Kunze-Knorr brake
The Kunze -Knorr brake ( Kk - brake) is an automatic air brake for freight, passenger and express trains. She was the first mehrlösige air brakes for freight trains in Europe. With the arrival of the freight train brakes were converted from manual to pneumatic brake operation after the First World War in various European countries. But the Reichsbahn estimated the cost of 1918 carried out until 1927 equipment of the German wagons with the Kunze- Knorr -Bremse at 478.4 million Reichsmark. The enabled by the acceleration of the freight and the saving of the brakeman personnel operating cost savings estimated the Reichsbahn annually to nearly 96.3 million Reichsmarks.
In the Kunze- Knorr -Bremse were suggestions of the Prussian Oberbaurat Bruno Kunze (1854-1935) and preparatory work of the founder of Knorr -Bremse, Georg Knorr (1859-1911), realized. She was the first continuous air brakes, with the long freight trains in the braking force was not only gradually strengthened, but also solved gradually again. By combining a single- and a dual-chamber master cylinder to form a composite brake was achieved with her a decisive increase the braking force.
The Kunze- Knorr -Bremse has been developed in three versions for freight trains ( Kkg ), passenger trains ( Kkp ) and fast trains ( Kks ). The model for freight wagons offered the option of switching between idle and load braking. The passenger version has won both the control valve or a valve acceleration. The express train brake also had an additional brake pressure regulator to prevent the wheels from locking during emergency braking.
Designed and manufactured was the Kunze -Knorr brake of the Knorr -Bremse AG in Berlin. It was produced by its subsidiary Süddeutsche Brake AG at the current headquarters of Knorr -Bremse AG in Munich. Altogether, z.T., about 550,000 control valves of the Kunze- Knorr -Bremse manufactured under license. In the 1930s it was replaced by the Hildebrand -Knorr -Bremse ( Hik ). In many places, such as the Deutsche Reichsbahn, but she remained until at least the 1960s regularly in operation.