How Did Granville Woods Help Trains Communicate?

If you’ve ever been a passenger on a train, you can understand why communication is so important between the people working at the railway stations and the engineers in charge of operating the moving trains. One of the visionaries who advanced railway communications is National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductee Granville Woods — a brilliant electrical engineer and inventor.

A Varied Path Toward Invention

Woods was born in 1856 in Columbus, Ohio. Though he only received a formal education until he was 10, at that young age, he began to work as an apprentice with the goal of becoming a machinist and blacksmith.

During his teen years, he held a wide array of jobs. These included working on railroads and at steel mills. Woods even became a chief engineer on a British steamship! He also spent much of his spare time learning about electrical engineering.

In 1876, Woods enrolled in a technical college in New York City, where he studied for two years in electrical and mechanical engineering. Both of these subjects would be vital to his eventual career as an inventor.

In 1880, Woods returned to Ohio. He settled in Cincinnati and focused his efforts on developing inventions.

A Series of Valuable Advances

Woods’ decision to focus on invention proved to be a wise one. He earned his first patent for a steam boiler furnace, and then in 1885, he began to work on what would become his most important invention. He called it “telegraphony.”

This invention combined features of both the telephone and the telegraph, letting users switch between Morse code and their voices to transmit messages. Alexander Graham Bell’s company, American Bell Telephone Co., purchased the rights to Woods’ telegraphony patent, and the proceeds allowed Woods to become a full-time inventor.

In 1887, Woods invented the induction telegraph, which built upon his work with telegraphony. Before Woods’ invention, moving trains could not communicate with one another or with rail stations, which led to very dangerous situations. Using static electricity from the existing telegraph lines running parallel to the train tracks, the induction telegraph made messaging possible between moving trains and rail stations.

Woods went on to create the synchronous multiplex railway telegraph, which not only helped dispatchers locate trains but also allowed moving trains to communicate to or from any direction via telegraph. This invention proved very useful, but Woods soon found himself facing patent suits filed by Thomas Edison. Though Woods won, Edison was persistent in pursuing the invention, and he even offered Woods a partnership in one of his businesses. Woods refused, preferring to remain an independent inventor.

Woods started his own business, the Woods Electric Co. in Cincinnati, and in 1890, he moved the business to New York City. Here, he was able to partner with his brother, Lyates Woods, who was also an inventor.

As Woods continued to invent, he focused on ways to more efficiently use electricity. He created an overhead conducting system that allowed rail and trolley cars to run on electric current instead of steam power, and he developed a third rail that still is used on many rail lines. The third rail carries electricity via electromagnetic switches and pulls trains along. Woods also invented an automatic air brake used to slow or stop trains.

Over the course of his life, Woods earned nearly 60 patents on his inventions, many of which helped make life easier and safer for those involved in railroad travel. His patents were eventually purchased and used by General Electric Co. and the Westinghouse Air Brake Co.

Meet More World-Changing Inventors

Woods is one of more than 650 creators and innovators who have been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. To learn more of these inventors’ unique stories, keep exploring our website.