Union Switch and Signal
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Union Switch & Signal (commonly referred to as US&S) was an American company based in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, which focused on
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, systems and services. The company was acquired by Ansaldo STS (from 2015,
Hitachi Rail STS Hitachi Rail STS SpA (from ''Hitachi Rail Signalling and Transportation Systems'') or Hitachi Rail STS (previously Ansaldo STS) is a transportation company owned by Hitachi with a global presence in the field of railway signalling and integrated t ...
) in 1988, operating as a wholly-owned company until January 2009, when US&S was renamed "Ansaldo STS USA" to operate as a
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of Ansaldo in the Americas and Asia.Ansaldo STS USA
on Ansaldo website (archived, March 8, 2009)


History


Early years

George Westinghouse George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) 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 ...
founded Union Switch & Signal Inc. in 1881, consolidating the assets of the Union Electric Signal Company (founded by
track circuit A track circuit is an electrical device used to prove the absence of a train on rail tracks to signallers and control relevant signals. An alternative to track circuits are axle counters. Principles and operation The basic principle behind t ...
inventor William Robinson) and the Interlocking Switch & Signal Company (which had pioneered
interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junction (rail), junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and Track (rail transpor ...
s). In 1925 US&S acquired the
Hall Signal Company The Hall Signal Company was an American manufacturer of Railway Signalling, railway signaling equipment in the 19th and 20th centuries. Hall's equipment was widely used by American railroad companies. The company's founder, William Phillips Hall, ...
, primarily to obtain the latter company's patents for searchlight signals.


Corporate management

US&S operated as an
independent company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
until 1917, when it became a subsidiary of the
Westinghouse Air Brake Company The Westinghouse Air Brake Company (sometimes nicknamed or abbreviated WABCO although this was also confusingly used for spinoffs) was founded on September 28, 1869 by George Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Earlier in the year he had i ...
(WABCO). In 1968, American Standard purchased WABCO and reorganized US&S as a separate division. In 1988,
Ansaldo STS Hitachi Rail STS SpA (from ''Hitachi Rail Signalling and Transportation Systems'') or Hitachi Rail STS (previously Ansaldo STS) is a transportation company owned by Hitachi with a global presence in the field of railway signalling and integrated t ...
, a global supplier of signaling, control and automation systems, purchased US&S from American Standard. In November 1993, US&S became a
publicly traded company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
with shares listed on
Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
. In December 1996, US&S merged with the other signaling investments of Ansaldo. As a result of that merger, US&S became a wholly owned subsidiary of Ansaldo STS. The company was renamed Ansaldo STS – USA in January 2009. Ansaldo was acquired by
Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
and Ansaldo STS became
Hitachi Rail STS Hitachi Rail STS SpA (from ''Hitachi Rail Signalling and Transportation Systems'') or Hitachi Rail STS (previously Ansaldo STS) is a transportation company owned by Hitachi with a global presence in the field of railway signalling and integrated t ...
in 2019. Throughout its history, US&S had manufacturing facilities in the borough of
Swissvale, Pennsylvania Swissvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, east of downtown Pittsburgh. Named for a farmstead owned by James Swisshelm, during the industrial age it was the site of the Union Switch & Signal, Union ...
, near Pittsburgh. The Swissvale plant was closed in 1985 and demolished in 1986. US&S moved manufacturing operations to a facility in
Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina Batesburg-Leesville is a town located in Lexington and Saluda counties, South Carolina, United States. The town's population was 5,362 as of the 2010 census and an estimated 5,415 in 2019. History The town of Batesburg-Leesville was formed in ...
. It maintained a research facility in Pittsburgh.


Product development


Railway signaling

US&S built the first power interlocking system in the United States, a
pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A central ...
design, in 1882 at
East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is directly across the Mississippi River from Downtown St. Louis, Missouri and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. Once a b ...
. Within several years the company developed an electro-pneumatic system, which was widely adopted by railroads across the country. In 1901 US&S developed the first electro-pneumatic automatic
train stop Part of a railway signalling system, a train stop, trip stop or tripcock (sometimes called a tripper) is a train protection device that automatically stops a train if it attempts to pass a signal when the signal aspect and operating rules proh ...
system for the
Boston Elevated Railway The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Railwa ...
. This system was later adopted by the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
and other transit systems. In 1908 the company introduced an electrically-controlled highway crossing gate. In 1923 US&S developed the first inductive train control system. (''See also'' pulse code cab signaling.) The company developed coded track circuits, supporting bi-directional cab signaling, in 1934. The first digital
rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
control system was built by US&S in 1970, for the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...
at
Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
.


The "Teardrop" mechanical bell

US&S first patented the Model 15A Highway crossing bell on February 20, 1917. The bell has been commonly referred to as the "Teardrop" bell by railroaders and signal fans alike because of its unique shape and thus the name has stuck. This bell has appeared on advertising literature for railroad signals as far back as the 1920s as far abroad as Chile and Italy on early wig wag crossings and flashers. There have been subtle variations in the Teardrop bell over the years ranging from different sized electric coils, inclusion of the patent date on the rain hood, as well as a very early version with a less characteristic rain hood that simply read "UNION, patent pending." This is the least commonly seen variation of the Teardrop. This bell is treasured by many signal collectors for its slow, low pitched ring at an irregular cadence. The production of this bell was discontinued sometime by the 1960s, but WABCO carried replacement castings and service manuals into the 1970s.


Wartime production

During the
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the
Le Rhône 9C The Le Rhône 9C is a nine-cylinder rotary aircraft engine produced in France by '' Société des Moteurs Le Rhône'' / Gnome et Rhône. Also known as the Le Rhône 80 hp in a reference to its nominal power rating, the engine was ...
9 cylinder rotary engine was manufactured under license by Union Switch & Signal. It was one of the most common engines for fighter planes from different companies and around 10,000 were made at Swissvale. Union Switch & Signal was one of the five contractors (including
Colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
, Remington-Rand,
Ithaca Gun Company The Ithaca Gun Company is a manufacturer of shotguns and rifles originally established in Ithaca, New York, in 1880. History Over the years, Ithaca made numerous firearms, most notably the Ithaca Flues double-barreled shotgun and the Ithaca 37 ...
, and
Singer Sewing Machine Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac Singer, Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward Cabot Clark, Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing mac ...
) to make
M1911A1 The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for the ...
pistols during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The production blocks assigned to them in 1943 were between SN's 1,041,405 to 1,096,404. Colt duplicated 4,171 pistols in the 1,088,726 to 1,092,896 SN range. Since only 55,000 1911A1's were produced by US&S, they are highly collectible. The reason for the low production numbers is US&S was the last company awarded a government contract and as requirements were reduced in early 1943, the last contract awarded became the first to be cancelled. As a general rule, US&S produced high quality pistols. With the government-owned machine tooling already in place at US&S, they were offered a subcontract arrangement to produce M1 Carbine components. Only Singer produced fewer 1911A1's at 500 total production.Collector's Guide to Colt .45 Service Pistols Models of 1911 and 1911A1 by Charles w. Clawson


Modern products


Level crossing signal

*
Level 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 ...
: ** Model 95
gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
mechanism ** 8" and 12"
flashing light A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists with the cha ...
s ** Bells, mastils, gate arms and counterweights *
Cab signaling Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an ...
equipment *
Automatic train control Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver do ...
*
Automatic train protection Automatic train protection (ATP) is a type of train protection system which continually checks that the speed of a train is compatible with the permitted speed allowed by signalling, including automatic stop at certain signal aspects. If it is ...
*
Automatic train stop Automatic train stop or ATS is a system on a train that automatically stops a train if certain situations occur (unresponsive train operator, earthquake, disconnected rail, train running over a stop signal, etc.) to prevent accidents. In some scena ...


Wayside signaling equipment

* DC code systems * Electronic communication systems * Electronic
interlocking In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junction (rail), junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and Track (rail transpor ...
*
Relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
s *
Railway signal A railway signal is a visual display device that conveys instructions or provides warning of instructions regarding the driver’s authority to proceed. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. Typically, a signal mi ...
s * Switch machines *
Track circuit A track circuit is an electrical device used to prove the absence of a train on rail tracks to signallers and control relevant signals. An alternative to track circuits are axle counters. Principles and operation The basic principle behind t ...
s


Central Control signaling equipment

* Computer-based manual Control systems * Computer-based traffic management systems *
Dark territory Dark territory is a term used in the North American railroad industry to describe a section of running track not controlled by signals. Train movements in dark territory were previously handled by timetable and train order operation, but since t ...
control systems * Electro-mechanical
centralized traffic control Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system con ...
machines ;Note: * ''US&S was the only company to make 180 degree electronic bells''.


See also

*
General Railway Signal General Railway Signal Company (GRS) was an American manufacturing company located in the Rochester, New York area. GRS was focused on railway signaling equipment, systems and services. The company was established in 1904 and became part of Alstom# ...
– The other major US railway signaling company *
North American railroad signals North American railroad signals generally fall into the category of multi-headed electrically lit units displaying ''speed-based'' or ''weak route signaling''. Signals may be of the searchlight, color light, position light, or color position lig ...
*
Safetran Safetran Systems Corporation was an American company that manufactured switch machines, railroad wayside signal systems, rail transit signaling and rail-highway level crossing active warning systems. The company was a major supplier of freight/c ...
– Another US railway signaling company, now part of
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...


References

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Union Switch and Signal 1881 establishments in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1881 American subsidiaries of foreign companies Manufacturing companies based in Pittsburgh Manufacturing companies established in 1881 Railway signalling manufacturers