What World War II-era technology is this?

September 13, 2013 11:01 AM

A friend of mine found this picture of his grandmother working at Westinghouse Air Brake (or possibly Union Switch and Signal?) in the early 1940s and is trying to identify what she is working on.

This link is to a photo of my grandmother affectionately referred to as "BaBa" working at Westinghouse Air Brake (or possibly Union Switch and Signal?) in the early 1940s, probably sometime during US involvement in World War II (1941-1945). Most likely it was taken at the Westinghouse complex in Turtle Creek, PA, or maybe Wilmerding.

My father and uncle believe she helped build electrical motors and switches for wartime vehicles. The photo was professionally taken, and may have appeared in a local newspaper. (if so, it may have been the McKeesport Daily News or another smaller local Mon Valley paper, or the Pittsburgh Press or Post Gazette.) I have always assumed it could have also been taken for a Westinghouse promotional document or some sort of government literature.

A cursory Google search on Westinghouse war effort comes up with: "In Pittsburgh, Westinghouse's research laboratories contributed to significant improvements in radar, created gyroscopic stabilization device that improved the accuracy of tank guns, and built the first American-designed jet engine." but my sense is that those parts she is handling don't have anything to do with any of those particular applications. I feel like she would have been working on an assembly line of more time-tested technologies. She had no formal electrical training other than what she would have learned on the job.

She's turning 90 next week and she doesn't remember the exact story behind the photo. So my question for reddit is: what exactly is she building?

posted by mkb to Grab Bag (15 answers total)

It really looks like a tank tread. That is the inside part she's working on. It'd be more recognizable if flipped over.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 11:07 AM on September 13, 2013

I think those are relays.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 11:15 AM on September 13, 2013

They seem too small for tank treads. I'd vote for relays as well.
posted by rmd1023 at 11:17 AM on September 13, 2013

To me it looks like she is assembling either relays or circuit breakers.
Look at the contents of the box near her right hand, they look like electrical contacts.
When assembled, each piece would fit into a rack.
(A very clear picture, and congrats to your grandmother).
posted by lungtaworld at 11:34 AM on September 13, 2013

Some more Googling shows that Westinghouse made low voltage switchgear.
posted by lungtaworld at 11:43 AM on September 13, 2013

The Westinghouse archives are at the Heinz History Center, and according to this page, the historian is Ed Reis: [e-mail] / 412-454-6376

That's where I'd start asking. I bet Mr. Reis would be delighted by the inquiry.
posted by neroli at 11:52 AM on September 13, 2013 [9 favorites]

WAB is now Wabtec and they're still in Wilmerding, so if Ed Reis at the Heinz History Center can't answer your question, they might be able to.

But I suspect that Mr. Reis can, and you may get a great story behind it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:58 AM on September 13, 2013

Definitely electrical switches, breakers, or relays.
Great picture!
posted by Thorzdad at 12:24 PM on September 13, 2013

Another vote for circuit breakers or possibly a circuit breaker/ disconnector switch assembly.
posted by Confess, Fletch at 1:19 PM on September 13, 2013

Yeah, switches or breakers. For what it is worth, it looks like each unit has two circuits, and you can see a notch in the bodies that would receive and short axel holding the moving part. I'd assume the body is bakelike, or some other plastic resin. The stacked bodies on the table in the foreground are a similar design, but they have 3 circuit paths.

Anyone notice that the wall behind her has a contour cut to accommodate each segment of the cast-iron radiator?
posted by Good Brain at 2:20 PM on September 13, 2013

"bakelike" -> "Bakelite"
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:30 PM on September 13, 2013

I agree, electrical switches, breakers, or relays.
posted by mattoxic at 4:32 PM on September 13, 2013

Though it could be some kind of switch or relay, they sure looks a lot like the inner part of a circuit breaker. The slots for rails at the top and bottom are very similar to other relays Westinghouse has produced for decades, though the "two slots on one side, three on the other" configuration is unusual.

The images in this ebay listing for a Westinghouse AB DE-ION breaker, cat# F3040 sure look an aweful lot like the larger three-pole units on the table at the bottom left of the photo. They have the same two/three slot configuration, with a similar taper on the two-slot arm and similar screw positions on each. There's even a round defect on the two-slot arm at the left of the fourth photo that looks very similar to a feature on several of the units on the table.

I can't find anyone with equally nice photos of the two-pole F2030, but it looks plausibly similar to the smaller units lined up on the table in front of her.

Also - what a fantastic photo!
posted by eotvos at 8:08 PM on September 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

In the above, "very similar to other relays" should of course read "very similar to other circuit breakers."
posted by eotvos at 8:15 PM on September 13, 2013

2nding eotvos- they look like circuit breaker innards to me. Been a while since I've had one like that apart, but I'd say that's what they are.
posted by drhydro at 9:47 PM on September 13, 2013