Company type | Limited company (Aktiengesellschaft) |
---|---|
Industry | Transport engineering, automotive engineering, mechanical engineering |
Predecessor | Württembergische Baumwoll-Spinnerei und -Weberei |
Founded | 11 March 1846 |
Defunct | 1968, formally 2003 |
Fate | Taken over by Daimler-Benz in 1965 and eventually integrated into Still GmbH in the Flurfördermittel sector |
Headquarters |
Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME), was a German engineering firm that manufactured locomotives, tramways, railway wagons, roll-blocks, technical equipment for the railways, (turntables and traversers), bridges, steel structures, pumps and boilers.
It was founded by Emil Kessler on 11 March 1846 in Stuttgart, as a result of an initiative of the Kingdom of Württemberg to create a railway industry that was not dependent on foreign manufacturers. Emil Kessler brought vital experience from his time with the engineering works in Karlsruhe, where he had been a member of the board since 1837 and the sole director since 1842.
The foundation stone of the new factory was laid at Esslingen am Neckar on 4 May 1846. One year later, in October 1847, the first locomotive ordered by the Royal Württemberg State Railways (Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen) or K.W.St. E. was delivered.
After the death of Emil Kessler in 1867 his 26-year-old son, Emil Kessler, took over the factory. He ran it until his death in 1895. From 1907 another Kessler took the helm of the engineering works: Emil Kessler's youngest son, Ludwig Kessler. Later (but prior to his death in 1931), the director was Julius Rosenthal. [1]
The one thousandth locomotive delivered in 1870 was given the name KESSLER to commemorate the founder of the factory. The engineering works worked closely with the Royal Württemberg State Railways so that almost all new engines for the railway company were built at Esslingen.
The firm earned a very good reputation, initially at home, then increasingly abroad. Several takeovers of other companies (Maschinenfabrik Gebr. Decker & Co. in 1881, Maschinen- & Kesselfabrik G. Kuhn in 1902), the formation of Costruzioni Meccaniche Saronno (Italy) in 1887 and in 1913 the construction of a new factory at Mettingen demonstrated its success.
One phase was the construction of ships for inland waters at Ulm and Friedrichshafen, begun in 1852 and stopped by 1858, that saw it through the time of economic crisis after 1848. 50 boats for the river Danube, two steamships for the river Neckar, two steamers and two tugs for Lake Constance and were the result of this thoroughly successful venture.
Longer-lived was the firms involvement in steel structures and bridging, that it continued with until the end.
By the 1960s Maschinenfabrik Esslingen had delivered several thousand steam and diesel locomotives worldwide, including numerous special designs. It had a particular reputation for the construction of cog locomotives in many variations, including locomotives for Riggenbach, Abt and Strub rack railways. It was one of these engines that was the last steam locomotive to be made in Esslingen: on 21 October 1966 the last cog locomotive left the factory bound for Indonesia. [2]
The company was also involved in the production of electric locomotives, for example, in 1912 for the Wendelsteinbahn. After 1920 a batch of accumulator cars was produced, mainly for coal mines and industrial railways.
In addition, internal combustion engined locomotives were built, such as the small diesel locomotive, the Köf, the Esslingen railbus and the Russian locomotive class E el-2.
Between 1956 and 1965, over 400 Class SSB GT4 articulated four axle trams were built in Esslingen for the Stuttgart tramways, which were in regular operation until 2007. The same model was also built for Freiburg im Breisgau, Neunkirchen, and Reutlingen. In addition, four axle bogie trams were built of the END system.
Even the cable car vehicles in Stuttgart were made at Esslingen.
Finally the ME became a subsidiary of the Gutehoffnungshütte. In 1965 Daimler-Benz AG bought the company in order to use it factory facilities for its production and the construction of railway vehicles ceased. As of 2007 Maschinenfabrik Esslingen AG still existed, but as a real estate leasing company.[ citation needed ]
Today, old locomotives are rebuilt by the Verein zur Erhaltung der Lokomotiven der ME (Society for the Preservation of ME Locomotives) and handed over to museum railways for everyday operations. This society has its base in the old board rooms of the engineering works in Emil-Kessler-Straße in Mettingen on the factory site of Daimler AG.
The last rack locomotive built in Germany for Indonesian State Railways, E10 60 is now used for excursion trains between Sawahlunto and Muarakalaban in West Sumatera. [3] [4]
Esslingen am Neckar is a town in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, seat of the District of Esslingen as well as the largest town in the district. Within Baden-Württemberg it is the 11th largest city.
Esslingen is a Landkreis (district) in the centre of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rems-Murr, Göppingen, Reutlingen, Böblingen and the district-free city Stuttgart.
Johann Karl Friedrich August Borsig was a German businessman who founded the Borsig-Werke factory.
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The Fils Valley Railway designates the Württemberg line from Stuttgart via Göppingen to Ulm. It runs from Plochingen to Geislingen an der Steige through the Fils Valley.
Emil Julius Carl Kessler was a German businessman and founder of the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen.
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The Württemberg AD was a German steam locomotive built for the Royal Württemberg State Railways. It was an express train engine with a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement and was built from 1899 by the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen. Up to that point the railway only had increasingly elderly locomotives with a 2-4-0 configuration.
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The Württemberg Class B and Class B2 engines were steam locomotives with the Royal Württemberg State Railways first built in 1868 by the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen in Esslingen in the former Kingdom of Württemberg in southern Germany.
The Sächsische Maschinenfabrik in Chemnitz was one of the most important engineering companies in Saxony in the second half of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th century. Including its various predecessor businesses, the firm existed from 1837 until its liquidation in 1930, and individual branches of the company taken over by others continued to operate until 1990. The company is closely linked with the name of its founder and long-time manager, Richard Hartmann, whose name formed part of the new company title in 1898: the Sächsische Maschinenfabrik vormals Richard Hartmann.
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The Prussian Class T 14.1 was a German 2-8-2T, goods train, tank locomotive operated by the Prussian state railways and the Royal Württemberg State Railways. They were later incorporated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn into the DRG renumbering plan for steam locomotives as DRG Class 93.5–12.
Richard Hartmann was a German engineering manufacturer.
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The Flamatt–Laupen–Gümmenen railway line is a line in Switzerland that was built and formerly operated by the Sense Valley Railway. The 11.5 km-long standard-gauge line on the Flamatt–Laupen–Gümmenen route through the Sense valley was opened on 20 January 1904. The shares of the company were acquired by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and Swiss Post (34 %) in 2001. Since then, the infrastructure of the Sense Valley Railway has been operated by the SBB under contract.
The Saxon VI K were a class of 750-mm gauge 0-10-0T locomotives of the Royal Saxon States Railways with a gauge of 750 mm. In 1925 the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) grouped the locomotives into class 99.64–65; from 1923 to 1927 the procured more locomotives of this type which were grouped in to class 99.67–71.