Louis Mékarski

Mékarski tram in Paris in 1900

Louis Mékarski (in Polish Ludwik Mękarski) (1843, Clermont-Ferrand,^[1] France – 1923) was a French engineer and inventor of Polish origin. In the 1870s he invented the so-called Mekarski system of compressed-air powered trams which was used in several cities of France and USA as alternative to horse-powered and steam-powered trams.

Patents

Louis Mékarski (with Paul Lucas-Girardville, an early aviator)^[2] patented a similar system for automobiles in 1903.^[3] Waste heat from an internal combustion engine generated steam, which was mixed with compressed air from an air compressor driven by the ic engine. The air/steam mixture then drove a separate piston engine which propelled the vehicle. This system pre-dated the better-known Still engine.

Mékarski also obtained a patent for spring wheels for vehicles.^[4]

Commemoration

In Nantes there is a street Rue Louis Mékarski.

References

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[Tramway_Nantais-1] Archives Nantes - Le Tramway Nantais, page 19 (fr)

[2] ttp://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/special_ms1_photographs/2075/

[3] ttp://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=190227370A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19031211&DB=&locale=en_EP

[4] ttp://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=190702860A&KC=A&FT=D&ND=3&date=19070718&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP