A railway pioneer is someone who has made a significant contribution to the historical development of the railway (US: railroad). This definition includes locomotive engineers, railway construction engineers, operators of railway companies, major railway investors and politicians, of national and international importance for the development of rail transport.
Where possible, inclusion in this list should be justified by an appropriate reference (see talk page ).
Technical development of the railways [ edit ]
Name
Notability
References
August von Borries
compound working and the first Prussian compound locomotive in 1880
[ 2] [ 3]
August Borsig
early locomotives built in Germany, Borsig-Werke
[ 2]
Karl Gustav Brescius
railway construction in Saxony
Friedrich Wilhelm Eckhardt
head of BMAG design office, chief designer of DRG Class 44 and 86 and inventor of Schwartzkopff-Eckhardt II bogie .
Robert Garbe
Prussian mechanical engineer, many classic locomotive designs
[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
Richard Hartmann
German steam locomotive manufacturer, Sächsische Maschinenfabrik in Chemnitz
[ 2]
Richard von Helmholtz
German engineer, designer of the Krauss-Helmholtz bogie
[ 1] [ 2]
Edmund Heusinger von Waldegg
independently designed the Walschaerts valve gear (hence aka the Heusinger valve gear)
[ 2]
Hermann Kemper
patent for maglev train technology
Georg Knorr
considerably improved compressed air brake
[ 2]
Georg Krauss
founder of Lokomotivfabrik Krauss & Co. in Munich, later part of Krauss-Maffei
[ 2]
Johann Friedrich Krigar
first locomotive built in the German states at the Königliche Eisengießerei Berlin in 1815
Alfred Krupp
discovery of seamless tyres for railway wheels in 1852
Adolf Klose
chief mechanical engineer of the Royal Württemberg State Railways , designer
Franz Kruckenberg
engineer and designer of the Schienenzeppelin
[ 2]
Alfred Lent
railway construction in Prussia (including the Magdeburg-Halberstadt railway ), chief civil engineer for the Berlin Lehrter Bahnhof
Joseph Anton von Maffei
German steam locomotive manufacturer
[ 2]
Oskar von Miller
engineer, driving force for electrified lines in Bavaria , founder of the Deutsches Museum
Walter Reichel
pantograph, electric locomotives
Friedrich Sauthoff
Sauthoff's resistance formula for train motion
Ferdinand Schichau
Schichau-Werke
Wilhelm Schmidt
hot steam Schmidt, developer of the superheated steam technology
[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
Johann Andreas Schubert
first practical German steam locomotive Saxonia 1839
[ 2]
Werner von Siemens
first electric locomotive, Siemens-Werke
[ 1] [ 2] [ 3]
Moritz Stambke
development of the German state railway norms
Johann Stumpf
best known for popularising the uniflow steam engine around 1909
[ 1]
Max Maria von Weber
railway engineer and author
[ 2]
Richard Paul Wagner
Chief of Design for Deutsche Reichsbahn 1922–1942; responsible for standard locomotive designs (Einheitslokomotiven )
[ 1] [ 2]
Hans Wendler
railway engineer in the GDR, Wendler coal-dust firing system
Gustav Wittfeld
1855 – 1923, developments on steam locomotives and electric railway vehicles
[ 2]
Johann Friedrich Ludwig Wöhlert
1797 – 1877l early German industrialist and locomotive manufacturer in Berlin.
Roman Abt ,[ 1] [ 3] Abt rack railway system , points for funicular railways
Jakob Buchli development of single-axle drive, Buchli drive
Bruno Hildebrand , founder and CEO of the Swiss Northeastern Railway .
Emil Huber-Stockar , pioneer of the electric traction with high-tension, low frequency AC
Eduard Locher , rack with horizontal engagement
Anatole Mallet ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] Mallet locomotive
Niklaus Riggenbach ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] first mountain railway in Europe with rack system, steam locomotive braking system
Emil Strub , Strub rack railway system
René Thury ,[ 1] [ 3] engineer, "King of DC", experimental rack railway in 1884 at Montreux , responsible for many inventions especially involving series coupling of electric motors
William Adams [ 1] [ 2] [ 3] (1823–1904), locomotive superintendent of North London Railway , 1858–1873; Great Eastern Railway 1873–1878 and London & South Western Railway 1878–1895, inventor of Adams bogie
William Bridges Adams (1797–1872), author, inventor and locomotive engineer. Inventor of Adams axle
John Blenkinsop ,[ 2] [ 3] first locomotives with rack system and rack rails
Charles Beyer ,[ 3] designer, co-founder and manager of Beyer, Peacock & Company for many years
Louis Brennan , inventor of a monorail
Isambard Kingdom Brunel ,[ 3] railway pioneer, construction of the Great Western Railway
Oliver Bulleid ,[ 3] unorthodox locomotive designer, CME of Southern Railway , designed the most powerful Pacifics in Britain
Thomas Russell Crampton ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] Crampton locomotive
Robert Francis Fairlie ,[ 3] Fairlie locomotive
Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet , London railway, locomotives
Herbert William Garratt ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] inventor of the Garratt locomotive
Nigel Gresley ,[ 1] [ 3] designer of world-record holding locomotive, Mallard
Timothy Hackworth ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] built Hedley's Puffing Billy and locomotives for the Stockton & Darlington Railway , Participant in the Rainhill trials
William Hedley ,[ 3] designer of the Puffing Billy
Charles Lartigue , Lartigue Monorail
Joseph Locke ,[ 3] next to the Stephensons and Brunel, one of the most important English railway pioneers
Thomas Newcomen ,[ 3] first practical static steam engine
Benjamin Outram ,[ 5] civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. Pioneer in the building of canals and tramways .
John Ramsbottom ,[ 1] [ 3] mechanical engineer who invented inter alia the Ramsbottom safety valve , the displacement lubricator , and the water trough
Sir Vincent Litchfield Raven KBE ,[ 1] was CME of the North Eastern Railway from 1910 to 1922[ 6]
George Stephenson ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] first economically usable steam locomotive
Robert Stephenson ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] son of George, winner of the Rainhill trials
William Stroudley ,[ 1] [ 3] one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers of the 19th century, working principally for London, Brighton & South Coast Railway . Designed some of the most famous and longest lived steam locomotives of his era
Patrick Stirling ,[ 1] CME of the Great Northern Railway where his famous 8 ft singles (4-2-2's) were the principal express engines for many years, achieving world-wide fame
Richard Trevithick ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] "father of the locomotive", built first practical steam locomotive at Penydarran in Wales in 1804
Charles Blacker Vignoles , inventor of the Vignoles rail profile
James Watt ,[ 3] improvements to the steam engine
Francis Webb ,[ 1] [ 3] CME of the London & North Western Railway , a pioneer in the use of steel for locomotives
William Wilson , first locomotive driver in Germany
Horatio Allen ,[ 3] designed world's first articulated locomotive in 1832
Matthias William Baldwin ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] Baldwin Locomotive Works, the world's largest steam locomotive manufacturer
Peter Cooper ,[ 3] first locomotive built in the US
Charles F. Kettering ,[ 1] developed high-speed, 2-stroke diesel engines especially for rail traction
William K. MacCurdy ,[ 7] developed the Hydra-Cushion in 1954 to ease stress on freight cars for Southern Pacific
Sylvester Marsh , first mountain railway in the world with a rack system
William Norris ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] founded the Norris Locomotive Works and pioneered the use of the 4-2-0 (Norris type) locomotive in America during the 1840s
George Mortimer Pullman ,[ 2] [ 3] Pullman Palace Car Company
William Robinson ,[ 8] : 59 inventor of the track circuit
Thomas Rogers ,[ 1] [ 3] mechanical engineer and founder of Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey
Ephraim Shay ,[ 1] inventor of the Shay locomotive
Frank Julian Sprague ,[ 3] "Father of electric traction" in the US, tramway , train safety system
Robert L. Stevens , inventor of the Flanged T rail
George S. Strong ,[ 1] introduced new locomotives types in American much in advance of their time
Samuel M. Vauclain ,[ 1] [ 3] Baldwin Locomotive Works , patented the Vauclain compound engine.
Axel Vogt ,[ 1] mechanical engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad 1887–1919, responsible for many of the beautifully proportioned and elegantly designed Pennsylvania classes, considerable influence on modern U.S. locomotive design
George Westinghouse ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] designed the first through compressed air brake in trains
Ross Winans ,[ 1] [ 3] prolific inventor and builder of early American locomotives
Alfred Belpaire ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] Belgium, CME and Administrative President of Belgian State Railway. Inventor of Belpaire firebox
Gaston du Bousquet ,[ 1] [ 3] France, CME (ingénieur en chef traction ) of the Chemin de Fer du Nord
Dobrivoje Božić , Serbia, mechanical engineer, inventor and constructor of the first air brakes for trains
Arturo Caprotti ,[ 1] [ 3] Italy, invented rotating cam valve gear for locomotives, the Caprotti valve gear
André Chapelon ,[ 2] [ 3] France, built the most powerful steam locomotives in Europe
Nicholas Cugnot , France, steam coach
Alfred de Glehn ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] France, first compound locomotive with 4 cylinders in 1894
Attilio Franco and Piero Crosti ,[ 9] [ 10] Italy, invented the Franco-Crosti boiler
Abraham Ganz , Austria-Hungary, founder of the Hungarian Ganz & Cie , railway wheels, coach building and electrical railway vehicles
Jean Jacques Meyer , French locomotive designer, inventor of the articulated Meyer locomotive
Carl Abraham Pihl , Norway, developer of the CAP Spur alias Kapspur
Marc Seguin ,[ 1] [ 3] France, first French locomotive engineer; independent inventor of the fire-tube boiler and blast pipe
Hideo Shima , Japanese engineer and overseer of the first Shinkansen line.
Egide Walschaerts ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] Belgium, engineer and inventor of the Walschaerts valve gear (also called the Heusinger valve gear)
Infrastructure and politics [ edit ]
Philipp-August von Amsberg , first German state railway
Herrmann Bachstein , initiated with his Centralverwaltung for Secundairbahnen a large number of branch lines
Johann Adam Beil , manager of the Taunus railway from 1840 to 1852
Otto von Bismarck , networking of competing private railways by nationalisation and political pressure , political concept behind the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Julius Dorpmüller , general manager of the Deutsche Reichsbahn 1926–1945 and Reich Transport Minister from 1937 to 1945, planning of railway construction.
Paul Camille von Denis , Bavarian Ludwigsbahn from Nuremberg-Fürth
Karl Etzel , architect and railway pioneer (built, inter alia , the Brennerbahn , the Geislinger Steige and the Bietigheim railway viaduct
Robert Gerwig , Schwarzwaldbahn , Gotthardbahn
David Hansemann banker, politician, vice president of the Rhenisch railway company
Friedrich Harkort , Prinz-Wilhelm railway
August von der Heydt , head of the Prussian state railways from 1848 to 1869
Michael Knoll , Geislinger Steige
Claus Koepcke , engineer and responsible for the development of the Saxon narrow gauge railways as the Geheimer Finanzrat from 1872
Gustav Kröhnke , engineer, pushed for the construction of the Vogelfluglinie
Friedrich List ,[ 2] [ 3] German economist
Albert von Maybach , head of the Prussian state railways from 1879
Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke , field marshal, strategist
Louis Victor Robert Schwartzkopff ,[ 2] German businessman, founded L Schwartzkopff, later Berliner Maschinenbau
Bethel Henry Strousberg , numerous routes in former Prussia and central Europe
John W. Barriger III , railway entrepreneur
Henry Morrison Flagler , Florida East Coast Railway
Jay Gould , railway tycoon
E. H. Harriman , railway tycoon
James J. Hill , railway tycoon
David Moffat , railway entrepreneur
William Jackson Palmer , railway entrepreneur
van Sweringen brothers , railway entrepreneurs
Cornelius Vanderbilt ,[ 1] railway tycoon , patented Vanderbilt boilers and tenders
Daniel Willard , railway manager
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as Ransome-Wallis, P. (1959). Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Railway Locomotives (2001 republication ed.). Dover Publications, Inc. pp. 494–503. ISBN 0-486-41247-4 . , Chapter 11 – Concise Biographies of Famous Locomotive Designers and Engineers.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al Kirsche, Hans-Joachim (1978). Lexicon der Eisenbahn (5th ed.). transpress. , biographical entry.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba Herring, Peter (2000). Ultimate Train (2000 ed.). London: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 144–161. ISBN 0-7513-0698-3 . , Part 3, Railway Innovators.
^ a b Frederic Morton (2014). The Rothschilds: A Family Portrait . Diversion Books. p. 119. ISBN 9781626813946 .
^ "Benjamin Outram's biography on brocross.com" . Archived from the original on 18 July 2011.
^ "LNER Encyclopedia: Sir Vincent Raven" . lner.info .
^ Nielson, Donald (2006). A Heritage of Innovation: SRI's First Half Century . Menlo Park, California : SRI International . pp. 6–1–6–3. ISBN 978-0-9745208-1-0 .
^ American Railway Association (1922). The Invention of the Track Circuit . New York. {{cite book }}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link )
^ Pedrazzini, Claudio (2014). Le locomotive F.S. con preriscaldatori Franco-Crosti . Aldebaran. ISBN 9786009919338 .
^ Turchi, Erminio Mascherpa, Gian Guido (1984). La regina delle locomotive . Salò: Editrice trasporti su rotaie. pp. 101–3. ISBN 8885068022 . {{cite book }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )