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George Westinghouse helped perpetuate industrial progress with his instinctive drive to resolve social and commercial obstacles. His creations changed the way society lived and how people traveled, perhaps more than any single individual.

The Railroad Industry

He developed the air brake, a device that stopped trains using compressed air and perfected the first automatic electric block signal, a device designed to avoid wrecks, save lives and help move rail traffic.

The materialization of the colossal railroad industry resulted.

The Age of Electricity

From patent rights purchased from Nikola Tesla, Westinghouse helped spearhead the development of alternating current. The Age of Electricity was thus set in motion.

The Natural Gas Industry

From the workings of a simple well in his back yard, he figured out an efficient way to transmit clean, natural gas to homes-for lighting and heating-and to industry for fuel. The natural gas industry owes its existence to him.

Communications Energy and More

One of his 361 patents is a citywide telephone switching system, created long before widespread use by the telephone companies. The first radio station in the world was Westinghouse KDKA in Pittsburgh. The first practical induction motor, the first contract to harness the enormous water power of Niagara Falls and the first power station turbine generator were all credited to Westinghouse.

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