Jean-Claude-Républicain Arnoux
| Jean-Claude-Républicain Arnoux | |
|---|---|
| Born |
16 December 1792 Le Cateau-Cambrésis |
| Died | 1866 (age 74) |
| Nationality | French |
| Fields | Civil engineer, entrepreneur, inventor |
| Education | École polytechnique |
| Known for | Arnoux system of rail carriage articulation |
Jean-Claude-Républicain Arnoux (Le Cateau-Cambrésis 16 December 1792 – 1866) was a French civil engineer known for his invention of the Arnoux system for articulating trains on tight curves. As an entrepreneur he founded and directed the Compagnie de Paris à Orsay, which constructed and operated the line from Paris to Orsay and is now part of the Ligne de Sceaux. It opened on 6 June 1846.
Jean-Claude-Républicain Arnoux was born at Le Cateau-Cambrésis in the Nord department of France on 16 December 1792. His father was a postmaster. In 1811 he entered the École polytechnique and became a lieutenant in the Artillery under the French First Empire, before being decommissioned on 16 July 1815.
He was the Administrator of the Messageries Générales (General Post Office) and was appointed General Manager of the General Post Office at Laffite in 1856.
Between 1845 and 1852 he built the rail line from Paris to Strasbourg, after doing scientific research at the École Centrale. In 1838 he published essays concerning his system for carriages on large curves. On 9 March 1841 he made a proposeal for a railway from Paris to Meaux, although it was not enacted.
He is best known as the inventor of the Arnoux system (French: système ferroviaire dit Arnoux), whichwas used on the first Ligne de Sceaux on 6 June 1846. This system used trains with articulated axles, such that the movements of the axles were guided by chains and pulleys, so that they could negotiate tight curves at high speed. He won the Grand Prix de Mécanique de l'Institut from the French Academy of Sciences in 1839.
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