Monday, January 13, 2020

"Hebel, Riegel und Signale" by Hans G. Wägli, 2018

Deutsche Version dieses Postings

One of my Christmas presents was quite heavy: "Hebel, Riegel und Signale" (Levers, Locks and Signals) by the late Hans G. Wägli, published by himself in 2018 in Switzerland. Wägli describes, on 450 pages, unbelievably many details of the history of Swiss mechanical lever frames, with many excursions to Germany (where the main suppliers, Jüdel in Braunschweig; and Schnabel & Henning, later Bruchsal, were located), but also to France and Britain. The book is only available in German, but its many pictures could make it intersting also for international readers.

One of the details I found is about compensators—unexpectedly, there is a diagram on page 176 which shows that single-wire lines for signals were used also in Switzerland, at least in the 19th century. The book proves, in my opinion, that the mutual influence in signalling technology among European countries was more extensive than is commonly assumed, at least in the 19th and early 20th century.

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