MÁVAG

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MÁVAG (Magyar Királyi Államvasutak Gépgyára; Hungarian Royal State Railroads' Machine Factory) was the largest Hungarian rail vehicle producer. MÁVAG company was the second largest industrial enterprise after the Manfréd Weiss Steel and Metal Works in the Hungarian half of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. MÁVAG was the property of the Kingdom of Hungary. After World War II MÁVAG was nationalized, and "Királyi" ("Royal") was removed from its name.

The company employed thousands of workers. The buildings were in the VIII. district of Budapest, bordered by the following streets: Kőbányai street, Hungária avenue, Vajda Péter street, and Orczy street. It was the most important Hungarian machine factory in the 19th century, along with Csepel Művek (Csepel Factories). The most respected products of MÁVAG were steam locomotives. The first was produced in 1873, and MÁVAG produced the famous locomotive no. 424 from 1924. MÁVAG's neighbouring company was the Ganz motor- és vagongyár (Ganz engine and wagon factory), which manufactured diesel locomotives and luxury carriages for export.

In 1959 MÁVAG merged with the Ganz company and was renamed Ganz-MÁVAG.

The beginnings[]

The two plants were purchased by the Hungarian state and placed under joint control on August 1, 1870. The state founded the Machinery and Wagon Factory of the Hungarian Royal Railways and first handed it over to the management of MÁV, before establishing its own board. The first director of the factory was Frigyes Zimmermann.

After the Austro-Hungarian compromise of 1867, the legal obstacles of the development of national industry were eliminated, and the export of the locomotives became available. Corporate (private) railways have grown, which, along with MÁV, demanded a large number of locomotives and wagons. The factory started production of vehicles in 1872, the first of which was the first domestic production III of 50 coke trucks and according to the plans of the Sigl factory in Vienna. class (later 335 series) freight train steamer in 1873, which was presented at the Vienna World Exhibition that year.

Due to the global economic crisis, the company was temporarily reassigned to MÁV. On July 28, 1873, the building of the former Hungarian-Swiss Wagon Factory burnt down. It was rebuilt and turned into MÁV's main workshop (→ North Main Workshop). The factory's first proprietary-designed locomotive, number 7, was completed in 1878. The company produced a C-axis universal locomotive, the "Szolnok", for the Tiszavidék Vasút (later became the MÁV IIId). It was given the 314 series mark, and was introduced at the Paris World Expo the same year. In 1877, the factory started to produce agricultural machinery and threshing machines.

In 1880, the Hungarian government merged the factory with the Diósgyőr Ironworks and established a joint management company under the name "Hungarian Royal State Railways Machine Factory and Diósgyőr Hungarian Royal Iron and Steel Factory Directorate, Budapest". In 1881, the factory was able to build larger bridges and built several bridges for the MÁV and Kassa-Oderberg Railways, as well as the iron structure of the Keleti Railway Station. The factory was taken over by Zsigmond Kordina in June 1881. The first truly remarkable domestic-developed locomotive was the 1883 10th, MÁV class Ia, and later the 220 Series locomotive. In the same year, the first composite locomotive of the factory was completed, MÁV Class 56, 568, and later in the series 20, which was the 75th finished steamer of the factory. Starting in 1884, the company was managed directly by the ministry of commerce. The director of the factory became Nándor Förster in 1890, the year the mill's threshing machine was completed.

The factory's 500th steam locomotive is number 28, at MÁV IIIe. Class 2535 (later 326 series) locomotives were handed over on May 31, 1893. The thousandth locomotive, MÁV Int., Number 31, has a 468-track (222 series) locomotive was completed in 1896 and presented at the Millennium Exhibition. In 1896, the factory made the steel structure of the Újpest railway bridge and the Ferencz József bridge (today: Freedom Bridge).

The 1500th locomotive of the factory was built in 1900, Il. class 701 psz. (201/202 series), which is IVd of Structure 46. Class 4405 (422 Series) and Transylvanian Mining Route with Govasdia Narrow Gauge Locomotive won the Grand Prix of the Paris World Expo, similarly to the plant's harvesting and threshing machines and locomotives.

From 1900, Károly Vajkay, director of the ironworks, and from 1903 Pál Róth became the director of the Ironworks.

Golden Era[]

The 20th century started with an economic downturn: the factory dropped 100 pieces of steam locomotives annually by 1904, almost half of them were made abroad, mainly in Italy. At that time, the vehicle parts of the electric locomotives (VM1 and VM4 factory) produced for the Italian railway, Val Tellina, were also prepared for Ganz & Partners. Also for Ganz and Partner, the factory boiler plant delivered 159 de Dion-Bouton-based steam generators to the Ganz steam engine.

The factory's bridging class then worked on major orders: they were built in 1898 and handed over to Budapest. At the time of the construction of the bridge, it was the largest chain bridge in the world (290m). Structure Aurél Czekelius, beautiful gates were designed by Virgil Nagy. Steel structures were made by the Hungarian Royal State Ironworks. At this time, the 400 meter Tisza Bridge of the Algyő railway was built.

After the recession, steam locomotive production has risen again: by the year 1910, the factory had already produced 250 locomotives per year. In the 1900s, the Hungarian Royal State Iron Works planned and produced a number of steam locomotives of much larger size and power than before.

• the 71st-class, in-class (later series 203) high-speed train,
• the 84th factory IIIs. Class IV (later: 322 series) passenger trains,
• 90, 108, 114 IIIu. Class IV (later: 324 series) freight and passenger trains,
• 62nd factory IVe. Class 1 (later: 401 Series) Mallet System Speedway,
• 87th factory VIm. Class 1 (later: 651 Series) Mallet System Trains, or by-line service
• the TV. and TVa. (Classes 74, 92, 93, 110 and 115, and 91, 109, 116).

The 324 series of locomotives were produced for decades in the largest number of ever produced Hungarian steam locomotives in a total of 905 units, while 375 locomotives were manufactured for half a century - the latest version of the steam engine was the latest Hungarian version. In 1908, the In. Class was built to 816 (later 203,015) locomotive locomotives in the factory. At that time, the factory's main builder, Zsigmond Kordina, was Dvorak Hubert.

The bridgehead then made the Baja-Bátaszék, the Komárom railway and the Danube bridges. For agriculture, CT and XCT road steam locomotives, various locomobiles and steam bricks were built.

In the 1910s, with a few exceptions, the factory built only superheated steam locomotives. The two fast train locomotive types of the era, one of the most powerful 2'C1 'axle locomotives in Europe, are factory-fitted (301) and 102 and 103 (327 series) steam locomotives suitable for slopes with weaker superstructures. Until its outbreak, it produced 22 and 140 copies. The 327,023 steam locomotive delivered in 1913 was a locomotive bearing the factory's 3000th serial number.

The Hungarian Royal State Iron Factories have produced the 1051 Series Mallet system of the 1051 series, which is the largest and most powerful locomotive of the age in Europe. Unit 31 was the factory's 4000th factory locomotive, which was completed in 1917. By this time, the annual capacity of the factory exceeded 300, but the demand also required the manufacture of some smaller types in other plants. Due to the war copper deficiency, from 1915 only the Brotan-Deffner-system boilers with steel water pipes were made including the already mentioned 324, 375, 376 and 601 series locomotives. The first suburban locomotives were also completed: the first copies of the three-wheeled 342-series locomotives and the four-wheeled 442-series locomotives.

In addition, new 2'C axle-mounted high-speed trains (328 series), 1'D-axle heavy-duty trains (424 series) and C'C-axis Mallet-system trains (620 series) have been designed. However, only the production of the Series 328 series 118 could begin with these types.

Up until 1959 the company produced 7578 locomotives, including the Class 601, the largest steam locomotive type built in Europe up to and during World War I. In 1896, when Hungary celebrated the 1000th anniversary of Hungarian settlement, the 1000th locomotive was exhibited. MÁVAG exported many locomotives: from 1900, to Italy and Romania, later to Egypt, India, Yugoslavia, and Korea. After 1945 the company exported diesel trains to the USSR, and in 1961 became well known there for Д₁ local diesel trains.

Names of the company[]

• 1870: Hungarian Royal State Railways Machine and Trolley
• 1873: Machine Factory of Hungarian Royal Railways (hereafter MÁV Machine Factory)
• 1902: Hungarian Royal State Ironworks
• 1925: Hungarian Royal State Iron, Steel and Machinery Factory (hereafter: MÁVAG)
• 1943: Vitéz Horthy István Hungarian Royal State Iron, Steel and Machine Factory
• 1945: Hungarian State Iron, Steel and Machine Factory
• 1949: MÁVAG Locomotive and Machine Factory
• 1959: Ganz-MÁVAG Locomotive—Wagon and Machine Factory (1988)

References[]