Mekarski system

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The Mekarski system was a compressed-air propulsion system for trams invented by Louis Mékarski or Louis Mékarsky (the correct spelling is uncertain) in the 1870s. He worked in France but his country of birth is not known.

Contents

[edit] Overview

A problem with compressed-air propulsion is that the air cools as it expands, which can lead to the formation of ice in the power cylinders.

Mekarski sought to overcome this problem by heating the air with steam, produced in a small boiler called a bouillotte. It is uncertain whether the steam was mixed with the air, or whether there was a heat exchanger.

The system was tested in Paris in 1876 and introduced to the tramways of Nantes in 1880. It seems to have been a success at Nantes. The Mekarski tramcars continued in use there until 1911, when they were replaced by electric trams.

The system was tried out in England on the Wantage tramway but did not find favour there because the compressor plant used more than four times as much coal as a steam locomotive.

[edit] Preservation

  • One Mekarski tramcar is preserved at Nantes
  • In Bern, Switzerland, a project is underway to build an operational replica of one of the Mekarski trams that operated in the city from 1890 to 1901. It is hoped to have the replica operational by 2008.

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

  • See external links

[edit] External links


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