Had tracks been damaged by a rock slide on the route? There was no way to warn other engineers or to let a stationmaster know what awaited trains traveling that route. Woods wanted to find a solution. His first step involved looking for a way around always using Morse code. Woods had used Morse code in various jobs around train work, but he knew that communication would be easier if people did not always need the code to communicate.
A person could give voice messages that were then transmitted over the same wires that were used to send telegraphs. Woods is, perhaps, the best known of all the inventors whose achievements [add to] to the credit of our race; and in his passing away he has left us the rich legacy of a life successfully devoted to the cause of progress. For a moving train to send or receive a message, part of the train needed to be in continuous contact with the wires.
But as trains jounced along, wires tended to disconnect. This meant that many messages were lost or delivered incomplete. To create his system, Granville Woods worked with the theory of electromagnetic induction. He experimented with installing an oblong coil beneath the train. When an electric current passed through the coil, a magnetic field developed around the train car.
When the train moved, Woods saw that the magnetic field moved with it, and so, too, did the wave of electricity it created. This kept contact continuous, and messages could be sent and received.
Most inventors are not the only ones looking for certain solutions, and this was the case with Woods and the communication system. Granville Woods was hard at work on the system when he became very ill with smallpox. He was unable to work for several months. During that time, another inventor filed his own paperwork for a patent on a similar system. When Woods received news of the filing by the other inventor, he stepped forward. He was always meticulous about documenting his work.
He soon had working drawings, a prototype, and a timeline delivered to the Patent Office. After the Patent Office review, it was clear that his work preceded that of the other inventor.
Granville Woods received his patent in His brother, Lyates, established a business in New York City and was also working with electricity. In , Granville moved to New York to join him. Some articles credit Woods with inventing the safety air brake and the third rail for trains. He was not the primary inventor of either of these devices. However, he made significant improvements and received patents on the changes he suggested. In the mid th century, railroad accidents were frequent and deadly.
Because there was no effective way to quickly stop a multi-car moving train, engineers tended to keep their speed down. That way it was easier to slow to a stop.
But if a train was on open track or going downhill and picked up speed, the train had to be stopped one car a time. Prior to its creation, moving trains were unable to communicate with each other or with rail stations, resulting in dangerous situations. The induction telegraph used static electricity from the existing telegraph lines running parallel to the train tracks, making messaging possible between moving trains and rail stations.
Woods' later inventions dealt with more efficient use of electricity. He created an overhead conducting system for rail and trolley cars to run on electric current instead of steam power. To accomplish this during a time period of extreme discrimination towards Black Americans, is particularly remarkable. US Patent No. Don't miss our next newsletter! Cricket Media Articles. Invention Activities. For Educators InvenTeam Grants. Professional Development. The shop eventually became the Woods Electrical Company.
Woods devoted his energies to developing an improved steam boiler in He also invented the first electric railway that was powered with electric lines from above the train. Previously the lines had run along the tracks and been quite dangerous to pedestrians.
In addition to these inventions, Woods also created the first telegraph service that allowed messages to be sent from moving trains. This invention dramatically improved railroad safety.
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