Maschinenfabrik Esslingen

Company type	Limited company (Aktiengesellschaft)
Industry	Transport engineering,automotive engineering,mechanical engineering
Predecessor	Württembergische Baumwoll-Spinnerei und -Weberei
Founded	11 March 1846
Defunct	1968, formally 2003
Fate	Taken over byDaimler-Benz in 1965 and eventually integrated intoStill GmbH in theFlurfördermittel sector
Headquarters	OriginallyEsslingen am Neckar, laterSchönefeld,Germany

Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME), was a German engineering firm that manufacturedlocomotives,tramways,railway wagons,roll-blocks, technical equipment for the railways, (turntables andtraversers),bridges,steel structures,pumps andboilers.

It was founded byEmil Kessler on 11 March 1846 inStuttgart, as a result of an initiative of theKingdom of Württemberg to create a railway industry that was not dependent on foreign manufacturers. Emil Kessler brought vital experience from his time with theengineering works inKarlsruhe, where he had been a member of the board since 1837 and the sole director since 1842.

The foundation stone of the new factory was laid atEsslingen am Neckar on 4 May 1846. One year later, in October 1847, the first locomotive ordered by theRoyal Württemberg State Railways (Königlich Württembergische Staats-Eisenbahnen) orK.W.St. E. was delivered.

After the death of Emil Kessler in 1867 his 26-year-old son, Emil Kessler, took over the factory. He ran it until his death in 1895. From 1907 another Kessler took the helm of the engineering works: Emil Kessler's youngest son, Ludwig Kessler. Later (but prior to his death in 1931), the director was Julius Rosenthal.^[1]

The one thousandth locomotive delivered in 1870 was given the nameKESSLER to commemorate the founder of the factory. The engineering works worked closely with theRoyal Württemberg State Railways so that almost all new engines for the railway company were built at Esslingen.

The firm earned a very good reputation, initially at home, then increasingly abroad. Several takeovers of other companies (Maschinenfabrik Gebr. Decker & Co. in 1881,Maschinen- & Kesselfabrik G. Kuhn in 1902), the formation ofCostruzioni Meccaniche Saronno (Italy) in 1887 and in 1913 the construction of a new factory atMettingen demonstrated its success.

One phase was the construction of ships for inland waters atUlm andFriedrichshafen, begun in 1852 and stopped by 1858, that saw it through the time of economic crisis after 1848. 50 boats for the riverDanube, twosteamships for the riverNeckar, two steamers and two tugs forLake Constance and were the result of this thoroughly successful venture.

Longer-lived was the firms involvement in steel structures and bridging, that it continued with until the end.

Steam

By the 1960sMaschinenfabrik Esslingen had delivered several thousand steam and diesel locomotives worldwide, including numerous special designs. It had a particular reputation for the construction ofcog locomotives in many variations, including locomotives forRiggenbach,Abt andStrubrack railways. It was one of these engines that was the last steam locomotive to be made in Esslingen: on 21 October 1966 the last cog locomotive left the factory bound forIndonesia.^[2]

Electric

The company was also involved in the production ofelectric locomotives, for example, in 1912 for theWendelsteinbahn. After 1920 a batch ofaccumulator cars was produced, mainly for coal mines and industrial railways.

Internal combustion

In addition, internal combustion engined locomotives were built, such as the small diesel locomotive, theKöf, theEsslingen railbus and theRussian locomotive class E el-2.

Between 1956 and 1965, over 400 Class SSBGT4 articulated four axle trams were built in Esslingen for the Stuttgart tramways, which were in regular operation until 2007. The same model was also built for Freiburg im Breisgau, Neunkirchen, and Reutlingen. In addition, four axle bogie trams were built of the END system.

Even the cable car vehicles in Stuttgart were made at Esslingen.

Finally theME became a subsidiary of theGutehoffnungshütte. In 1965Daimler-Benz AG bought the company in order to use it factory facilities for its production and the construction of railway vehicles ceased. As of 2007Maschinenfabrik Esslingen AG still existed, but as a real estate leasing company.^{[citation needed]}

Today, old locomotives are rebuilt by theVerein zur Erhaltung der Lokomotiven der ME (Society for the Preservation of ME Locomotives) and handed over to museum railways for everyday operations. This society has its base in the old board rooms of the engineering works in Emil-Kessler-Straße in Mettingen on the factory site of Daimler AG.

The last rack locomotive built in Germany forIndonesian State Railways, E10 60 is now used for excursion trains betweenSawahlunto and Muarakalaban inWest Sumatera.^[4][5]

• Max Mayer:Lokomotiven, Wagen und Bergbahnen – Geschichtliche Entwicklung in der Maschinenfabrik Eßlingen seit dem Jahre 1846. VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1924.
• Catalogue of the ExhibitionEmil Kessler 1813–1867. Exhibition in the Baden State Library, Karlsruhe from 4 November to 2 December 1967,Deutsche Gesellschaft für Eisenbahngeschichte, 1967.
• Wolfgang Messerschmidt:Lokomotiven der Maschinenfabrik Esslingen 1841 bis 1966. Steiger-Verlag, Moers 1984.
• Wolfgang Messerschmidt:Von Lok zu Lok. Esslingen und der Lokomotivbau für die Bahnen der Welt. Franckh´sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1969.
• Werner Willhaus:Maschinenfabrik Esslingen., Eisenbahn-Kurier Verlag, Freiburg 1999.
• Ludwig Keßler:Aus den Anfängen der Maschinenfabrik Eßlingen. Emil Keßler – sein Leben, sein Werk. Erinnerungsschrift zur 125. Wiederkehr des Geburtstags von Emil Keßler, 1938.

• Maschinenfabrik Esslingen
• Railway nostalgia siteArchived 2007-09-26 at theWayback Machine
• History of the ME in editions 2001 and 2002 of the Härtsfeldbahn-Anzeigers magazine
• Förderverein ME
• Documents and clippings about Maschinenfabrik Esslingen in the20th Century Press Archives of theZBW

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