Jakob Buchli (4 March 1876 – 1 April 1945) was a Swiss
design engineer
A design engineer is an engineer focused on the engineering design process in any of the various engineering disciplines (including civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, textiles, aerospace, nuclear, manufacturing, systems, and structural /buil ...
in the field of
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
construction.
Life
Jakob Buchli was born in
Chur
, neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers
, twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, on 4 March 1876. After his training to be an engineer he worked from 1902 to 1910 for the
Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
(''Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik'' or ''SLM'') in
Winterthur
, neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell
, twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
; from 1907 as its head of the design office. After that he switched to
Brown, Boveri & Cie
Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies.
It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1 ...
. in
Baden, Switzerland
Baden (German for "baths"), sometimes unofficially, to distinguish it from other Badens, called Baden bei Zürich ("Baden near Zürich") or Baden im Aargau ("Baden in the Aargau"), is a town and a municipality in Switzerland. It is the main tow ...
, where he was the chief engineer for electric traction until 1924. From 1924 to 1930 he was technical director of the locomotive construction department of the SLM.
Amongst his most important designs were the
Buchli drive
The Buchli drive is a transmission system used in electric locomotives. It was named after its inventor, Swiss engineer Jakob Buchli. The drive is a fully spring-loaded drive, in which each floating axle has an individual motor, that is placed in ...
(1918) named after him and used on the
SBB Class Ae 4/7 amongst others, the
Java bogie
The Java bogie (german: Java-Drehgestell, Java-Gestell often in Swiss literature), was a bogie for electric locomotives manufactured by the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM). It contained a driving wheel and a trailing wheel. It got its na ...
, the
Winterthur Universal Drive and the duplex bogie for
express coach
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...
es.
He died in Winterthur on 1 April 1945.
See also
*
List of railway pioneers
A railway pioneer is someone who has made a significant contribution to the historical development of the railway (US: railroad). This definition includes locomotive engineers, railway construction engineers, operators of railway companies, major ...
Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchli, Jakob
1876 births
1945 deaths
Swiss railway mechanical engineers
Swiss railway pioneers
People from Chur
ETH_Zurich_faculty