Magyar News, 2004. szeptember-2005. augusztus (15. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-10-01 / 2. szám
The worlds largest Ford collection is at the Den Hartogh Museum their renowned contours, their black chassis and excellent drive-trains. The Ford Company was able to complete a new car every ten seconds. The Model T's low price allowed everyone that was making a good salary to buy a car. That same year the price had dropped to $360.00. Ford was also fair to his factory workers by paying them five dollars a day, which was almost double the going wage. Newspapers said Ford "had a heart" and he would rather make 20,000 "prosperous and contented" than seven millionaires. He also provided an English School so his foreign-bom employees could learn how to read, write, and speak English. This made Henry Ford one of the most respected people in America. By paying workers fair wages the standard of living was increased. This, in turn, decreased child labor because now families had more money to support themselves. Galamb from 1915 worked on the Fordson-tractor plans. In 1921 he founded a scholarship for the poor students of his native town who wished to take up higher education at trade school. During World War I he was busy designing military hardware, e. g. anti-submarine detection systems. He visited Hungary many times, lecturing at the Association of Hungarian Engineers and Architects. Strangely enough during his visits he never happened to meet with the two Hungarian inventors of the carburetor, Bánky and Csonka. The Model Ts were rolling out by the hundreds of thousands when Ford posed a new design challenge. Joe, we need to make a light tractor for the farmers. Let's see what we could throw together from what we've got. See me in three days with any ideas." - Said Ford. Galamb went to work. He took the engine from the old Model B and attached it to the power-train of the Model T. They tested this "thrown together" prototype on Ford's farm, after only a few days. Following the test drive Ford had rolled out more than a million of these tractors in subsequent years. At the same time, one of Galamb's assistants was Jenő Farkas, incidentally also Galamb's countryman. There were only a handful of people who had access to Galamb's tiny office during those days as the planning continued in secret - understandably. Galamb designed the Model T's power-train-clutch, transmission, driveshaft, differential - and a considerable portion of the chassis itself. Probably the most unique and revolutionary part of the Model T was it's transmission. This planetary transmission is entirely Galamb's design. It is part of the story that when America ultimately entered the fighting towards the end of World War I, there was a sudden urgency to start up the mass-manufacturing of airplane engines. Consequently Ford, Galamb and a couple of their staff made a visit to the Pratt & Whitney airplane engine manufacturing company to study their solutions for the speed-governors between the engine and the propeller's drive-shaft. At the factory when the Pratt & Whitney staff took the cowling off of one of their engines and uncovered the speed-governor, Ford exclaimed: "Wow, isn't this the same as our Model T's planetary transmission?!" - It was. So, they went home. They also laid the groundwork for the manufacturing of the Liberty airplane engines. The production of the later did not start until towards the end of the war. Of these airplane engines there were 3950 produced. It is also Galamb who designed the single motor block for the four-cylinder engines and, what was considered a revolutionary design, the removable cylinderheads. In 1937 Galamb had officially received the title: "Chief of Design" which he held until his retirement - due to health problems - in April, 1944, working ever increasingly with Ford's son Edsel during those years. Following his well deservedretirement his health continued to deteriorate, nevertheless he held on for an other eleven and a half years until his death on December 4th, 1955 J.F.B. Prime Minister of Hungary1 The picture on the left is Peter Medgyessy Prime Minister who resigned suddenly. On the right is Ferenc Gyurcsány who is almost certain to be the next prime minister after winning the support of the overwhelming majority of delegates at the Socialist (MSZP) party congress held in Budapest on Wednesday, August 25. We hope to learn more about the change. It could happen by the time you receive this issue. Page 3
