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Industrial Engineer, noted for his work on the creation of metropolitan Madrid
Carlos Lafitte was born in Donostia-San Sebastian on November 12, 1883. He studied industrial engineering in Bilbao and electrical engineering in Liege.
It started as municipal engineer in San Sebastian taking charge of the lighting service. In 1907 he joined “El Irati” Society, dedicated to self-power and exploitation of the tramway of Navarre. Laffitte was the author of the project of the new rail line to connect Pamplona with Sangüesa and Aoiz, conceiving this train as one of the pioneers of electric traction in Spain.
In 1918, he accepted the invitation of Miguel Otamendi to work in the Metropolitan Company in Madrid Alfonso XIII. This company had been created a year earlier in order to solve the problem of transport in Madrid. The first line of the Metropolitan, which linked Puerta del Sol to Cuatro Caminos, was inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII on October 17, 1919. The public opening was held on 31 of the same month.
Later, Laffitte served as Chief Engineer in the construction of Pacific Power Station, built to supply electricity to the metropolitan of Madrid with the aim of solving the frequent power failures.
At the Metropolitan, Carlos Laffitte worked on the generation, transformation and transmission of electricity, in addition to signaling, but he also studied similar experiences, like the Metropolitan of Paris and the locomotives of the General Electric, in order to design his electrification system. After serving as Assistant Director, from 1958 he served as General Director of the Metropolitan. Finally, he retired in 1966.
Among Laffitte's inventions, it should be highlighted the one called "Laffitte’s pantograph", a device that supported the socket body, similar to the trolley pole, that supplied a current of 600 volts to the train.
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Orthographe également utilisé:
Laffitte, Carlos
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Curriculum Vitae
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* 12.11.1883
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San Sebastian, Spain
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Né
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1904
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Bilbao, Spain
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degree in Industrial Engineering
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1918 - 1966
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Madrid, Spain
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Worked worked on the generation, transformation and transmission of electricity
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1931
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Madrid, Spain
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President of the Association of Industrial Engineers of Madrid
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1958
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Madrid, Spain
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President
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† 13.02.1978
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Madrid, Spain
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Décédé
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Newsletter
DMG-Lib
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