Energy Hall’s Machinery – 4

Engineer Ernst Pohjanpalo invented this five-cylinder radial engine design for motorcycles in the 1920s. The 12 horsepower engine was to be mounted in a rack inside the rear wheel of the motorcycle. The problem with this invention was that it made turning corners more difficult when riding the motorcycle, as it tilting the bike became tricky with the added rigid weight in the rear wheel.

Ernst Pohjanpalo was an engineer as well as an inventor, and mostly focused on developing engines for boats. In 1923, Pohjanpalo founded the engine factory Ares in Sirpalesaari, Helsinki. Ares manufactured engines for boats, as well as dabbling in other vehicle engines and power station engines. Pohjanpalo was an accomplished man and was involved in the development of Helsinki’s railway sector. He was then chief of Suomenlinna’s engineering workshop from 1941 to 1942, a Class I Mechanical Engineer of the Railway Board since 1943, a machine workshop inspector from 1944, and as an assistant manager of workshops since 1945. He led the design work of Hyvinkää locomotive workshop for government railways. In 1948, the industrial plants of Ares Co. in Sirpalesaari were sold to the City of Helsinki due to the business being unprofitable. Most of the plant has been demolished, but you can still visit Sirpalesaari and see one of the buildings still standing today.