Alstom Transport Deutschland, formerly Linke-Hofmann-Busch, is a German manufacturing company originally established in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) to produce

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 ...

s and rolling stock. Its origins lay in the wheelwright business of Gottfried Linke, begun in 1834. After World War II, the company was reestablished in Salzgitter in West Germany. In 1994,

GEC Alsthom GEC or Gec may refer to: Education * Gedo Education Committee, in Somalia * Glen Eira College, in Caulfield East, Victoria, Australia * Goa Engineering College, India * Government Engineering College (disambiguation) * Guild for Exceptiona ...

acquired a 51% shareholding.World Update '' Railway Age'', August 1994, p. 88. It is now part of

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

; the name Linke-Hofmann-Busch ceased to be used in 2009 when it became Alstom Transport Deutschland GmbH.

Aircraft industry

During World War I, it became one of many companies in Germany drawn into the

aircraft industry An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

even though they had no prior experience in aircraft design. Linke-Hofmann-Busch first entered the aircraft industry by repairing and constructing aircraft designed by other established companies under licence, such as the

Roland C.II The LFG Roland C.II, usually known as the ''Walfisch'' (Whale), was an advanced German reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was manufactured by Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft G.m.b.H. Characteristics The C.II had much lower drag than comparab ...

Albatros B.II The Albatros B.II, (post-war company designation L.2) was an unarmed German two-seat reconnaissance biplane of the First World War. Design and development Designed by Robert Thelen based on his 1913 Albatros B.I, the B.II was the aircraft that ...

a, C.III and C.X. In 1916 Linke-Hofmann-Busch was awarded a contract to design and build a four-engined heavy bomber under the '' Riesenflugzeug'' ("giant aircraft") designation. Two designs were built in prototype form, the R.I and the R.II; both designs were unconventional. The R.I was unsuccessful, but the Linke-Hofmann R.II flew well. However, the war ended before it could go into production. Post-war attempts to build R.II's as passenger and transport aircraft were prevented by the Allied Control Commission which was concerned about bombers being built illicitly, under the guise of airliners, and the possible resumption of the war.

Rail products

Heavy Rail

* Prototype carriages for the Deutsche Bundesbahn (1976). * Indian Railways' LHB coach are based on a design developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch.

Suburban Rail

* Litra SA and Litra SE for the Copenhagen S-tog (with

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

, 1996–2006) * CIÉ 8100 Class for the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (with

GEC GEC or Gec may refer to: Education * Gedo Education Committee, in Somalia * Glen Eira College, in Caulfield East, Victoria, Australia * Goa Engineering College, India * Government Engineering College (disambiguation) * Guild for Exceptional ...

, 1983–1984): built to a metro-style specification. * DB Class 420 for S-Bahn services in Munich, Rhine-Main, Rhine-Ruhr, and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Metro

* M1, M2 and M3 series for the

Amsterdam Metro The Amsterdam Metro ( nl, Amsterdamse metro) is a rapid transit system serving Amsterdam, Netherlands, and extending to the surrounding municipalities of Diemen and Ouder-Amstel. Until 2019 it also served the municipality of Amstelveen but this ...

(1973–1980) * DT2 series for the Hamburg U-Bahn (with Kiepe). * DT4 series for the Hamburg U-Bahn (with ABB).

Light Rail

TT Class 8 TT Class 8 are the only remaining trams used on the Trondheim Tramway. Built by Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) in 1984–85, they replaced the aging Class 7 trams used by Trondheim Trafikkselskap (TT). Of the eleven built, nine remain in service on ...

for the Trondheim Tramway (1984) * P86 Stock for the Docklands Light Railway in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

(1986) * TW 2000 for the Hanover Stadtbahn (1997–2000)

References

*The German Giants, The Story of the R-planes 1914-1919, G.W Haddow & Peter M. Grosz, 1963. Published by Putnam & Company 42 Great Russell Street London *

External links

* {{Authority control Alstom Companies based in Wrocław Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany Locomotive manufacturers of Germany