Kunze–Knorr brake

When it was introduced after the First World War, goods train brakes switched from hand operation to compressed-air in various European countries.

The Deutsche Reichsbahn alone put the cost of equipping German goods wagons with Kunze-Knorr brakes between 1918 and 1927 at 478.4 million Reichsmarks.

The operating cost savings from faster goods services and having fewer brakemen was assessed by the Reichsbahn at almost 96.3 million Reichsmark annually.

The Kunze-Knorr brake brought together the ideas of Prussian senior surveyor, Bruno Kunze (1854–1935), and preparatory work by the founder of Knorr-Bremse, Georg Knorr (1859–1911).

It was also produced by their subsidiary company Süddeutsche Bremsen-AG at what is nowadays the head office of Knorr-Bremse AG in Munich.