The railway air brake was invented by George Westinghouse of New York state in 1869. Soon after, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he established the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) on September 28, 1869.
After having manufactured equipment in Pittsburgh for a number of years, he began to construct facilities and plants East of the city where homes for his employees were built. In 1889, the air brake manufacturing facility was moved to Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, and the company's general office building was built there in 1890.
WABCO's direct successor companies include WABCO Vehicle Control Systems, a commercial vehicle air brake manufacturer; and Wabtec, a railway equipment manufacturer, which have been owned and operated independently of each other since the mid-twentieth century.
Read more about Westinghouse Air Brake Company: History, The Straight Air Brake, The Plain Automatic Air Brake, The Quick Action Triple Valve, Electric Railways
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