Adolf Klose

The Klose drive was widely used on Yugoslavia's narrow gauge railways.

Adolf Klose(21 May 1844 – 2 September 1923) was the chief engineer of theRoyal Württemberg State Railwaysin southernGermanyfrom June 1885 to 1896.

Klose was born inBernstadt auf dem Eigen,inSaxony.Before his taking up his post in Stuttgart he had been the technical inspector of theUnited Swiss Railways(Vereinigten Schweizerbahnen). After a period of depending onPrussianprototypes between 1865 and 1885, a new engineering direction followed under Klose's time in office. It was stamped by numerous home-grown ideas and discoveries. In particular he promoted the introduction ofcompoundworking forsteam locomotivesinWürttemberg.

The patented Klose steering (Klose-Lenkwerk) carries his name. This was a multipartite and complex device for steam locomotives, which controlled the radial setting ofleadingandtrailingwheelsetsin order to improve curve running.Unfortunately, its costly maintenance and tendency to develop faults meant that his invention had no lasting success, something which was true of many other of his devices.

In 1906, Rudolf Diesel, Adolf Klose and the steam and diesel engine manufacturer Gebrüder Sulzer foundedGesellschaft für Thermolokomotiven, Diesel-Klose-Sulzer GmbHfor the manufacture of diesel-powered locomotives. The company produced one diesel-mechanical locomotive for the Prussian State Railways in 1912.

Adolf Klose died on 2 September 1923 inMunich,Bavaria.

Literature

• Mühl/Seidel: Die Württembergischen Staatseisenbahnen. Konrad Theiss Verlag Stuttgart und Aalen, 1970

External links

• People of the town of Bernstadt auf dem Eigen (German)