On This Day March 5

American George Westinghouse, patented the compressed-air brake on March 5, 1872.  Before Westinghouse's invention, there was no easy way to quickly stop the extremely heavy freight trains that transported goods over land. Brakemen scrambled over the tops of moving cars to activate hand brakes on each one. The system was unreliable, resulting in frequent derailments, and many brakemen were killed or maimed after falling from trains. The air brake solved all of those problems.

Control handle and valve for a Westinghouse Air Brake

WANT MORE THINGS THAT HAPPENED ON MARCH 5 CHECK OUT MY ONTHATDAY BLOG. HERE'S A LINK