By Shari Peoples

The story of Hermann Lemp started in Berne, Switzerland in 1862 where he was born and began his engineering studies. He was nineteen when he immigrated to the United States and started working in the laboratories of Thomas Eddison. Lemp worked with Edison for just one year before moving on. He spent the next several years establishing himself as a man of knowledge and skill in engineering, as an electrical engineer. The early years of his profession were spent at Schuyler Electric Company and Thomson Electrical Welding Company before he landed at General Electric, where he spent the majority of his career.[1] It was at General Electric where Hermann Lemp made some of his most groundbreaking achievements.

At the turn of the century, railroad travel underwent numerous changes as the industry tried to accommodate rapidly increasing demands. The idea of using trains for short-distance passenger travel appeared to be the next logical step, but the processes and equipment were inefficient, making the task daunting. As the industry struggled to find workable solutions for incompatibility issues between (gas) internal combustion engines and electric generators, Inspired by Rudolf Diesel, Lemp began forging a path ahead, recommending the use of compression ignition engines and focusing on a new field, automatic controls.[2]  In 1911, General Electric sent him to study diesel engines overseas. Upon his return, Lemp was instrumental in the company’s work on “high-compression, oil-engined, electric lighting sets” at the company’s site in Erie Pennsylvania.[3] The compatibility issues between the electrical systems and the now updated diesel engines persisted.

In 1914, Hermann Lemp created a workable solution to the problem. He designed a lever that would simultaneously operate the train’s engine and electrical system. This patented design became the model used for the new diesel-electric locomotives.[4] Over the next few years, General Electric experimented with the new locomotive and incorporated the control lever created by Lemp. As the trains moved from the experimental stages, other companies prepared to take up production. An unforeseen byproduct of the new system was the decreased levels of pollution produced in comparison to the old steam engine, leading New York City to pass legislation banning the latter in the city.[5]

While the single-level control patented by Lemp had transformed the industry, he was not satisfied and continued to make improvements. In 1926, he gained a third patent on his improved system. The updated control systems were the foundation for diesel-electric locomotives for half a century, and the fundamentals still are used in similar engines today. His lever was used not only in diesel-electric locomotives but in gas-electric rail motorcars as well.[6] One of the most notable is the Great Northern 2313 which later became the Montana Western 31. Built in 1925, this is the oldest remaining car of its kind, utilizing the Lemp control system.[7] After Hermann Lemp left General Electric, he went to the Erie Steam Shovel Company to serve as their chief engineer. Later he was a consultant for Ingersoll-Rand and assisted in preparations for the World’s Fair in New York, through railroad construction.[8]

Although Hermann Lemp was not an American by birth, he carved out a place for himself in the building of this nation. He chose to make the United States his home, becoming a naturalized citizen and dedicating his life to developing technologies that enabled the country to expand.[9] Throughout his career, Lemp held multiple prestigious positions because of his skill, intelligence, and dedication. He was a charter member of the American Welding Society, served as a board member of the American Society of Welding, chaired multiple committees, and was a Fellow of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.[10]  His accomplishments can be seen in the 200-300 patents bearing his name along with other awards he received, such as the Defense National Transportation Award and the Geroge R. Henderson Medal, representing the impact of his efforts on the diesel-electric locomotive.[11]

Accounts of this great engineer, reflect not only a man of talent, but one of perseverance and integrity, who worked through struggles to find solutions, and appreciated opportunities to engage with other notable figures of his day. After the 1936 Light’s Golden Jubilee Banquet in honor of Thomas Edison, he corresponded with E. G. Liebold,  Henry ford’s personal secretary. Liebold had asked for his recollections of events from the evening. In Lemp’s response, he spoke of meeting Will Rogers – and getting his autograph, recounted conversation with Orville Wright and Madame Currie, shaking hands with President Hoover, and Mrs. Ford. In all the excitement of the evening, he reflected that what he found most memorable was returning to the place where he first started with Edison, walking down the halls of the old laboratory and letting the memories take him back in time.[12] With all of his successes, Lemp had not forgotten where he started.

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[1] —– “2nd National Transportation Award.” National Defense Transportation Journal 7, no. 6 (1951): 11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44096414.

[2] Parker Lamb. “Self-Propelled Coaches.” in Evolution of the American Diesel Locomotive (Indiana University Press, 2007): 18. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt2005xkp.5.

[3] —– “Resolution Adopted by the American Welding Society Concerning the Retirement of Mr. Hermann Lemp from Active Participation in its Work,” Journal of the American Welding Society 3, no. 6 (June 1924): 5.

[4] Gathman. “American Diesel Developments,” Carolina Conductor 2 no.8 (August 2015): 1-5.

[5] Ibid, 5.

[6] —– “Great Northern 2313 – Montana Western 31: Gas-Electric Rail Motorcar.” (North Freedom: Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society, 2003) 3-4.

[7] Ibid, 3.

[8] Ibid, 5.

[9] —– “2nd National Transportation Award, 11.

[10] —– “Resolution Adopted,” 4-5.

[11] —– “2nd National Transportation Award, 10-11.

[12] Lemp, Hermann. Correspondence Between E.G. Liebold and Hermann Lemp Regarding Light’s Golden Jubilee Banquet Painting, 1936. In the Henry Ford Collections.