
, Badenia, was delivered to the Baden state railways. After a financial crisis resulting from the collapse of the bank funding the company, Kessler's engineering works also got into economic difficulties. In 1852 the Maschinenbaugesellschaft Carlsruhe was founded, Emil Kessler left the company and the crisis was overcome.
The Maschinenbaugesellschaft Karlsruhe always belonged to the ranks of those smaller steam locomotive manufacturers that mostly built locomotives under licence which had been designed by other firms. Their major customers were the Baden state railways and, initially, also the Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, the Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft and the Royal Hanoverian State Railways
.
After a period when the factory was working to full capacity during the course of the First World War, there followed a slump in sales in 1925, because the Deutsche Reichsbahn
ordered virtually no more new steam locomotives for several years. Although they produced the first batch of seven DRG Class 86
standard steam locomotives (Einheitsdampflokomotiven) for the Reichsbahn in 1928, that same year locomotive production at the Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe had to be ceased. Attempts to save the firm by taking on the construction of diesel locomotive
s were unsuccessful and it went into bankruptcy in 1929. Between 1842 and 1928 a total of 2,370 locomotives had been built in Karlsruhe.
The factory for the engineering works was initially located south of Karlsruhe's city centre at Karlstor. In 1902 it was transferred to a new site at Karlsruhe's western station (Westbahnhof) in Grünwinkel.
During the first 30 years of its existence, a number of notable engineers worked for the Karlsruhe locomotive builders, including Emil Kessler
, Niklaus Riggenbach
, Carl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler
and Wilhelm Maybach
.
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
in what is now the state of Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
in southwestern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The origins of the firm go back to an engineering works founded in Karlsruhe in 1837 by Emil Kessler
Emil Kessler
Emil Julius Carl Kessler was a German businessman and founder of the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen ....
and Theodor Martiensen. In 1842, the first steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
, Badenia, was delivered to the Baden state railways. After a financial crisis resulting from the collapse of the bank funding the company, Kessler's engineering works also got into economic difficulties. In 1852 the Maschinenbaugesellschaft Carlsruhe was founded, Emil Kessler left the company and the crisis was overcome.
The Maschinenbaugesellschaft Karlsruhe always belonged to the ranks of those smaller steam locomotive manufacturers that mostly built locomotives under licence which had been designed by other firms. Their major customers were the Baden state railways and, initially, also the Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, the Köln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft and the Royal Hanoverian State Railways
Royal Hanoverian State Railways
The Royal Hanoverian State Railways existed from 1843 until the annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866...
.
After a period when the factory was working to full capacity during the course of the First World War, there followed a slump in sales in 1925, because the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft
The Deutsche Reichsbahn – was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I....
ordered virtually no more new steam locomotives for several years. Although they produced the first batch of seven DRG Class 86
DRG Class 86
The DRG Class 86 was a standard goods train tank locomotive with the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. It was intended for duties on branch lines and was delivered by almost all the locomotive building firms working for the Reichsbahn...
standard steam locomotives (Einheitsdampflokomotiven) for the Reichsbahn in 1928, that same year locomotive production at the Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe had to be ceased. Attempts to save the firm by taking on the construction of diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s were unsuccessful and it went into bankruptcy in 1929. Between 1842 and 1928 a total of 2,370 locomotives had been built in Karlsruhe.
The factory for the engineering works was initially located south of Karlsruhe's city centre at Karlstor. In 1902 it was transferred to a new site at Karlsruhe's western station (Westbahnhof) in Grünwinkel.
During the first 30 years of its existence, a number of notable engineers worked for the Karlsruhe locomotive builders, including Emil Kessler
Emil Kessler
Emil Julius Carl Kessler was a German businessman and founder of the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen ....
, Niklaus Riggenbach
Niklaus Riggenbach
Niklaus Riggenbach was the inventor of the Riggenbach rack system and the counter-pressure brake. He was also an engineer and locomotive builder....
, Carl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler was an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf , in what is now Germany. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development...
and Wilhelm Maybach
Wilhelm Maybach
Wilhelm Maybach was an early German engine designer and industrialist. During the 1890s he was hailed in France, then the world centre for car production, as the "King of constructors"....
.
Literature
- Werner Willhaus, Die Geschichte der Maschinenbaugesellschaft Karlsruhe und ihrer Vorgänger. EK-Verlag Freiburg, 2005. ISBN 3-88255-837-7
External links
- There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany