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 STS) in 1988, operating as a wholly-owned company until January 2009, when US&S was renamed "Ansaldo STS USA" to operate as a subsidiary of Ansaldo in the Americas and Asia.
History
Early years
George Westinghouse founded Union Switch & Signal Inc. in 1881, consolidating the assets of the Union Electric Signal Company (founded by track circuit inventor William Robinson) and the Interlocking Switch & Signal Company (which had pioneered interlockings). In 1925 US&S acquired the Hall Signal Company, primarily to obtain the latter company's patents for searchlight signals.
Corporate management
US&S operated as an independent company until 1917, when it became a subsidiary of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO). In 1968, American Standard purchased WABCO and reorganized US&S as a separate division.
In 1988, Ansaldo STS, 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 with shares listed on Nasdaq. 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 and Ansaldo STS became Hitachi Rail STS in 2019.
Throughout its history, US&S had manufacturing facilities in the borough of Swissvale, Pennsylvania, 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. 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 design, in 1882 at East St. Louis, Illinois. 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 system for the Boston Elevated Railway. This system was later adopted by the New York City Subway 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 control system was built by US&S in 1970, for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway at Kansas City, Kansas.
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 the Le Rhône 9C 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.