George Westinghouse Jr.
George Westinghouse (full name George Westinghouse Jr.) was a young man that fought in the Civil War. He had been in the South and saw the importance of railroads and railroad safety. Before and after the Civil War, he was an inventor. He learned his skills from working in his dad’s shop. Many of his inventions were for railroads such as a car re-railer and a railroad frog.
Another problem that the railroads were experiencing in the times of the air brakes was proper signaling. Westinghouse founded the Union Switch and Signal Company, and invented a railroad signal that was operated by pressure through a pipe from a remote location. This was unlike any signals before. Before Westinghouse’s signal, someone had to manually adjust the signal. Westinghouse used his knowledge of air pressure and its capabilities to develop a pressure actuated signal.
“My greatest capital was the experience and skill acquired from the opportunity given to me, when I was young, to work with all kinds of machinery, coupled later with the lessons in that discipline to which a soldier is required to submit.” – George Westinghouse, Henry G. Prout, A Life of George Westinghouse
Another problem that the railroads were experiencing in the times of the air brakes was proper signaling. Westinghouse founded the Union Switch and Signal Company, and invented a railroad signal that was operated by pressure through a pipe from a remote location. This was unlike any signals before. Before Westinghouse’s signal, someone had to manually adjust the signal. Westinghouse used his knowledge of air pressure and its capabilities to develop a pressure actuated signal.
“My greatest capital was the experience and skill acquired from the opportunity given to me, when I was young, to work with all kinds of machinery, coupled later with the lessons in that discipline to which a soldier is required to submit.” – George Westinghouse, Henry G. Prout, A Life of George Westinghouse