science · 13 April 1869 · 155 years ago
In 1869, the first U.S. patent for an air brake was issued to George Westinghouse of Schnectady, N.Y., entitled “Improvement in steam-power-brake devices” (No. 88,929). It was used on an experimental train carrying officials of the Panhandle Railroad. Although it demonstrated its value, it was not entirely successful because it took longer for the air to reach the last cars of the train, so each car stopped at a different time. This was corrected with his “triple air brake” patent issued 5 Mar 1872 (No. 124,405). Fifteen years later, he invented an automatic brake.
OnThisDay.net