Seite - 114 - in Nikola Tesla and the Graz Tech

114 In 1872 the Andritz machine works built an independent department for bridge construction. The plant, located on the Southern Railway, later became the Graz works of Waagner-Biró AG. Various bridges for the Arlberg railway, the famous Trisana bridge, the bridges for the Vienna city railway and the Bosnian provincial railways were built here. As in the Biedermeier era, Graz proved to be open to technical innovations in bridge construction during the Gründerzeit. The Mur crossing, which re- placed the Ferdinand chain bridge (Kepler bridge) in 1882, formed the proto- type for the system of the ‘Langer beam’ (arched bridge). The design aroused admiration in the professional world and found appropriate mention in the technical literature. Founded in 1854 by Johann Weitzer, the blacksmith’s and coachworks was to develop into a world-renowned company by expanding the railway network and specialising in wagon construction. Fig.: Advertisement for the Weitzer machine works from 1907 (from: Elektrotechnik und Maschinenbau, 1907).