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Giuseppe Bianchi (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Bianchi was an Italian railway engineer on the Ferrovie dello Stato
between 1913 and 1946.
, Bianchi graduated in electrical mechanical engineering at the University of Turin
in 1912. Offered a job by Ferrovie dello Stato
, the operator of the Italian rail network, he was first assigned to the select committee for the electrification of Rome.
In 1920 Bianchi was transferred to the office for locomotive research within the Servizio materiale e trazione (Rolling Stock and Locomotive Service) at Florence (where it still resides, under a different name). Although Bianchi distinguished himself through projects involving steam locomotives for mainline services (like the three variations of the planned 695 for Ferrovie dello Stato, then the unrealised Gruppo 691), his work was central to the transition from steam to electric
power.
As the limitations of using alternating current became evident, and after examining the possibilities offered by running on the system on direct current
of 3 kV (as did the railways in the United States), Bianchi concentrated on this means of power. Already during the first part of his career he had contributed to improving electric locomotives run on three-phase alternating current
(3.6 kV, 16.7 Hz), and subsequently directed the planning of new locomotive types, the E432 (FS) and E554. His office also directed the development of the E326
, E626
, E428
, and E424
. (That E424 was not built; Bianchi's successor built the group of the same name starting in 1943).
Mainstream historiography holds that the change of the heads of the Railroads of the State after Fascism
's partial takeover of power may have contributed to defeating internal resistance within Ferrovie dello Stato to using direct current. Nevertheless, Bianchi refused to subscribe to the fascist party, and was always troublesome if not explicitly opposed to the regime.
The initial failure of his attempts to reach high speeds with his locomotives and with the electric trains ETR200 allowed his political and industrial opponents to get him dismissed from the assignment in 1937. He was transferred to Ferrovie Nord Milano
, where he ran the complete electrification of the network and stayed on until retirement, except for a brief stint working again with the FS, from 1945 to 1946.
Bianchi proposed the creation of four different roles for locomotives in order to specialize maintenance services more than had previously been possible. This strategy of specialization was not entirely new, but at that time the depot-system was very heterogeneous: inherited from the different railroad administrations left over after the 1905 birth of the national railway system, it had many different engines carrying out the same task, making management and maintenance burdensome.
The four roles Bianchi proposed were:
Bianchi fully understood the necessity of a high standard of service and maintenance for the railcars under his jurisdiction, which were then still highly prone to mechanical breakdowns due to the newness of the technologies used. To meet this requirement, in 1928 he introduced the theory of 'Interoperabilità' (interoperability): all the technical components of the locomotives should be simplified in their planning-stages (in favor of reliability) and of a single standardized design to make finding spare parts easier. These guidelines represented a philosophy whose concept was very close to that of the 1950s, spread amongst industry in general under the names "Design for maintenance" and "Reliable system design".
These design choices were carried over to the characteristic "Bianchi Line" inspired by the locomotives and systems already used in Switzerland
. His locomotives were composed of a heavy rigid chassis, a central box and two small projections, one for each side. These projections, though reduced, they continued to characterize new Italian engines until the introduction of the E424
, in service until the 1990s. They also influenced the development of the E636
, which were built from 1940 to 1962 and were one of the most numerous Italian locomotive groups, not decommissioned until 2006.
The main articles by Bianchi on his resolution of problems of electric traction are cited in the books of Mario Loria and Erminio Mascherpa.
Ferrovie dello Stato
Ferrovie dello Stato is a government-owned holding which manage infrastructure and service on the Italian rail network. The subsidiary Trenitalia is the main rail operator in Italy.-Organization:Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiaries are:...
between 1913 and 1946.
Life
Born at ImolaImola
thumb|250px|The Cathedral of Imola.Imola is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy...
, Bianchi graduated in electrical mechanical engineering at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
in 1912. Offered a job by Ferrovie dello Stato
Ferrovie dello Stato
Ferrovie dello Stato is a government-owned holding which manage infrastructure and service on the Italian rail network. The subsidiary Trenitalia is the main rail operator in Italy.-Organization:Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiaries are:...
, the operator of the Italian rail network, he was first assigned to the select committee for the electrification of Rome.
In 1920 Bianchi was transferred to the office for locomotive research within the Servizio materiale e trazione (Rolling Stock and Locomotive Service) at Florence (where it still resides, under a different name). Although Bianchi distinguished himself through projects involving steam locomotives for mainline services (like the three variations of the planned 695 for Ferrovie dello Stato, then the unrealised Gruppo 691), his work was central to the transition from steam to electric
Railway electric traction
Railway electric traction describes the various types of locomotive and multiple units that are used on electrification systems around the world.-History:...
power.
As the limitations of using alternating current became evident, and after examining the possibilities offered by running on the system on direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
of 3 kV (as did the railways in the United States), Bianchi concentrated on this means of power. Already during the first part of his career he had contributed to improving electric locomotives run on three-phase alternating current
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
(3.6 kV, 16.7 Hz), and subsequently directed the planning of new locomotive types, the E432 (FS) and E554. His office also directed the development of the E326
FS Class E326
The FS E326 was a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. Designed in 1929, they were introduced in the early 1930s, for hauling passenger trains at relatively high speed.-History:...
, E626
FS Class E626
The FS E.625 and E.626 are two classes of Italian electric locomotives produced for the Ferrovie dello Stato. They were introduced in the course of the 1920s and remained in service until the 1990s...
, E428
FS Class E428
The FS E428 was a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. They were introduced in the course of the 1930s, for fast services on the Florence-Rome line, being decommissioned in the 1980s.-History:...
, and E424
FS Class E424
The FS E424 is a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. They were built in 1943-1951 and have been decommissioned in 2008.-History:A design for a small multi-service Bo-Bo locomotive, with speed up to 90 km/h, had been devised by Giuseppe Bianchi as early as in the 1930s, but the...
. (That E424 was not built; Bianchi's successor built the group of the same name starting in 1943).
Mainstream historiography holds that the change of the heads of the Railroads of the State after Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
's partial takeover of power may have contributed to defeating internal resistance within Ferrovie dello Stato to using direct current. Nevertheless, Bianchi refused to subscribe to the fascist party, and was always troublesome if not explicitly opposed to the regime.
The initial failure of his attempts to reach high speeds with his locomotives and with the electric trains ETR200 allowed his political and industrial opponents to get him dismissed from the assignment in 1937. He was transferred to Ferrovie Nord Milano
Ferrovie Nord Milano
450px|thumb|Map of the main branch of the FNM lines. FNM operates also the [[Brescia]]-[[Edolo]] railway in eastern [[Lombardy]], not shown in map.Ferrovie Nord Milano is an Italian public transport company: the second largest railway company in Italy. It operates primarily in the northern Italian...
, where he ran the complete electrification of the network and stayed on until retirement, except for a brief stint working again with the FS, from 1945 to 1946.
Works
The four roles Bianchi proposed were:
- Locomotive for swift trains. He designated the E326FS Class E326The FS E326 was a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. Designed in 1929, they were introduced in the early 1930s, for hauling passenger trains at relatively high speed.-History:...
for this task, which later proved ill-suited for these high speeds. - Locomotive for heavy trains, for which he designated the E428.
- Locomotive "multiruolo" (multi-role), assigned to the E626FS Class E626The FS E.625 and E.626 are two classes of Italian electric locomotives produced for the Ferrovie dello Stato. They were introduced in the course of the 1920s and remained in service until the 1990s...
. - Locomotive for light trains, except for powerful and costly high-altitude routes. He saw only the (predecessor of the 1943) E424FS Class E424The FS E424 is a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. They were built in 1943-1951 and have been decommissioned in 2008.-History:A design for a small multi-service Bo-Bo locomotive, with speed up to 90 km/h, had been devised by Giuseppe Bianchi as early as in the 1930s, but the...
as suitable.
Bianchi fully understood the necessity of a high standard of service and maintenance for the railcars under his jurisdiction, which were then still highly prone to mechanical breakdowns due to the newness of the technologies used. To meet this requirement, in 1928 he introduced the theory of 'Interoperabilità' (interoperability): all the technical components of the locomotives should be simplified in their planning-stages (in favor of reliability) and of a single standardized design to make finding spare parts easier. These guidelines represented a philosophy whose concept was very close to that of the 1950s, spread amongst industry in general under the names "Design for maintenance" and "Reliable system design".
These design choices were carried over to the characteristic "Bianchi Line" inspired by the locomotives and systems already used in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. His locomotives were composed of a heavy rigid chassis, a central box and two small projections, one for each side. These projections, though reduced, they continued to characterize new Italian engines until the introduction of the E424
FS Class E424
The FS E424 is a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. They were built in 1943-1951 and have been decommissioned in 2008.-History:A design for a small multi-service Bo-Bo locomotive, with speed up to 90 km/h, had been devised by Giuseppe Bianchi as early as in the 1930s, but the...
, in service until the 1990s. They also influenced the development of the E636
FS class E636
The FS E636 is a class of Italian articulated electric locomotives. They were introduced in the course of the 1940s until the 1960s, and have been decommissioned in 2006. They have been one of the most numerous Italian locomotive group, and have been widely employed during their long career,...
, which were built from 1940 to 1962 and were one of the most numerous Italian locomotive groups, not decommissioned until 2006.
Sources
- Mario Loria, Storia della trazione elettrica ferroviaria in Italia Firenze, Giunti-Barbèra, 1971
- Erminio Mascherpa, Locomotive da battaglia: storia del Gruppo E.626 Salò, Editrice Trasporti su Rotaie, 1989, ISBN 88-85068-03-0
- Erminio Mascherpa, Locomotive da corsa: storia del Gruppo E.326 Salò : Editrice Trasporti su Rotaie, 1993, ISBN 88-85068-06-5
- Erminio Mascherpa, E.471: locomotive di sogno Rovereto : Nicolodi editore, 2005, ISBN 88-8447-199-0
The main articles by Bianchi on his resolution of problems of electric traction are cited in the books of Mario Loria and Erminio Mascherpa.
Works
- "Locomotiva elettrica", in Enciclopedia ItalianaEnciclopedia ItalianaThe Enciclopedia Italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti , is an Italian encyclopedia, generally regarded as the most authoritative of that language...
di scienze, lettere e arti. Vol. 21. Leo-Malb. Roma, Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana, 1934, pp. 364-373. - Ferrovie Nord Milano, 1879-1954 (Novara: Istituto Geografico De Agostini, 1954)http://www.trenidicarta.it/B.htm#289