Union Switch & Signal was an American company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which focused on railway signaling equipment, systems and services. The company was acquired by Ansaldo STS in 1988, operating as a wholly-owned company until January 2009, when US&S was renamed "Ansaldo STS USA" to operate as a subsidiary of Ansaldo in the Americas and Asia.
US&S head office located in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, as seen in 1929
US&S signal bridge, pictured in 1913
US&S position light signal, 1922
Mechanism of a searchlight signal made by Union Switch & Signal in 1944 for the Rock Island Railroad
George Westinghouse Jr. was an American entrepreneur and engineer based in Pennsylvania who created the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry, receiving his first patent at the age of 19. Westinghouse saw the potential of using alternating current for electric power distribution in the early 1880s and put all his resources into developing and marketing it. This put Westinghouse's business in direct competition with Thomas Edison, who marketed direct current for electric power distribution. In 1911 Westinghouse received the American Institute of Electrical Engineers's (AIEE) Edison Medal "For meritorious achievement in connection with the development of the alternating current system". He founded the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1886.
Westinghouse Electric Company 1888 catalog advertising their "Alternating System"
Aerial view of Niagara Falls, with the American Falls at left and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls on the right
The residence of George Westinghouse in Washington, D.C., from 1901 to 1914
George Westinghouse, c. 1906