The Federal Signal Company was an American manufacturer of

railway signaling Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormou ...

equipment in the early 20th century. It was located in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. The company had been founded in 1905 as the Federal Railway Signal Company by former employees of the Standard Signal Company (Arlington, New Jersey).Alstom (2004)
"A Centennnial: History of Alstom Signaling, Inc., 1904-2004."
It established a manufacturing works at

Green Island, New York Green Island is a coterminous town-village in Albany County, New York, United States, some north of Albany. Green Island is one of only five such town-village amalgamations in New York. The population was 2,620 at the 2010 census, and the ZIP ...

, near Albany. In January 1907 the company suffered a devastating fire at the factory, which had employed between 700 and 800 workers. After the fire it purchased land in Albany to build a new plant. The company subsequently experienced financial problems and was reorganized as the Federal Signal Co. in 1908. In 1913 Federal Signal acquired the American Railway Signal Company of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. In 1923 Federal Signal was purchased by

General Railway Signal General Railway Signal Company (GRS) was an American manufacturing company located in the Rochester, New York area. GRS was focused on railway signaling equipment, systems and services. The company was established in 1904 and became part of Alsto ...

(GRS). Following the acquisition, GRS consolidated manufacturing operations at its facilities in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

, and vacated the Albany works."Plane Building in Albany Hope of Simmons Co.; Buy Federal Signal Plant on Troy Road for About $450,000." ''Albany Evening News,'' 1927-12-13. p. 3. GRS was acquired by Alstom in 1998.

References

American companies established in 1908 Manufacturing companies established in 1908 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1923 Defunct companies based in New York (state) Railway signalling manufacturers 1908 establishments in New York (state) Companies based in Albany, New York 1923 disestablishments in New York (state) 1923 mergers and acquisitions {{US-rail-company-stub

See also

References