Wilhelm Engerth
Encyclopedia
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n architect and engineer, known for being the designer of the first practical mountain locomotive. For his services he was elevated in 1875 to the baronetcy.
Life and work
Wilhelm Engerth was born on 26 May 1814 at PleßPszczyna
Pszczyna is a town in southern Poland with 26,827 inhabitants within the immediate gmina rising to 50,121 inhabitants in the powiat, which includes the town of Pszczyna, itself, Brzeźce , Czarków , Ćwiklice , Jankowice , Łąka , Piasek , Poręba , Rudołtowice , Studzionka , Studzienice , Wisła...
in Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
(present-day Pszczyna
Pszczyna
Pszczyna is a town in southern Poland with 26,827 inhabitants within the immediate gmina rising to 50,121 inhabitants in the powiat, which includes the town of Pszczyna, itself, Brzeźce , Czarków , Ćwiklice , Jankowice , Łąka , Piasek , Poręba , Rudołtowice , Studzionka , Studzienice , Wisła...
, Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centering on the historic region known as Upper Silesia...
). From 1834 Engerth studied at Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
- firstly architecture and then mechanical engineering - and then went to Galicia as an architect, where he was soon entrusted with a lot of work. He returned to Vienna in order to devote himself to engineering, became a teacher of mechanics at the Polytechnikum, then professor of descriptive geometry and, in 1844, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of mechanics and engineering principles at the Joanneum
FH Joanneum
FH Joanneum is one of the largest Universities of Applied Sciences in Austria. It has about 3,500 students and about 530 employees . The main campus is located in Graz, while there are two other locations in Kapfenberg and Bad Gleichenberg...
in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
.
He designed a tender locomotive for the Semmering railway
Semmering Railway
The Semmering railway, Austria, which starts at Gloggnitz and leads over the Semmering to Mürzzuschlag was the first mountain railway in Europe built with a standard gauge track. It is commonly referred to as the world's first true mountain railway, given the very difficult terrain and the...
(Semmeringbahn) which met the requirements so well that, since then, his Engerth system
Engerth locomotive
The Engerth locomotive was a type of early articulated steam locomotive designed by Wilhelm Freiherr von Engerth for use on the Semmering Railway in Austria.- Designer :...
has found many uses.
In 1850 Engerth was nominated as the technical director (Rat) on the executive board for railways, and later took over the Department of Engineering in the Austrian Ministry of Trade. In 1855 he took over as Zentraldirektor of the Austrian railways and later became its managing director (Generaldirektor).
In 1859 he was a member of the Zollenquetekommission and in 1860 he left government service. He worked with great circumspection (Umsicht) on the organisation of technical studies in Austria and was one of the most enthusiastic proponents of regulating the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
river. He invented the Schwimmtor
Schwimmtor
The Schwimmtor , also known as the Sperrschiff , was a floating barrier designed to protect the areas along the Donaukanal in Vienna from flooding and ice...
, a barrier for preventing floating ice from entering the Danube canal. At the Vienna World Exposition in 1873 he acted as the head of engineering and led the construction of the exhibition halls as the chief engineer. He instigated the tunnels through the Arlberg
Arlberg
Arlberg is a mountain range or massif between Vorarlberg and Tyrol in Austria.The highest peak is the "Valluga" at . The name Arlberg derives from the tradition of the "Arlenburg," who are said to have once established themselves on the Tyrolean side of the Arlberg passes . Another story derives...
. In 1874 he was called to the upper house (Herrenhaus) of the Austrian parliament, the Reichsrat
Reichsrat (Austria)
The Imperial Council of Austria from 1867 to 1918 was the parliament of the Cisleithanian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of the Herrenhaus and the Abgeordnetenhaus...
and, in 1875 awarded a baronetcy.
He died on 4 September 1884 in Leesdorf, part of Baden bei Wien
Baden bei Wien
-Points of interest:The town offers several parks and a picturesque surrounding, of which the most frequented is the Helenental valley. Not far from Baden, the valley is crossed by a widespread aqueduct of the Vienna waterworks...
, Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
. His brother was the artist, Eduard von Engerth.
Sources
- Wilhelm Engerth: Die Lokomotive der Staats-Eisenbahn über den Semmering: Resultate d. Erprobung d. Kettenkuppelung an d. Preis-Lokomotive Bavaria, Erörterung d. Konstruktionen d. Wilhelm Engerth: Bildliche Darstellungen der einfachen Maschinen in isometrischer Projection/entworfen von Wilhelm Engerth. Wien 1845.
- Wilhelm Engerth: Konkurs-Lokomotive u. Beschreibung mehrerer projektirten Gebirgs-Lokomotive; mit einem Atlas von 13 Kupfertaf. u. einem lithogr. Längenprofile d. Semmeringbahn. Aus: Zeitschrift des Österreichischen Ingenieur-Vereins. 1853 u. 1854. (Umschlagt.: Semmering Locomotive).
- Wilhelm Engerth: Personen- und Lastwagen, Tender-Ausrüstung, Werkstätten-Einrichtung und Werkzeuge. Zeichnungen aus der K. K. Österreichischen Staatseisenbahn-Gesellschaft. Wien 1857.
- Wilhelm von Engerth: Das Schwimmthor zur Absperrung des Wiener Donaucanales. Wien 1884.
- Eduard Frhr. von Engerth: Wilhelm Freiherr von Engerth: Ein Gedenkblatt zu seinem 100. Geburtstag (26. Mai 1814). Wien 1914.
External links
- There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany