Alejandro Goicoechea Omar | |
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 Portrait of Alejandro Goicoechea Omar. Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, Eulogia Merle. 2011 | |
| Born | Alejandro Goicoechea Omar 23 March 1895 |
| Died | 30 January 1984 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Known for | founding Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer of trains. |
Alejandro Goicoechea Omar (his first surname is also spelled Goikoetxea) (23 March 1895 - 30 January 1984 [1] ) was a Spanish engineer.
Goicoechea worked for the remote coal narrow gauge railway of La Robla (León), the longest narrow gauge line in Western Europe which today is operated by FEVE, developing a welded steel carriage and various elements of suspension, brakes and traction. In 1936 he suggested a lightweight articulated meter gauge trainset which however was not approved by the management. [2]
Goicoechea authored the Iron Belt to protect Bilbao during the Spanish Civil War. But soon before finishing it he defected to the Nationalist side, and this was decisive in the Nationalists conquering Bilbao on June 12, 1937.
In 1938, he described a train composed of articulated triangular structures with independent wheels, capable of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) commercial speeds. In 1941, a test unit composed of triangular chassis and truck wheels with carriage rims welded on was built and tested successfully up to 75 kilometres per hour (47 mph) behind a steam locomotive.
In 1942 Goicoechea worked with the company Hijos de Juan de Garay in Oñate and other companies to build a first test train consisting of seven low-slung cars of only 4.44 metres (4.44 m) length, of a roughly semi-circular cross-section, pulled by a power unit based on a powered bogie from Ganz Works. In the same year he teamed up with José Luis de Oriol y Urigüen, founding the Patentes Talgo company and baptizing the test train Talgo I (Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol). The Talgo I was tested until 1945, then damaged during a test run and scrapped in the early 1950s.
In 1944 Goicoechea started working with the American Car and Foundry Company to design the Talgo II but left the company in 1945 before the train was completed.
Later he suggested a connection between Spain and Morocco by rail tunnel in Gibraltar, which did not become reality. [3]
He died in 1984, aged 89. [4]
A rubber-tyred metro or rubber-tired metro is a form of rapid transit system that uses a mix of road and rail technology. The vehicles have wheels with rubber tires that run on rolling pads inside guide bars for traction, as well as traditional railway steel wheels with deep flanges on steel tracks for guidance through conventional switches as well as guidance in case a tyre fails. Most rubber-tyred trains are purpose-built and designed for the system on which they operate. Guided buses are sometimes referred to as 'trams on tyres', and compared to rubber-tyred metros.
A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about or seated passengers to feel squashed by the outboard armrest, and standing passengers to lose their balance, or in such excessive speeds, could even cause the train to derail. Tilting trains are designed to counteract this by tilting the carriages towards the inside of the curve, thus compensating for the g-force. The train may be constructed such that inertial forces cause the tilting, or it may have a computer-controlled powered mechanism.
Talgo is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Talgo is an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol
Elorrio is a town and a municipality located in the eastern part of the province of Biscay, in the Basque Country, in northern Spain. As of 2017, it has a population of 7,307 inhabitants. It covers an area of 37.20 square kilometers and it has a population density of 193.58 people per square kilometer. It holds the medieval title of Most Loyal and Noble Villa.
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge between two railway networks with different track gauges. For through operation, a train must be equipped with special bogies holding variable gauge wheelsets which contain a variable gauge axle (VGA).
Jacobs bogies are a type of rail vehicle bogie commonly found on articulated railcars and tramway vehicles.
Goicoechea, is a surname common in Spain and Latin America. It is derived from the original Basque name Goikoetxea.
The Renfe Class 102 or S-102 is a high-speed train used for the AVE service and operated in Spain by the state-run railway company Renfe, and based on Bombardier Transportation's power car technology. Outside AVE service, Talgo markets this train as the Talgo 350.
The Arnoux system is a train articulation system, for turning on railroad tracks, invented by Jean-Claude-Républicain Arnoux and patented in France in 1838. Arnoux was the chief engineer of the Ligne de Sceaux, which was originally built with very tight radii in the area around Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine.
The Renfe Class 130 or S-130 is a high-speed dual-gauge, dual-voltage trainset consisting of 11 Talgo VII tilting coaches and two power cars, used on Alvia and Euromed services. The class have been nicknamed patitos (ducklings), due to the shape of the train nose.
The Renfe Class 120 are electric multiple units used on Alvia high-speed rail services in Spain.
Talgo Avril is a high-speed train that Talgo is developing. It stands for "Alta Velocidad Rueda Independiente Ligero".
Oaris is a modular high-speed train platform developed by the Spanish manufacturer CAF.
Trenhotel was a long distance, overnight train service which used Talgo tilting trains and sleeping cars developed by the Spanish rail network operator Renfe. It was operated by Renfe within Spain, and by its subsidiary Elipsos across France, Switzerland and Italy.
José María de Oriol y Urquijo, 3rd Marquis of Casa Oriol (1905–1985) was a Spanish entrepreneur and a Carlist and Francoist politician. During early Francoism a mayor of Bilbao, he is known mostly for his business activity, especially for his role in the Spanish energy industry, TALGO train development and the banking sector. He is counted among the most influential Spanish business managers of the 20th century.
José Luis de Oriol y Urigüen, 2nd Marquis of Casa Oriol (1877–1972), was a Spanish businessman, architect and politician. As an architect he designed few historicist residential buildings, some of them very prestigious today. As a businessman he was the moving spirit behind Hidroeléctrica Española and Talgo. As a politician he served as Conservative and Traditionalist MP, growing into a local Álava tycoon.
The Alerce is an Argentine railcar produced by the Emepa Group in Chascomús, Buenos Aires Province. As of 2015, the units are produced for the General Belgrano Railway's narrow gauge network and are currently used on commuter rail services, though a broad gauge variant is currently in the works. They are designed to be easily converted into Electric Multiple Units, though only diesel variants have been produced to date. The Alerce's namesake is the common name of Fitzroya cupressoides, a coniferous tree native to Argentina and Chile.
Tren de Gran Canaria is a proposed railway on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands. It is planned to run from the island's capital, Las Palmas along the eastern coast of the island, serving Gran Canaria Airport and terminating in Maspalomas. First announced in 2004, construction on the line has not yet commenced due to funding difficulties.
ICE L is a long-distance locomotive-hauled push-pull train which is being built by the Spanish company Talgo for the German train operator DB Fernverkehr and is scheduled to commence operation from 2024. The name of the train was changed in 2021 from its previous working title ECx, with the L standing for low-floor entry. The trains form part of the manufacturer's Talgo 230 family of trains. The Talgo Travca locomotives ordered for the service are designated DB Class 105. They will replace old Intercity (IC) trains in Germany.
Antonio María de Oriol y Urquijo (1913–1996) was a Spanish politician and businessman. Politically he supported the Traditionalist cause, first as a Carlist militant and then as a Francoist official. In 1955–1977 he was a member of Cortes Españolas; in 1957–1965 he headed the welfare department in the Ministry of Interior; in 1965–1973 he served as the Minister of Justice; in 1973–1978 he was a member of the Council of the Realm and in 1973–1979 he presided over the Council of State. As businessman he was active in companies controlled by the Oriol family, holding executive positions in Iberdrola, Patentes Talgo and other entities.
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