Georg Knorr
| Theodor Georg Knorr | |
|---|---|
Georg Knorr
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| Born | October 19, 1859 Ruda bei Neumark, West Prussia |
| Died |
April 15, 1911 (aged 51) Davos, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Prussian, German |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Known for | Invention of railway air brakes |
Theodor Georg Knorr (October 19, 1859 in Ruda bei Neumark, West Prussia – April 15, 1911 in Davos, Switzerland), was an engineer and entrepreneur on the field of railroad technology and founder of the company Knorr-Bremse. He is particularly remembered for his role in the development of the compressed air brake.
After studies in mechanical engineering, Georg Knorr worked at Krefeld's railroad administration. In 1884 he joined the Berlin branch of the American engineer Jesse Fairfield Carpenter's enterprise (at Schöneberger Ufer 17 in Berlin Zoologischer Garten), which promoted the introduction to the German market of the bicameral air brake produced by Carpenter. In 1893 Knorr took over the company "Carpenter & Schulze", transferred the production to Berlin-Britz and in 1900 he even developed a new brake, "Knorr's single chamber express brake". Now he concentrated on the production of his brake, the company's name however remained unchanged. From 1905 on, the "Knorr brake" entered the German railroad services for use at goods trains and soon became the standard brake for all European railroads; the "Carpenter brake" remained insignificant in Europe.
To start the mass production of his brake, Knorr moved the firm to a factory building at Neue Bahnhofsstraße 11/12 (which was later named Alte Fabrik) at Boxhagen-Rummelsburg in autumn 1904. In 1905 he eventually established the enterprise "Knorr-Bremse Gmbh" and also bought the neighbouring plot of land no. 13/14 so he could expand the production. There he built the so-called New Factory (Neue Fabrik). Because this plant as well could soon no longer satisfy the increasing demand, annexes were erected in the Hirschberger Straße beyond the train tracks.
Together with engineers Kunze and Hildebrand, Knorr pushed the development of railway air brake systems. They developed the Kunze-Knorr brake (a graduated-release composite brake, which can be tightened and released at will) and later the Hildebrand-Knorr brake (another graduated-release brake that simultaneously affects all cars of a train). The factory's profit was so great that in 1911 the enterprise was transformed into the "Knorr Brake Corporation" (Knorr-Bremse AG).
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