The Civil Engineer/ Albert Flink

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The Civil Engineer: Albert Fink
Albert fink was a US based German-born on October 27, 1827, in Lauterbach, Germany. He was born to Andreas S. and Margherita Fink. He had several siblings of whom his two brothers, Henry and Rudolph also migrated to the United States. Albert was married to his first wife named Mimi who died in childbirth and he married a second wife called Sally Moore Hunt who also died (Milton, 25). Albert studied architecture and civil engineering in the polytechnic at Darmstadt and graduated in 1848 at a time of revolutions in Europe and Germany. He migrated to the United States and worked with Baltimore and Ohio railroad as a draftsman before becoming chief office assistant to Benjamin Latrobe. Fink supervised the construction of bridges and buildings. He oversaw the construction of the nation’s first iron bridges like the Monongahela River in Fairmont, West Virginia. His design of the fink truss was implemented on the bridge, and it was the nation’s longest iron railroad bridge of its time (Milton, 34). Fink was also employed by the Norfolk and Petersburg railway as a consulting engineer and he build the Norfolk, Virginia bridge. After resigning from Baltimore and Ohio railroad, he worked with George Mc Leod, a chief engineer at Louisville and Nashville Railroad as an assistant. He built various bridges including the then longest iron bridge called the Green River bridge in Kentucky, and longest truss bridge of its time at Louisville, Kentucky.

Albert fink served as a chief engineer and superintendent during the civil war as numerous bridges and roads were destroyed during the time. He led in the repairing of the damaged roads and bridges and led the force operating in guarding against disasters. He then became the chief engineer at Louisville and Nashville railroad before being appointed as the general manager in 1865 and later elected as the vice president. During the financial crisis of 1873, fink studied the cost of transportation and published pamphlets called ‘the fink report on costs of transportation’ (Cox, 124). He sought to make a cost accounting system that would provide necessary details for effective rate making. He determined the value of each item in the operation of railroad thereby ensuring accurate accounts system. He believed in durability and security and hence introduced quality control as a management technique.
Albert fink made several contributions to the engineering history. He invented the fink truss which was used to support building roofs and bridges. The truss design involved the practical application of materials available like the cast and wrought iron. The design was used to build the longest truss bridge in its time. The truss design was quick, efficient and economical for constructing long-span bridges. Fink also became the first person to study the railroad finances on a systematic basis. Fink’s work marked the industrial expansion stage transition to the technological organization stage (Cox, 137). He used his skills to ensure efficient and effective operation of individual railroads by developing management tools. He sought to ease the rivalry between railroad companies by enabling them to cooperate thereby leading to the creation of Steamship Association and the Southern Railroad Association. He proposed that the companies should have a simple purpose which is to prevent wrangles on rates. He helped in managing and organization of the associations as the general commissioner by stabilizing and defining equal rates amongst the twenty-five rail companies. He provided the plan of work and rules that were applied and adhered to by the companies. Therefore, he was responsible for devising the plan for creating profitable institutions responsible for railway system management. He produced an analysis of innovative cost after the war and made it available in the industry. It was used as a guide by the two railway associations; the New York-based trunk Association and the Southern railroad association. Fink became the president of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1878. Fink later died of pneumonia on April 3, 1897, in Ossining, New York, United States (Milton,116).
Albert fink had a significant influence in the railroad industry as he was creative and original in his ideas. Fink is the father of cost accounting and statistics, and his books are used as the basis of the economies of American Railroads (Merritt, 71) His works through which he detailed the information about the real cost of transportation. This is so since his works of system cost analysis are often used to date as a basis for determining the economies of railroads companies. He also expanded the business of Louisville and Nashville Railroad as far as Alabama which required financing that he facilitated by negotiating beyond American banking through connections in England thereby enabling the railroad to escape bankruptcy. He was also recognized as a negotiator as the railroad owners had a certain respect for him because of his ability and skills to identify and resolve the warfare in the industry. He managed to stabilize and set dependable freight tariffs (Merritt, 86).
Works Cited
Cox, Jim. Rails Across Dixie: A History of Passenger Trains in the American South. Jefferson,
N.C: McFarland, 2011. Internet resource.
Merritt, Raymond H. Engineering in American Society, 1850-1875. Lexington: University Press
of Kentucky, 1969. Internet resource.
Milton, Ellen F. A Biography of Albert Fink. Rochester, N.Y: Printed [by] Commercial Controls
Corp, 1951. Print.