Alfred Jules Belpaire (25 September 1820 – 27 January 1893) was a Belgian locomotive

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who invented the square-topped

Belpaire firebox The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and s ...

in 1864. Belpaire was born in

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

, and first studied at the Athenaeum School in Antwerp. He then became a student at the

École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

from 1837 to 1840 where he obtained a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

. Belpaire was then employed at the

Belgian State Railways The Belgian State Railways ( ; ) was the original state-owned railway of Belgium. Established by an organic law of 1 May 1834, it began construction of its first line, between Brussels and Mechelen on 1 June 1834. This line, which was opened on 5 ...

, where he worked as a mechanical engineer for more than 50 years. He was first director of the railway workshops at

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

and then from 1850 put in charge of all materials and based in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. He first developed a firebox to burn poor quality coals and then around 1860 generalised his invention into a robust thermally efficient design which bears his name. His firebox was used in locomotives in his native Belgium and also then extensively in Britain, North America and around the world. The Belpaire firebox had an improved transfer of heat and steam production due to its greater surface area at the top. While attaching it to a boiler was more difficult due to its oblong shape, it had simpler interior bracing as an advantage. Alfred Belpaire was one of the founders of the Congrès International des Chemins de Fer, of which he was president in 1891. He died in

Schaerbeek (French language, French, ; former History of Dutch orthography, Dutch spelling) or (modern Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Reg ...

, aged 72.

Honours

* Grand Officier in the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

. * Grand Officier in the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. * Knight grand Cross in the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

. * Knight Commander in the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III (, originally ; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OC3) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bes ...

. * Officier in the

Order of the Oak Crown The Order of the Oak Crown (, , ) is an order (honour), order of the Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. History The Order of the Oak Crown was established in 1841 by William II of the Netherlands, Grand Duke William II, who was also King o ...

.Obbit. in Handelsblad (Het) 28 January 1893

References

External links

Belpaire, Alfred
at steamindex.com * https://web.archive.org/web/20130306021437/http://www.tassignon.be/trains/musee_nord/museum_noord.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Belpaire, Alfred 1820 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Belgian engineers Belgian mechanical engineers Locomotive builders and designers École Centrale Paris alumni People from Ostend