Adolph Giesl-Gieslingen
Encyclopedia
Adolph Giesl-Gieslingen was an Austrian
locomotive
designer and engineer.
Giesl-Gieslingen was born in 1903 in Trient
, Tirol
, and studied at the Technical College in Vienna
. In 1924 he published a technical article on smokebox design and chimneys. In 1925 he received his diploma as an engineer, and began working as a design engineer at the Floridsdorf locomotive works
, where he was involved in the construction of the Class 214 2-8-4s. While at Floridorf he continued his studies, being interested in developing the rectangular chimney design developed by Golsdorf in Austria, and finished his doctoral thesis on locomotive front-end design in 1929. In the same year the director, Arno Demmer, sent him to the USA, where he stayed until 1938, working on the New York Central testing a Kylala blastpipe. There he got to know his wife, whom he married in 1933 in New York
. After his return is became Demmer's assistant and, after the Second World War, chief engineer of the Floridsdorf company. In 1946 he took up his post as honorary professor at the Technical College in Vienna as the successor to Johann Rihosek
.
He developed the Giesl ejector
for steam locomotives, which he patented and allowed to be sold by the Schoeller-Bleckmann works. The first notable application of this was to an Austrian 2-8-4 where fitting of the Giesl ejector produced a 25% increase in power output and a small saving in coal. As a result, Giesl ejectors were fitted to locomotives in Austria, East Germany, East Africa and Czechoslovakia. British Railways 9F locomotive
No. 92250 was tested at Rugby with a Giesl ejector which demonstrated its effectiveness but due to imminent dieselisation no other locomotives were so fitted. Giesl later published several books on the subject of steam locomotive technology through the Viennese publishers of Verlag Slezak. He died on 11 February 1992 in Vienna.
The effectiveness of the Giesl ejector, being slightly better than the Kylchap exhaust, has led to two preserved locomotives in the UK being fitted with one; Bulleid Pacific No. 34092 City of Wells and BR standard class 2 2-6-0
No. 78022.
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
designer and engineer.
Giesl-Gieslingen was born in 1903 in Trient
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
, Tirol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
, and studied at the Technical College in 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...
. In 1924 he published a technical article on smokebox design and chimneys. In 1925 he received his diploma as an engineer, and began working as a design engineer at the Floridsdorf locomotive works
Lokomotivfabrik Floridsdorf
Lokomotivfabrik Floridsdorf was an Austrian locomotive works founded on 6 September 1869 that achieved a pre-eminent place amongst European locomotive builders thanks to the quality and diversity of its designs....
, where he was involved in the construction of the Class 214 2-8-4s. While at Floridorf he continued his studies, being interested in developing the rectangular chimney design developed by Golsdorf in Austria, and finished his doctoral thesis on locomotive front-end design in 1929. In the same year the director, Arno Demmer, sent him to the USA, where he stayed until 1938, working on the New York Central testing a Kylala blastpipe. There he got to know his wife, whom he married in 1933 in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. After his return is became Demmer's assistant and, after the Second World War, chief engineer of the Floridsdorf company. In 1946 he took up his post as honorary professor at the Technical College in Vienna as the successor to Johann Rihosek
Johann Rihosek
Johann Rihosek was an Austrian engineer and locomotive designer.Johann Rihosek was born in Maków Podhalański, Galicia, in modern-day Poland on 5 June 1869. He attended the middle school at Olmütz and later studied mechanical engineering at the Vienna Technical University...
.
He developed the Giesl ejector
Giesl ejector
A Giesl ejector is a suction draught system for steam locomotives that works on the same principle as a feedwater pump.This ejector was invented in 1951 by the Austrian engineer, Dr. Adolph Giesl-Gieslingen. The Giesl ejector ensures improved suction draught and a correspondingly better use of...
for steam locomotives, which he patented and allowed to be sold by the Schoeller-Bleckmann works. The first notable application of this was to an Austrian 2-8-4 where fitting of the Giesl ejector produced a 25% increase in power output and a small saving in coal. As a result, Giesl ejectors were fitted to locomotives in Austria, East Germany, East Africa and Czechoslovakia. British Railways 9F locomotive
BR standard class 9F
The British Railways BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for British Railways by Robert Riddles. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed for British Railways during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight...
No. 92250 was tested at Rugby with a Giesl ejector which demonstrated its effectiveness but due to imminent dieselisation no other locomotives were so fitted. Giesl later published several books on the subject of steam locomotive technology through the Viennese publishers of Verlag Slezak. He died on 11 February 1992 in Vienna.
The effectiveness of the Giesl ejector, being slightly better than the Kylchap exhaust, has led to two preserved locomotives in the UK being fitted with one; Bulleid Pacific No. 34092 City of Wells and BR standard class 2 2-6-0
BR standard class 2 2-6-0
The BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive, one of the British Railways Standard classes of the 1950s. They were physically the smallest of the Standard classes; 65 were built....
No. 78022.
Sources
- Ernst Kabelka, In memoriam Professor Giesl-Gieslingen, in Schienenverkehr aktuell, 4/1992, S. 8.
- Ingrid Trummer, Alexander Stollhof (Hrsg), "...Bei uns in der Lofag...", Erinnerungen an die Floridsdorfer Lokomotivfabrik - Wiens größter Industriebetrieb, Edition Volkshochschule, Wien 2005, ISBN 3-900799-67-9
Literature
- Lokomotiv-Athleten. Geschichte, Leistung und Kurvenlauf der Sechs- und Siebenkuppler, Verlag Slezak, Wien 1976, ISBN 3-900134-27-8
- Die Ära nach Gölsdorf. Die letzten 3 Jahrzehnte des österreichischen Dampflokomotivbaus, Verlag Slezak, Wien 1981, ISBN 3-900134-37-5
- Anatomie der Dampflokomotive International, Verlag Slezak, Wien 1986, ISBN 3-85416-089-5