Granville T. Woods patentIn 1901, the prolific black American inventor, Granville T. Woods, received one of his patents related to the operation of an electric railway (No. 667,110). It applied to the kind of electric trains which take their power from conductors in the road-bed. For practical purposes, the current is fed only at the time that the train has its contact makers engaged with the conductors. The current flow is controlled by electro-magnetic switches along the line of way. Woods had previously designed and patented a suitable device for this purpose, but this patent improved upon that design. He assigned it to the General Electric Co. of New York. |
