The Hall Signal Company was an American manufacturer of

railway signaling Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormou ...

equipment in the 19th and 20th centuries. Hall's equipment was widely used by American railroad companies. The company's founder,

William Phillips Hall William Phillips Hall was a lay evangelist, railroad transportation executive, and electrical engineer. He founded the Hall Signal Company, headquartered in New York City, and invented signal mechanisms to improve railroad safety. He was involve ...

, was an inventor who developed several important devices in the history of

railway signalling Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormou ...

. The company manufactured

automatic block signaling Automatic block signaling (ABS), spelled automatic block signalling or called track circuit block (TCB ) in the UK, is a railroad communications system that consists of a series of signals that divide a railway line into a series of sections, ...

systems, disc signals (also called "banjo" signals), a rotating semaphore signal,

grade crossing signals Level crossing signals are the electronic warning devices for road vehicles at railroad level crossings. The basic signal consists of flashing red lights, a crossbuck and a bell (either a real bell or a speaker that mimics a bell sound), attach ...

, and the first searchlight-style signal. The company was established in 1871 with main offices in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and a factory in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.Garwood, New Jersey Garwood is a borough in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,454, an increase of 228 (+5.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,226, which in turn reflected an increase ...

. The company reorganized in 1912 to raise capital and expand its Garwood factory. In 1925 Hall Signal Co. was purchased by

Union Switch and Signal Union Switch & Signal (commonly referred to as US&S) was an American company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which focused on railway signaling equipment, systems and services. The company was acquired by Ansaldo STS (from 2015, Hitachi Rail ...

, principally for the value of its searchlight signal patents.

References

Manufacturing companies established in 1871 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1925 Defunct companies based in New York City Railway signalling manufacturers Meriden, Connecticut Union County, New Jersey 1871 establishments in New York (state) 1925 disestablishments in New York (state) 1925 mergers and acquisitions American companies disestablished in 1925 American companies established in 1871 Technology companies established in 1871 Technology companies disestablished in 1925 {{US-rail-transport-stub

See also

References