1 9 0 3 - 2 0 0 3

Sandy Manners

Siemens Westinghouse

24

The Hamilton Plant Begins to Support the Booming Electrical Industry

By 1909, the Foundry Department in A-building was producing large castings for waterwheel generators.

The first order produced by the new electrical machine shop

in August 1905 consisted of 14 “type C” 75-horsepower motors

for the Grand Trunk Railway.

Horse clippers – circa 1905. Small motors were used to power a variety of devices

which previously had been manually operated.

The Canadian Westinghouse Company

began manufacturing motors, generators

and other electrical apparatus as soon

as the construction of the new factory

buildings was complete in 1905.

At a Managers’ Meeting in 1907,

Vice President Paul Myler

proudly announced that the

Windsor, Essex and Lake Shore

Railway in Ontario had

successfully begun operation

with a 13,200 volt, single-phase

electrical system, all designed

and built in Hamilton. Myler then reported that

in the four years since the company’s start up,

sales of the Hamilton works had grown from

$1.2 million CAD in 1903 to $3 million CAD

in 1907. Unfortunately, later that same year

a recession resulted in the suspension of orders

for street railway motors and the shop teetered

on the brink of closure. The employee workforce

that had grown to 1,687 by June of 1907

had dropped to 780 by March 1909. In addition,

the traditional 55-hour workweek (10 hours

a day, five days a week and five hours

on Saturday) was cut back to 40 hours

due to the lack of work.

Westinghouse fire brigade – circa 1912.

Electric fans, introduced in 1907,

appear dangerous by today’s safety standards. Since

wall sockets did not yet exist, appliances

were designed to screw into overhead

light sockets.

1903-1912

26

By 1910, the Canadian Westinghouse Company manufactured electrical apparatus ranging in size from small motors (foreground) to huge waterwheel generators for hydro-electric power plants (background).

Wattmeter

Early Electrical Apparatus

Voltmeter

1903-1912

Metering system

Oil circuit breaker

Synchronous motor and DC generator

AC motor

Sales started to recover in mid-1909 and hiring picked up.

By 1911, the workforce had topped the 2,000 mark.

Included in this number were 180 “workwomen.”

The Annual Report of 1909 stated that the plant had

the distinction of manufacturing “the only transforming

and switching apparatus yet produced in Canada for operation

in connection with lines transmitting electrical energy at a

pressure of 110,000 volts, the highest transmission voltage

attempted in any part of the world.” Other industrial products

included induction motors, switchgear, circuit breakers,

watt-hour meters, gas and water meters, AC and DC generators

and electric lamps. Only a small portion of products sold by

the Canadian Westinghouse Company was imported from

the Westinghouse factory in East Pittsburgh.

Following the success of the Niagara Falls project,

hydro-electric utility companies started springing up

across Canada. Large orders for waterwheel generators

were received from the Hydro-Electric Power Commission

of Ontario (now Ontario Power Generation), the Canadian

Power Company and the Shawinigan Water and Power

Company in Quebec.

Sales to heavy industries were also going well. In 1912,

the fi rst completely electrically operated steel mill in the world

was delivered to The Steel Company of Canada (later Stelco)

in Hamilton. In 1913, the factory manufactured the fi rst large

reversing mine hoist to be built in Canada.

Within the fi rst decade of operation, sales offi ces and

warehouses had been opened in Vancouver, Winnipeg,

Toronto and Montreal, providing outlets for Westinghouse

apparatus across the country. Competition increased as new

companies entered the market. Siemens, an important

player in the European electrical industry, was chartered

in Canada in 1912 and supplied a 500-kW motor generator

for the City of Winnipeg.

Advertising Materials

The Art Nouveau style, in use from the 1880s

to the eve of the First World War, was seen on

public buildings, residences, lamps, wallpaper,

carpeting, advertisements and even brochures

for industrial equipment. Common elements

included elegantly curving vines, floral motifs

and women with long flowing hair and dresses.

29

Making castings in the Foundry Department – circa 1907.

Heavy Production Load Results in a Plant Expansion

Company activities, both in volume and physical size

of projects undertaken, were soon exceeding the capacity

of facilities. Manufacturing space for the Air Brake Department

(B-building) doubled in 1907 to 48,000 square feet and

was increased again in 1912 to 90,000 square feet.

The new factory constructed in

1904-1905 to house the Electrical

Department originally comprised

238,000 square feet of manufacturing

space. At this time, electrical apparatus

accounted for only 43 percent of billings.

By 1912, the Electrical Department

had expanded to 408,000 square feet.

Business was booming, generating

85 to 90 percent of the company’s sales.

In 1911, the remaining north half

of A-building was constructed along

with the centre portion of P-building,

M-building, as well as the remaining

north parts of E-building and F-building.

A bridge connected F-building to the

Works Office. The Boiler House was enlarged

with a new smoke stack.

The foundry (A-building), built in 1903, also reached

the limit of its capacity mainly due to the high demand for

air brake castings. To rectify the situation, a 35-acre tract

of land, known as the Chedoke Hollow and located at

the western limit of Hamilton, was purchased in 1912 for

$38,000 CAD. A new iron foundry designed specifically

for air brake castings was constructed on the site. This was

the birth of the Longwood Road and Aberdeen Avenue plants

which came to be known as Plant 2 or the West Plant.

(The original factory was called Plant 1, the East Plant or

the Sanford Avenue plant. The workers, many of whom

had a Scottish background, simply

referred to the Westinghouse works

as “the ‘Hoose.”)

In mid-1913, after 10 years of success-

ful operation, the Canadian Westinghouse

Company, Limited suddenly experienced

a 40 percent drop in its sales brought

on by the general economic depression

that preceded the First World War.

Employment levels, which had risen

to 3,250 by July 1913, dropped to

1,600 by the end of 1916.

During its first decade of operation,

the company had already weathered

two cycles of growth and decline.

This pattern would be repeated throughout the entire

history of Westinghouse / Siemens Westinghouse in Canada.

This broken rotor bar, a common problem at this time, was sent back to the Hamilton plant for repair – 1905.

Early delivery truck.

Toronto Service Shop – 1943.

Montreal Service Shop – 1943.

After serving four years as an apprentice, an employee named Thomas Robertson became a Toolmaker in 1909.

Servicing Westinghouse Equipment

In the early days, major projects were installed under

the direction of engineers from the U.S. parent company.

By 1906, the Canadian Westinghouse Company, Limited

had established an Erecting Department. Engineers

located in each district office looked after local field

problems and installations. Foremen and workmen

were sent out by the factory in Hamilton to handle

the work. One armature winder/repair person was

eventually hired for each district and renewal parts

were stocked in each location. Basic repairs and motor

rewinds were completed on small workbenches set up

in the basement of each office. Larger repair jobs

were sent back to the Hamilton plant.

The goals in setting up local repair shops were to provide

prompt customer service, faster turnaround time and

convenient access to renewal parts; to eliminate the high

transportation costs of sending jobs to Hamilton; and

to reduce the disruption caused by pulling foremen and

workers out of the main factory to work at customer sites.

In 1918, with the volume of service work increasing, the Erecting Department, renamed as the Service Department, established repair shops in Toronto and Montreal using equipment discarded from the Hamilton factory. These two shops were the beginning of a chain of repair shops that would eventually stretch across Canada.

By 1922, repair shops located in Toronto, Montreal,

Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Regina employed

a total of 35 hourly employees. A repair shop was set up

near Kirkland Lake in 1936 specifically to provide service

to the mining operations in the area. By the 1990s,

the Westinghouse Service Division operated in 40 locations

across Canada and employed approximately 500 people.

1903-1912

32

Business Slumps but Recovers Through the War Effort

1913-1922

Aerial view of the Sanford Avenue plant in 1920. Note the Air Brake building in the foreground. K-building, L-building, R-building, S-building and X-building have not yet been built. The structure located where K-building is today was a maintenance shop. A bridge connects F-building to the Works Office. Woodlands Park has enough trees to actually be considered a “woodland.”

By the end of the war in 1918, a total of 777 Canadian Westinghouse employees had served overseas. Of these, 65 had been killed in action. In the aftermath of the war, the biggest problems facing the company were the shortages of labour, coal, fuel gas and electricity. As a result, the workweek was reduced to 50 hours.***

* Now Ontario Power Generation. ** Now Sir Adam Beck–Niagara Generating Station #1.*** Nine hours five days a week and five hours on Saturday.

In 1919, large orders were received from the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario* for 15,000 watt-hour meters, two 45,500-kilovolt ampere vertical waterwheel genera-tors and a bank of single pole 110,000-volt oil circuit breakers for the Queenston-Chippewa project in Niagara Falls.**

In 1909, the Canadian Westinghouse Company designed and manufactured a device that used electric heat to brown bread slices. The new product was called a “Toaster.” This initial model was followed in 1916 by the new and improved “Turnover Toaster.”

On March 12, 1914, George Westinghouse passed away. In his hands was a sketch of the begin-nings of a new invention — an electric wheelchair. He was buried in the National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The George Westinghouse Memorial was unveiled in 1930 in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.

On August 4, 1914,

Great Britain declared

war on Germany. As a

member of the British

Commonwealth, this

meant Canada was also at war.

Canadian Westinghouse supplied

the armed forces with howitzer

and shrapnel shells and was

considered one of Canada’s

most important arsenals.

The company also assisted the

National Steel Car Company

by machining parts for

field kitchens and tramway

ammunition cars.

By 1915, electricity had become

increasingly important as the

country geared up to meet wartime

production needs. This meant the

company’s products were in demand

once more. Orders for electrical

apparatus that had been halted

by the outbreak of the war were

released and went into production.

33

1916-Era Generator is Still Running!

One notable project from this time period was a

rheostat generator set and control panels for the

Silversmith Hydro-Electric Power Station in Sandon,

British Columbia. This power station was built

around 1916 to provide power for the silver mining

operation as well as an aerial tramway and has been

in continuous operation since that time.

The Canadian Westinghouse Company provided

Silversmith with a 200-kW, three-phase AC water-

wheel generator, the generator end of the main shaft,

a 10-kW exciter, a rheostat used by the operator

to manually control the voltage of the generator

and two slate control panels and breakers.

Silversmith Power and Light Corporation has

calculated that the main shaft, manufactured

out of high-grade steel, has made approximately

17.5 billion revolutions. The Westinghouse generator,

complete with all its original parts, has been in

operation for approximately 806,000 hours.

According to the interpretive guide published by

the Silversmith Power and Light Corporation, “It is

reputedly the longest continuously running machine

in Canada.” Today, this unique hydro-electric

power station continues to proudly supply power

to the grid in western Canada and is open

to the public as a historic site.

Demand Increases for Domestic Appliances and Lamps

The continuing increase in the availability of electricity

to the general public made its application to household tasks

more feasible. The Canadian Westinghouse Company built

the new and improved “Turnover Toaster” in 1916, the first

low-priced Van-o-phone gramophone in 1917 and the first

electric range in 1921. These were the forerunners of a

complete line of household appliances that would appear

in the 1930s.

By the early 1920s, the iron foundry on Aberdeen Avenue

had been converted into the MAZDA* Incandescent Lamp Works.

The first products were 40-watt, 60-watt and 100-watt

tungsten lamps. By 1921, the factory was producing

8,000 lamps per day.

Early models of toasters were followed, in 1916, by the innovative “Turnover Toaster” that featured a mechanical method of flipping over the bread to toast the other side.

Early control panels for power stations combined beauty with functionality.

*In the early days, each light bulb manufacturer set his own specifications. Lamp bases and light output ratings varied greatly. In 1909, General Electric developed a set of standards for tungsten filament light bulbs. Other companies, including Westinghouse, licenced these new standards, marketed under the trademark of MAZDA, after Ahura Mazda, “Lord of Wisdom” and the supreme creator god of life and light in the Zoroastrian religion.

1913-1922

Main lobby

Executive dining room

Auditorium

Reception

Head OfficeCanadian Westinghouse Company, Limited

286 Sanford Avenue North, Hamilton, Ontario

In 1917, a luxurious five-storey office building

was built across the street from the factory to serve

as the head office of the Canadian Westinghouse

Company, Limited. A bridge connected the

Head Office to the factory.

Two additional floors were added in 1929.

The building was sold in 1987 and, sadly,

has remained empty since that time.

The tradition of holding a company

summer picnic started in 1901.

Ladies’ baseball team–circa 1920.

Ella Baird, who retired after 20 years of service in 1951

as Director of Nurses and Welfare Services at the West Plant,

was a pioneer in industrial nursing. Starting around 1917,

a staff of nurses, a secretary and a first aid man provided basic

medical care to employees at the East and West Plant locations.

A doctor visited the plants one morning a week in the early days.

By 1941, daily visits from the doctor had became the norm.

The company also created low-cost contributory medical and hospital-

ization plans as well as a disability plan for employees in the 1920s.

Canadian Westinghouse Baseball Club – 1919.

Canadian Westinghouse Company marching band

– circa 1922.

Men’s football team – 1912.

Tool Room picnic, Soper Park, Galt, Ontario – 1950.

Life At WestinghouseIn 1920, a group life assurance plan provided

every employee with a $1,000 life assurance policy.

That same year, a company-paid pension plan was

introduced. Since at this time

pensions were either privately

arranged or only available

to employees of banks

and financial institutions,

this was viewed as a major

milestone in industrial relations.

Recognizing the value of

education, an educational

assistance program was made

available to employees in 1924.

Although paid vacations were

unheard of in the early 1900s,

by 1926, Westinghouse companies were providing

employees who had 10 years of service with one week

of paid vacation and those with 20 years of service with

two weeks of paid vacation.

The high value George Westinghouse placed

on his employees was reflected in the company’s

progressive human relations policies

and employee benefit programs.

In fact, in the latter part of the

19th century when the six-day

workweek was the rule,

Westinghouse was one of the

first employers to introduce the

half-holiday on Saturday afternoon.

In Canada, Paul J. Myler,

President of the Canadian

Westinghouse Company from 1917

to 1934, continued the company

tradition and became a sponsor

of movements to better the lot

of employees.

In 1904, a lunchroom for office employees was

established at the works. By 1929, the company

was providing cafeteria services for employees

at both of the Hamilton plants.

Tug-of-war at the company picnic – circa 1950.

Through the years, the company has sponsored

a variety of sports activities for employees.

In 2003, employees have the opportunity to

participate in hockey, soccer and golf leagues.

38

The 1920s opened with a flurry

of activity as the company strived

to meet the most immediate

post-war needs. As the demand

for electricity increased steadily

throughout the decade, the terms

“first in the world” and “largest in

the world” were used to describe

many Westinghouse orders.

During this period the company

manufactured waterwheel generators

for many of the country’s

hydro-electric projects. In the 1930s

the company also supplied six

370,000-pound, 22,500-kilovolt ampere

transformers and switchgear for

the Hydro-Electric Power Commission

of Ontario’s Leaside Switching Station

in Toronto, Ontario. These transformers

stepped down the 220,000-volt

power supply that was being transmitted

230 miles from the Paugan Hydro-electric

Dam on the Gatineau River, northeast

of Hull, Quebec.

Machining a waterwheel generator component – circa 1925.

Cutaway view of a Westinghouse waterwheel generator. Waterwheels were supplied by companies such as Dominion Engineering in Montreal and mated to the generator at site.

In a hydro-electric power station, water from a dam travels through a penstock. As it flows past the waterwheel turbine blades, it causes them to spin. The blades are attached to a shaft. The rotating shaft drives a generator to produce electricity.

Notable generation projects in which the company figured prominently included

the Queenston-Chippewa Generating Station of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission

of Ontario at Niagara Falls, Ontario, the Western Power Company station

in Ruskin, British Columbia and the Alcoa Power Company Chute à Caron

plant near Arvida, Quebec.

1923-1932

Numerous Large Capital Projects Completed Before the Depression Hits

39

The Marketing of Domestic Appliances was Designed to Create Load

Recognizing that it would likely be some time before

the demand for new power plants returned, the company

made extensive preparations for the manufacture and

sale of a complete line of domestic appliances that

would make use of the cheap surplus power that was

now available. As the Depression dragged on, the wisdom

of entering the appliance business was to be justifi ed

many times over. This direct route to consumer spending

helped keep the company afl oat until 1938 when orders

involving large apparatus began to pick up.

The fi rst electric ranges to be manufactured in Canada

were produced in 1921. In 1931, the fi rst refrigerators,

featuring 5.5 cubic feet of food storage space, and the

fi rst washing machines were introduced. Families could

purchase these large appliances on credit with consumer

loans provided by the Westinghouse Acceptance Company.

A variety of portable appliances were also offered

for sale to the public. Some products were imported from

Westinghouse in the U.S., but many were manufactured

or assembled in Hamilton.

Important contributions by Westinghouse included lighting

and electrical equipment to operate 11 of the 18 highway

bridges that spanned the canal. Much of this electrical

apparatus is still in use in 2003.

By the end of 1931, strongly affected by the Depression,

the Canadian Westinghouse Company was suffering from

an extremely low volume of orders. Lack of confi dence in

the economy, coupled with the reduced demand for power

for industry, meant that the construction of new power

plants ceased. This eliminated the demand for generating

equipment. As unemployment reached unheard of levels

across Canada, consumer spending on radio receivers and

gramophones also decreased.

Early Radio Manufacturing

On November 2, 1920, in the fi rst scheduled radio

broadcast, Westinghouse’s KDKA radio station transmitted

the results of the Harding-Cox presidential election

from the roof of its building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

KDKA became the fi rst commercial broadcasting station

and, with the sale of radio receivers to the general public,

a new industry was born.

The Canadian operation fi rst entered the radio business

in 1924 with the manufacture of R-3, R-3-A, Regenofl ex

and R-10 radio sets. These models were soon followed

by the Aeriola Jr., the fi rst all-Canadian commercial radio

receiver, and the Aeriola Sr., the fi rst model to contain

radio tubes. With the sale of radios booming, the demand

for radio tubes manufactured at the company’s facility

on Aberdeen Avenue increased from 273,000 radio tubes

in 1925 to 742,000 in 1928.

Subsequent models of radios contained new circuits

that provided greater sensitivity and selection between

stations. Short wave improved radio reception another

step and, by 1937, automatic tuning and push button

radios were commonplace.

Many pulp and paper mills were also established or expanded

during this time. Their demand for electrical apparatus

contributed greatly to the output of the Hamilton works.

By 1929, Canadian Westinghouse sales had reached

a record $19.5 million CAD and the company entered 1930

with a substantial backlog which would blunt, for a while,

the effect of the stock market collapse on Wall Street in

October 1929 and the Great Depression that followed.

In 1929, the world’s fi rst main line diesel-electric locomotive

went into service for Canadian National Railways with electrical

equipment designed and manufactured by employees at the

Sanford Avenue plant.

In 1930, construction of the new Welland Canal, which

connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, was completed.

Far North Broadcasts

One important phase of the Westinghouse Electric

and Manufacturing Company’s radio broadcasting

activities was its “Far North Broadcasts,” initiated

through the foresight of George A. Wendt, an employee

of the Canadian Westinghouse Company.

These programs consisted of letters, news reports

and information from employees, relatives and friends

to the people whose lives were spent in small habitations,

for the most part above the Arctic Circle. These Far North

Broadcasts began in the summer of 1923 when receivers

were distributed to the most northern stations of

the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, followed by

the Hudson’s Bay Company trading posts and the

missions of the Revillon Frères and the Oblate Fathers.

Transmissions were fi rst made by Westinghouse KDKA

and, subsequently, by other Westinghouse radio stations.

These broadcasts were often the only communication

the people of the far north would receive from the

outside world for six

months of the year.

Photo signed: “To Skipper G. Wendt,

With deep appreciation. (Admiral) Rich Byrd

New York City August 22, 1928.”

1 Electric clock – $18.00

2 Electric hotplate – Retail price unknown

3 The hand vacuum – $19.25

4 Refrigerator – $275.00

5 Whirl-dry vacuum-cup washing machine and damp dryer – $198.00

6 Electric waffl e maker – $13.00

7 Tea samovar – $9.25

8 Tumbler water heater – $9.00

9 Table stove – $12.25

10 Air-o-vac – $66.00

11 Electric ironer – $148.50

12 Vital-aire humidifi er – $129.50

13 Sunlamp – $47.50

14 Electric hair-drying comb – $4.20

15 Adjust-o-matic iron – $10.00

16 Vacuum-cup washing machine – $165.00

17 Panel pot percolator – $9.75

18 Flavor zone range – $180.00

The battery-powered Aeriola Sr., which sold for $75 CAD, had a wave length of 190 to 500 metres and could pick up signals from the majority of high-powered Canadian and American radio stations – 1925.

Designed to Create Load

Recognizing that it would likely be some time before

the demand for new power plants returned, the company

1923-1932

From the Westinghouse Store – 1930s

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

9

18

44

Depression Years Followed by Upswing in Orders for the Armed Forces

As diffi cult as times

were during the

Great Depression,

extraordinary measures

were put in place to

provide work for as many

employees as possible.

Pay-cuts were instituted

and the work that was

available was spread out

over short shifts. Unused

factory equipment was

preserved, ready to be

brought back into service

when sales improved.

Mine hoists built by Canadian Westinghouse could bring ore from almost a mile underground to the surface at a speed of approximately 23 miles per hour.

A 5,000-horsepower DC motor was installed to drive the giant rolling mill of the Algoma Steel Company, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario – circa 1940.

Canadian Westinghouse supplied a wide variety of products to support the war effort including 14 components for the Mosquito tactical bomber.

Manufacturing MAZDA tungsten lamps in the West Plant on Aberdeen Avenue

– circa 1935.

1933-1942

45

Orders for large apparatus recover

Finally, in 1938, large apparatus orders started to recover.

By the end of 1939, sales had improved to $11 million CAD.

Two 50,000-kilovolt ampere, 230,000-volt forced oil-cooled

transformers, the largest yet built in Canada, were manufactured

and shipped. A 7,000-horsepower DC mill motor, the largest

in Canada, was supplied to the Steel Company of Canada (Stelco).

Braking Systems for the “Red Rocket” Streetcars

In the late 1930s, conversion of all North American

rolling stock to a significantly improved braking system

developed by Westinghouse Air Brake Company provided

a needed boost to the air brake business.

In 1936, an important contract was obtained from

the Toronto Transportation Commission* for motors,

controls and braking equipment for the new President’s

Conference Committee (PCC) “Red Rocket” streetcars.

These standardized electric streetcars were designed to be

quieter, faster, better lit and more reliable than previous

models. By the 1950s, with 744 in operation, Toronto had

the largest fleet of PCC streetcars in the world. The last car was

withdrawn from active service in Toronto in December 1995.

With so many men in the armed forces, large numbers of women stepped in to staff the Westinghouse factories in Canada and the United States. To encourage women

to apply for factory positions, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company produced the famous

“Rosie the Riveter” poster for the U.S. War Production Effort.

Equipping the Armed Forces

Canada entered the Second World War on September 10, 1939

and, once again, the Canadian Westinghouse Company had

an important role to play. In fact, for the next six years,

more than 95 percent of the company’s output went to

support the war effort. C.D. Howe, Head of Canada’s War

Supply Board and Department of Munitions and Supply,

reportedly referred to the Canadian Westinghouse Company

as “Canada’s number one war plant.” In order to segregate

work performed for the war effort, the company incorporated

a wholly owned subsidiary called Hamilton Munitions Limited.

War materiel produced included gun barrels, bomb racks,

bomb sights, tail elevators for Mosquito bombers, torpedo

engines, anti-aircraft guns, fuse-keeping clocks, radar

equipment as well as a host of aircraft and naval components.

Electrical products included giant hydro generators, trans-

formers and ignitron rectifiers for the Aluminum Company

of Canada. This equipment made possible the large-scale

production of aluminum needed for manufacturing aircraft

components. As a result, by the end of the war, Canada was

producing 40 percent of the world’s supply of aluminum.

The Lamp-Tube Division, which had started as the

Illumination Division in 1926 to supply street lighting, provided

airport lighting, spotlights, beacon lights, headlights and

electronic tubes for ocean-going vessels. In the midst of all

this activity, the manufacture of fluorescent lamps began.

More than 1,800 Canadian Westinghouse Company

employees went to war. Fifty-seven gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Vertical pump motors for Toronto pumping station – circa 1930.

On the home front, annual reports for the war years repeatedly referred to “acute short-ages of skilled tradesmen.” As a result, many unskilled workers were hired and trained on the job, pensioners were called back from retirement and women were employed in unprecedented numbers.

Toronto Transportation Commission “Red Rocket” streetcar.

3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun barrels manufacturedat the Aberdeen Avenue facility were tested

at the Beach Road proving range.

Burlington Power Station circuit breakers – 1941.

Recognizing that the workforce had changed, the Westinghouse employees’ magazine pictured women in overalls and provided instructions on how to tie a kerchief so that long hair would not be a safety hazard in the factory.

“Canada’s number one war plant.”

* Now the Toronto Transit Commission – TTC.

48

End of the War and the Start of Post-War Development

Like many other

manufacturing companies,

Canadian Westinghouse

experienced some diffi culties

immediately after the war as

the plant converted back to

peacetime production while

dealing with material shortages

and labour unrest. By 1947,

however, the country had

entered a period of rapid

expansion that would

carry the company to

never-before experienced

levels of achievement.

In total, between 1946 and 1950,

utility companies across Canada

added more than two million

horsepower of electrical generating

capacit y. This represented a 20%

increase in total installed horsepower

in just four years. As a result, shipments

of large waterwheel generators,

transformers and other electrical

apparatus from Canadian Westinghouse

exceeded all previous records.

Westinghouse had a large exhibit at the fi rst Canadian National Exhibition after World War II in 1947. Above the exhibit can be seen the new company logo that had been adopted in 1944.

In 1943, between 2,500 and 2,800 cheques were cashed each pay period at the Barton Street branch of the Bank of Montreal. Prior to 1940, wages were paid in cash.

Installing the rotor of a waterwheel generator at the Rapides-des-Joachims powerhouse in Quebec – 1950.

In the early 1950s, switchgear and control

manufacturing were moved from the

Sanford Avenue plant to buildings at the Aberdeen Avenue

facility.

1943-1952

In the Transcribing Department, 19 typists working at electric typewriters churned out 14,000 letters,orders and reports a month – 1943.

49 50

In 1949, the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario*

launched a decade-long program to standardize the frequency

of electricity delivery from 25 cycles per second to 60 cycles**

per second. This $352 million CAD program involved converting

an estimated seven million appliances and other electrical

devices to the new frequency. This created a large increase

in service work for the Sanford Avenue factory and service shops

across Canada. The real benefi t of this

standardization program was only realized

20 years later when Ontario Hydro was

able to join together all of the power

distribution systems in the province in

one synchronized provincial electrical grid

in 1970.

With the goal of accommodating

the increased workload, space at the

Sanford Avenue plant was increased

through a number of facility changes.

In 1951, a large manufacturing complex

for electric motors, naval auxiliary

turbines, rectifi ers, circuit breakers and

small power transformers was completed

on Beach Road. Growth of the electronics

business was refl ected in the building

of a major facility on Longwood Road the following year.

The completion of these construction projects marked

the last of the principal expansions in the Hamilton area.

Canada’s First Television Sets

In 1948, four years before the Canadian Broadcasting

Corporation (CBC) made the fi rst television broadcasts

in Canada, Westinghouse produced the fi rst Canadian-

designed television set in the Aberdeen Avenue plant.

This exciting new product was introduced with much

fanfare at the 1948 Canadian National Exhibition in

Toronto. Regular production of a television set with

a black-and-white, 10-inch picture tube started in 1949.

In an innovative move, Westinghouse maximized sales

of its household appliances by advertising during broadcasts

of Westinghouse productions. The fi rst broadcast of

the critically acclaimed Studio One live dramatic series

premiered in 1949 and ran for nearly 10 years.

Betty Furness, who appeared as an actress in an early episode

of Studio One, was hired to promote Westinghouse products

during live commercials. Audiences loved her, sending her

an average of 1,000 pieces of fan mail a week and buying

* Now Ontario Power Generation.** Frequency is now referred to as hertz.

S-building was constructed in 1949 to serve as a central warehouse for all the company’s goods. Windows were placed high up on each fl oor in order to provide room below for stacks of products. In later years, the Westinghouse employee store, stocked with major appliances, consumer products and electrical apparatus, was located on the ground fl oor. Over time, the top three fl oors were gradually converted to offi ce space.

the Westinghouse

appliances she

recommended.

Her tag line,

“You can be

SURE … if it’s

Westinghouse™”

turned into a

national catchphrase. In 1953,

Furness hosted a talk show called Meet Betty Furness and

later, Best of Broadway, both sponsored by Westinghouse.

She also made regular appearances on What’s My Line?

and I’ve Got a Secret. After ending her affi liation with

Westinghouse in 1960, she went on to become the Special

Assistant for Consumer Affairs for the Lyndon B. Johnson

administration in the White House and headed the

Consumer Affairs Departments of both New York City

and New York State.

Expanding Into International Markets

Recognizing that the post-war boom could not last forever,

the company wisely started to explore other markets,

particularly those in the British Commonwealth. In 1950,

the Canadian Westinghouse International Company was

formed for the express purpose of marketing the products

of Canadian Westinghouse to other countries. This venture

turned out to be a very successful one. Ten years later,

the organization reported that it had done business in

50 different countries and had taken part in major utility,

industrial and defence projects in Brazil, New Zealand,

Venezuela, Sweden, Bolivia and France.In addition to incandescent light bulbs, fl uorescent tubes and mercury vapour lamps, the Lamp and Lighting Division produced germ-destroying Steri-lamps, Bug-a-way outdoor lamps, Odour-out-lamps, sunlamps, Christmas tree lights, as well as miniature bulbs for fl ashlights and photofl ashes – 1951.

Residential Power Consumption Soars

In the years following World War II, two major factors were

to drive a dramatic increase in residential power consumption.

First, the electrifi cation of rural areas of Canada added

large numbers of new users. Secondly, as soldiers returned

and settled down to domestic life,

large numbers of new households

were created.

Babies started to be born at a

rapid rate, triggering an increase

in new home construction to

accommodate the expanding families.

The resulting increase in the number

of homes in Canada not only fed

the demand for power, but also

sparked a boom market in the

appliance industry.

For Canadian Westinghouse,

after having to curtail production

of household appliances in order

to concentrate on the war effort,

the pent-up and new demand for these products was so great,

the company was unable to keep up. In response, in 1946,

capacity was greatly increased with the purchase of the

gun factory on Longwood Road that Westinghouse

had built and operated for the government during the war.

Most appliance production activities were consolidated

in this location and, in 1948, the building was doubled

in length.

The fi rst black-and-white televisions came off the line in 1949.

Many “war brides” received Westinghouse appliances as wedding gifts in the late-1940s.

Television manufacturing at the West Plant – circa 1950. Demand was so strong for this “newfangled” device that the factory soon had trouble fi lling orders.

1943-1952

The “Laundromat,” the fi rst automatic washing machine that would operate througha complete fi ll, wash, rinse and empty cycle without the intervention of the homemaker, was manufac-tured at the Longwood Road facility in 1947. This was followed by the fi rst electric clothes dryers in 1952 and dishwashers in the late-1950s.

51 52

The Hours of Work section stipulated that the standard

workweek was 44 hours long: eight hours of work Monday

to Friday and four hours on Saturday. Female employees

were allowed a 10-minute rest period during each half

of the normal working day. There was no mention of a

rest period for male employees.

Paid specifi ed holidays included: New Year’s Day,

Good Friday, Victoria Day, Dominion Day, Civic Day,

Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

With regard to vacations, all employees were entitled to

one week of paid vacation each year provided they had

completed one year of service. Employees with 10 years

of service were entitled to two weeks of paid vacation

each year.

The First Strike

On July 5, 1946, the unionized workers of Canadian

Westinghouse went on strike for 155 days. Workers at many

other Hamilton industries were on strike at the same time.

The ensuing Collective Agreement of 1947 states that the

basic starting hourly rate for male employees was 85 cents,

for female employees 65 cents and for a boy employee

73 cents until they reached the age of 18 and one-quarter.

Jobs were classifi ed either as “male jobs” or “female jobs.”

It is worth noting that females were paid the males’ rate

of pay when performing “male jobs.” Men continued

to be paid the male rate of pay even if they were doing

Assembling radio components – 1943.

Assembling air brakes – 1944.

The First Collective Agreement

The war’s aftermath brought many changes to the Canadian

industrial scene, including the growth of industrial unions.

As early as 1913, individual employees in the Foundry

Department went on strike. In addition to demanding

more pay, these workers wanted to be granted the

right to be represented by a union committee that

would regulate piecework prices and shop conditions.

In 1916, 84 Canadian

Westinghouse employees

walked off the job as part of

a general strike of machinists

and toolmakers in the Hamilton

area. Hours of work seemed

to be the main issue. At this

time, employees at most

manufacturing companies

worked a 55-hour week (10

hours a day, fi ve days a week

and fi ve hours on Saturday).

In 1919, various labour organizations agitated to have

manufacturing companies in the Hamilton area reduce

the workweek to 44 hours. At Canadian Westinghouse,

after a conference with employees, the workweek was

reduced from 55 hours a week to 48 hours a week. Although

some employees were unhappy

with the resulting cut in wages,

these hours remained standard

until the Depression of the 1930s

when hours were cut back

dramatically in order to spread

the work out over as many

employees as possible.

Prior to World War II,

inequities in wages and benefi ts

became an issue for Canadian

Westinghouse employees.

According to an article in the Golden Anniversary Edition of

the UE Guide published by the United Electrical, Radio and

Machine Workers of Canada (UE), “On March 17th, 1937,

about fi fteen men, employees of Canadian Westinghouse,

gathered in a small room … They compared their wages —

for some 37 cents an hour, for others 41 cents. Three were

receiving 51 cents and another 60 cents. No payment for

statutory holidays. One week’s vacation after 10 years service

provided you paid $1 to the Veterans Association. No hospital

or medical insurance - $14 a week sick benefi t for married men,

$9 for single people, with the workers paying the full shot.

Shift bonus a laugh …” Following this historic meeting,

“The formal application for a

local union charter was made

on April 5, 1937, estimating

the number of eligible workers

to be approximately 3,000.

That was the beginning of

UE Local 504.”

With the outbreak of war

in 1939, union activities seem

to have been relegated to the

back burner as employees

rallied to support the

war effort. Around 1941

the company formed the Canadian Westinghouse Employees’

Association. The purpose of this association or “Works Council”

was to establish unity among employees so that questions

related to working conditions, health, safety, hours of work,

wages, recreation, as well as educational and personal

relations could be thoroughly studied and suggestions for

improvement brought to management. All employees were

eligible to join and membership fees were 25 cents per month.

On April 18, 1944, a vote was conducted and the United

Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America became

the bargaining agent for the hourly rated employees at the

Hamilton plants of Westinghouse. Of the 4,673 employees

eligible to vote, 2,386 voted for the UE, 592 voted for the

Employees’ Association, 626 voted against both options,

58 spoiled their ballots and 1,011 did not vote.

The UE was certifi ed on June 16, 1944. The fi rst Collective

Agreement was signed on July 14, 1945 and would remain

in place for one year. This 24-page agreement contained

17 Articles, some of which covered: Hours of Work, Overtime

and Specifi ed Holidays, Grievance Procedure, Vacations

with Pay, Seniority and Representation.

Hand winding the electrical elements in toasters was just one of the many tasks performed by the employees of the small appliance and radio manufacturing and repair area that was located on the second fl oor of P-building in the early 1940s.

“female jobs.” The shift

bonus was fi ve cents per

hour on the second shift

and seven cents on the

third shift.

The 1947 Collective

Agreement reduced the

workweek to 42.5 hours

and brought improvements

to vacations with pay.

Employees received

two weeks’ vacation after fi ve years and three weeks’

after 25 years of service. The next contract, signed in 1952,

reduced the workweek to 40 hours.

The following list of departments and steward representation

as defi ned in the 1947 Collective Agreement provides some

insight regarding the relative sizes of the areas of business:

Air Brake Division - 7 stewards; Appliance Division - 11 stewards;

Electric Division - 40 stewards; Foundries Division - 7 stewards;

Lamp and Tube Division - 15 stewards.

Assembling an ignitron rectifi er – 1943.

Micarta, a plastic insulating material, was produced by heating and compressing resin impregnated paper – 1943.

1943-1952

Early I.D. BadgeUntil the late 1930s, instead of an I.D. badge, employees were issued

a “check,” which was a brass disc with the company name and employee

number engraved on it. Employees were required to show their check

to the watchman to gain entrance into the plant. When they arrived at

their department, employees hung their check on a rack and punched in.

When the whistle blew to signal the start of the shift, the timekeeper

closed a window over the checks and fi lled in the attendance cards.

53 54

axial flow compressors and turbines

as well as innovative thermodynamics,

mechanics and materials. The engines

ranged from the 10-inch diameter

J32 at 224 pounds of thrust; to the

20-inch diameter J30 with 1,125 pounds

of thrust; and the highly successful

24-inch diameter J34* reaching 3,600 pounds of thrust.

As development challenges mounted, the larger J34

derivatives, the J40 and J46 (with a target of 9,900 pounds

of thrust), were produced in modest numbers. Lastly the

experimental J54 at 6,070 pounds of thrust looked very

promising; however, no orders resulted.

Westinghouse jet engines were credited with several

major firsts including the first use of cast turbine airfoils,

specialized superalloys and afterburners.

Overall, Westinghouse supplied engines for approximately

1,200 U.S. Navy jets from its base of operations in Kansas City

before discontinuing this business in 1960. Many engineers

from the Kansas City jet engine plant went on to work on

gas turbines in the Lester, Pennsylvania plant.

Westinghouse and its licencees produced a total of 4,850

jet engines of all models. Refurbished vintage Westinghouse

jet engines are still being used today in jet car and truck racing.

Experience on Jet Engines Leads to Developmental Work on Gas Turbines

It wasn’t until the 1940s that Westinghouse gained

the experience it needed to build land-based gas turbines

through its work on jet engines.

With the war raging in Europe, the U.S. military turned to

the jet engine to provide the required higher levels of power

necessary to achieve air speeds far in excess of those capable

in propeller driven aircraft. Based upon Westinghouse’s

steam turbine experience, the U.S. Navy awarded a

development contract to Westinghouse Electric Corporation

in December 1941 which resulted in the first U.S.-designed

jet turbine engine. The engine had an axial compressor,

an annular combustor, a turbine and a jet exhaust nozzle.

Continuous improvements led to the definitive production

version, the J30, in 1944.

In all, Westinghouse produced a family of small- and

medium-sized military jet engines characterized by

Early Gas Turbines

From the perspective of the Sanford Avenue plant,

the late 1940s were particularly significant since they

marked the parent company’s entry into the field of

gas turbine manufacturing.

When Parsons patented his steam turbine in 1884,

he made reference to a gas turbine. He stated that the

steam turbine design could be converted into a compressor

by driving it in the reverse direction by external means.

The compressed air could be discharged into a furnace

where fuel could be injected and the resulting products

of combustion could then be expanded through a turbine.

At the time, Parsons was too busy concentrating on his

steam turbine designs to work on the idea of a gas turbine.

As a result, his firm did not begin work on the development

of a gas turbine until 1938. In 1945, the Parsons Company

produced the first industrial gas turbine in Great Britain.

Parsons gas turbines, producing up to 15 megawatts (MW)

for auxiliary and peak demand power, were manufactured

in the U.K. until the product line was discontinued

in the mid-1950s.

Engineers at the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing

Company in the U.S. studied a closed-cycle gas turbine system

for a 25,000-shaft horsepower ship drive in the early 1930s.

At the same time, developmental work on gas turbines

was taking place in Great Britain and Germany. However,

the gas turbine was not considered a practical device,

except in special cases where hot gases were already

available under pressure as a by-product of a process.

The First IndustrialGas Turbines

Westinghouse tested its first 2,000-horsepower,

1,350° Fahrenheit industrial gas turbine in 1946.

This engine was created with an eye to its possible use

either as a locomotive unit, or for industrial use in

pumping, pipeline compression or power generation.

Similar to the jet engine, it consisted of an in-line

arrangement of air intake, axial-flow compressor,

tubular-type combustor and turbine. The prototype units,

designed for locomotive use, included a reduction gear

and two DC generators on the same bedplate.

After many months of successful shop testing, much of it in

service simulating the frequent starting, stopping, idling, and

loading experienced by locomotives, the first industrial-use

gas turbine was placed in service in mid-1949 driving a

centrifugal compressor on a natural gas pipeline in Arkansas.

The gratifying results of the shop test on the first unit

resulted in the decision to construct two similar units

for installation in an experimental high-speed passenger

locomotive for railroad use. The locomotive was used

in demonstration service throughout the United States

for several years. The engines were later converted to drive

gas pipeline compressors and are still operational

in San Angelo, Texas.

The success of these initial engines led to the first

commercially available industrial gas turbine in 1948.

The first power generation unit, rated at 5,000 kW,

was installed at West Texas Utilities in 1952.

The J34, a 24-inch diameter engine, was the last production aero-engine built by Westinghouse. It was used extensively

by the U.S. Navy in the McDonnell FH-1 Phantom and F2H Banshee fighter planes. It was also used

in some experimental Douglas and Northrop designs to explore transonic flight.

The first 5,000-kW Westinghouse gas turbine for power generation

was installed at West Texas Utilities in 1952.

After World War II, Siemens resumed gas turbine development on the Junkers TL109-005 aircraft engine in Mülheim, Germany. The first Siemens gas turbine, the VM1, rated at 1,200 kW, was tested in Berlin in 1956.

In 1945, a pair of Westinghouse J30 jet engines provided 1,600 pounds of thrust each to power the McDonnell FH-1 Phantom (left), the U.S. Navy’s first jet fighter and the first Navy plane to reach the speed of 500 miles per hour. The McDonnell F2H-1 Banshee (right), powered by a pair of Westinghouse J34 jet engines, was used by the U.S. Navy in the Korean War. At the end of the war, 39 F2H-3 Banshees were transferred to the Canadian Navy, which operated the aircraft from November 1955 until September 1962.

*In honour of the 100-year anniversary of the Hamilton Plant, a J34 jet engine was donated to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope, Ontario. This engine will be refurbished by a team of volunteers and put on display when it is finished.1943-1952

56

50 Years of Progress and the Start of a New Period of Prosperity

In 1953, Canadian

Westinghouse celebrated

its 50th anniversary.

The Annual Report proudly

stated, “Canada’s great

progress and achievements

in the last 50 years were

to a large extent made

possible by abundant power,

provided at low cost

through magnificent

hydro-electric systems.

More than half of the

hydro-electric energy

used in this country is

produced on generators

manufactured by

Canadian Westinghouse.”

During the anniversary press conference, visitors were informed that ”Canadian Westinghouse has participated in almost all of Canada’s major electrical projects.”

Canadian Westinghouse produced a comic book to educate children about electricity – 1955.

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Canadian Westinghouse Company sponsored “Canada’s Tomorrow,” a conference with the goal of being “an attempt at sober prophecy as to what Canada may and should become in the next 50 years.” The conference brought together over 250 leaders in industry, government, education and the arts to listen to eight prestigious speakers present papers dealing with the principal phases of Canadian life, development and future growth.

In 1959, the largest private telephone operation of its kind in Ontario opened with a central switchboard to handle calls

for all Westinghouse locations in Hamilton, Stoney Creek and Grimsby. More than 1,000 Westinghouse telephones

were linked together under one number JA8-8811 (528-8811). Switchboard operators were able to handle 38,000 incoming

calls and 16,000 long distance calls per month.

1953-1962

58

During the company’s 50th anniversary year, extensive plant

tours were held for customers, suppliers, members of the press,

as well as the company’s employees and their families.

On display were a wide range of impressive products including:

a A 5,500-horsepower DC motor destined

for a paper mill on Vancouver Island.

a Huge synchronous condensers, turbines and

generator shafts for a multi-million dollar order

for the Forcacava development in Brazil.

*This device went on to be used for speed radar and in control systems for guided missiles.

Turbo generator – 1961.

View of M-bulding looking west – 1958.

a One of the largest waterwheel generators

ever made. This unit was for the

Aluminum Company of Canada’s (Alcan)

Kemano development in British Columbia.

a Massive waterwheel generators for the

Hydro-Electric Commission of Ontario

Sir Adam Beck Generating Station

at Niagara Falls and the Consolidated Mining

and Smelting Company in British Columbia.

a Lamps used for removing cooking

and smoking odours as well as

fluorescent sunlamps for improving health.

a An unnamed device that demonstrated how

microwaves could be bounced against a

moving object in order to determine its speed.*

a Fluorescent colour boxes that made

home decoration as easy as flicking a switch.

Advertising copy declared, “Wall tones

in entire rooms may be changed as often

as the homeowner desires merely by using

different coloured fluorescent lamps.”

Although 1953 was an unusually successful period

for the company, by year’s end there were indications

that the long post-war period of ever-increasing business

was waning. Foreign competition was also becoming

a serious threat, particularly since Canadian wage rates

were now three or four times higher than those in many

overseas countries. Great concern was expressed that

despite growing sales, costs were increasing and profits

were steadily declining.

In an effort to reduce costs, the company embarked

on a program of decentralization. Certain product lines

were moved to specially designed, modern facilities

where maximum

efficiencies could be

achieved. For example,

lamp manufacturing

was consolidated in

Trois Rivières, Quebec

and small motor

production was moved

to a new plant in

Stratford, Ontario. (This

plant was closed after

only three years of

operation when foreign

manufacturers flooded

the market with

low-priced motors.)

In the late 1950s, one of the biggest problems facing

the company was the general scarcity of skilled tradesmen

in Canada. To alleviate this situation, the Canadian

Westinghouse Company recruited overseas and launched

a retraining program to diversify and upgrade the skills

of selected employees.

At the same time, as the Canadian economy weathered

a recession, Westinghouse suffered a dramatic drop in sales

of heavy apparatus and began to feel the threat of overseas

competition in the waterwheel generator, consumer products

and appliance businesses. This situation steadily worsened,

bottoming out in 1961 with the company declaring a loss

of $2.6 million CAD. This low point was immediately

followed by a period of unprecedented growth and

prosperity through the balance of the 1960s.

Assembling stator coils – 1953.

1953-1962

By 1957, Canadian Westinghouse had 13 manufacturing

facilities located in: Hamilton (three sites), Brantford,

Galt, London, Stratford, Etobicoke, Stoney Creek,

Grimsby, Trois Rivières, Granby and Vancouver.

Nine service shops and 18 sales offices were also

in operation.

Canadian Westinghouse consisted of five groups,

17 operating divisions and a total of 11,466 employees.

Apparatus Group

Motor & Generator Division Power Transformer DivisionSwitchgear Products Division Apparatus Service Division

Industrial Products Group

Industrial Control Division Meter & Relay DivisionDistribution Apparatus Division Lighting DivisionB.F. Sturtevant Company of Canada Ltd.

Consumer Products Group

Appliance Division TV-Radio DivisionLamp Division Tube Division

Air Brake Products Group

Air Brake Division

Project Development Group

Electronics Division Defence Apparatus DivisionAtomic Energy Division

Assembling bushings for transformers

59 60

The fleet of 30-foot high, 100-ton transformers provided

for the St. Lawrence Seaway Project by the Transformer Division

were rated at 86,000-kilovolt amperes, making them

the largest single-phase power transformers in Canada.

Other divisions provided street lighting for canal locks

and approaches, “Bridge-o-matic” controls and motors

for the canal’s lift bridges and “Nofuz” circuit breakers.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Project provided the most

populated parts of Canada and northern U.S. states with

a surplus of electrical power. Although this monumental

project was responsible for sustaining many Westinghouse

businesses in Canada during the mid-1950s, its completion,

coupled with offshore competition, triggered an end to

the market for Westinghouse waterwheel generators.

The fact that goods would no longer have to be off-loaded

at New York or Montreal and shipped by rail to their final

inland destinations meant that this project also indirectly

affected the company’s sales of air brakes.

Faced with a drop in two key areas of its business,

the Canadian Westinghouse Company took steps to improve

facilities and source additional work for its factories by

venturing into new product lines including rapid-operation

mine hoists, large power transformers, medium-sized

steam turbines and gas turbines.

Large Transformers Make Possible the Transmission of Power From Remote Locations

By the late 1950s, only about one-quarter of Canada’s

available waterpower had been developed. The remaining

three-quarters was considered too remote to make the

long-distance transmission of electricity from these sites

economically viable. However, technological advances soon

resulted in higher voltage transformers that could transmit

power over ever-increasing distances. This prompted the

development of power stations in northern Ontario and Quebec.

Westinghouse made heavy expenditures in 1958 to provide

new high-capacity test equipment for large power transformers

to ensure the company’s ability to compete in this growing

market. A new 250-ton crane, reported to be the largest

of its type in North America and costing $200,000 CAD,

was installed in K-building in order to be able to move massive

power transformers into the test facility and onto railcars

for shipping.

In 1961, a 250-ton Canadian Westinghouse transformer

for the Lakeview Generating Station in Etobicoke, just west

of Toronto, had the distinction of being the largest load

ever transported on a Canadian railroad. The massive

transformer was shipped on a Schnabel railcar designed to

split in the middle and hook onto the ends of the transformer,

making the transformer an integral part of the railcar.*

The new crane proved to be a good investment since,

by 1963, the Sanford Avenue plant was building six huge

735-kilovolt transformers for Hydro-Quebec’s five million

kilowatt generation complex on the Manicouagan and

Outardes Rivers north of Baie Comeau in northern Quebec.

Transmission at 735,000 volts from this power station

to Montreal and Quebec City was considered the highest

planned for any power system in the world.

By 1965, large transformers were selling so well that

116,000 square feet of assembly, testing and office space

were constructed at a new plant on Beach Road in Hamilton

to house the very successful Power Transformer and

Circuit Breaker businesses all under one roof.

Circuit Breakers

In 1956, the first “Jetaire” circuit breakers were shipped

for installation in Ontario Hydro’s transformer station

in Cornwall. This completely new concept in high-voltage

circuit breaker design was developed and patented

by Canadian Westinghouse engineers to compete with

breakers from overseas manufacturers.

In 1959, the factory produced the first 15-kilovolt

air circuit breaker with the capability of interrupting

a 1,000,000-kilovolt ampere current. That same year,

six 230,000-volt oil circuit breakers with an interrupt capacity

of 20,000,000 kilovolt amperes had the highest rating

of any oil circuit breakers in the world.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Project

The 2,342-mile-long St. Lawrence Seaway, stretching

from the Gulf of the St. Lawrence to Duluth, Minnesota,

on Lake Superior and consisting of a system of canals,

dams and locks, is the world’s longest deep-water inland

waterway. The hydro-electric generating stations built

in conjunction with the St. Lawrence Seaway Project are

a key source of power for Ontario and New York State,

adding 912,000 kW to Ontario’s power supply alone.

In 1954, the legal impediments in both the U.S. and Canada

to the development of the St. Lawrence Seaway were removed.

Construction began almost immediately and the seaway

was completed in 1959, in time for the official opening

ceremonies presided over by Queen Elizabeth II and

President Eisenhower.

The Canadian Westinghouse Company justifiably took great

pride in the fact that the company supplied more electrical

equipment for the project than any other manufacturer.

For example, the Motor and Generator Division engineered,

manufactured and installed eight huge vertical waterwheel

generators, each capable of generating 80,000 horsepower,

for Ontario Hydro’s Robert L. Saunders Generating Station near

Cornwall. Another 15 waterwheel generators were installed

farther down the river at Hydro Quebec’s Beauharnois facility.

*Starting in 1998, Schnabel cars were used to ship W501G gas turbines weighing 267 tons from the Sanford Avenue plant to customers in North America.(See page 95.)

Cutaway view of a transformer.

The Canadian Westinghouse Company supplied waterwheel generators, transformers, control systems and a wide variety of other electronic apparatus for the hydro-electric power stations along the St. Lawrence.

Shipment of a transformer on a Schnabel car.

1953-1962

61

Gas Turbine Manufacturing Begins

Recognizing that the market for new waterwheel generators

was rapidly disappearing, in 1959, the Hamilton plant

started manufacturing gas turbines under licence from

the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Lester, Pennsylvania.

This was a significant milestone for the Hamilton operation.

“For the last few decades, Canadian electrical manufacturers

have filled the needs for hydraulic generating equipment

(waterwheel generators) while the market for gas and

steam turbines was supplied from outside the country,”

explained A.A. McArthur, General Manager, Apparatus Products,

in a company newsletter. “With the market for hydraulic

generators substantially reduced because most major

water power sources within economical reach have been

harnessed, the future of thousands of people in our industry

will depend on our success in capturing a share of the

growing turbine market.”

Fortunately, the Canadian market for mechanical-drive

gas turbines was expanding at this time, stimulated largely

by the creation of TransCanada PipeLines and Westcoast

Transmission. These companies required compressor drive

gas turbines for use in pumping natural gas over long distances.

The Sanford Avenue plant was in an excellent position to

provide this growing market with high “Canadian content”

W62 and W92 mechanical-drive gas turbines as well as

Canadian-based field and factory service.

The first Canadian-made single-shaft gas turbine for power

generation was a 25,000-kW model W201G manufactured

in 1960 and sold for $2 million CAD to Canadian Utilities Limited

for their power plant at Vermilion, Alberta. The unit was subse-

quently upgraded to a W301G and, today, more than forty

years later, is reported to be still running. This was the only

W201G unit ever manufactured in the Sanford Avenue plant.

E125 steam turbines used to start W92 gas turbines – 1962.

Checking the fit of the blading on W62 and W92 gas turbine rotors – 1963.

OntarioOntario

During the 1960s, the Sanford Avenue plant provided 22 W62 and W92 compressor drive gas turbines for TransCanada PipeLine compressor stations.

The Start-Up of the Steam Turbine Business

Prior to 1958, all Westinghouse steam turbines were

manufactured in Lester, Pennsylvania. Recognition of

the growing market for industrial steam turbines

for the expanding Canadian petro-chemical industry

prompted the decision to establish the Motor and

Generator Division at the Sanford Avenue plant as the

Canadian manufacturing site for small steam turbines

(50 to 2,100 horsepower). In the early years, single-stage

E-line steam turbines proved to be very popular,

with 300 being built in Hamilton in the first five years.

Building on the success of this product line,

the company quickly expanded into medium-sized,

multi-stage steam turbines. The first order received

for the new 2,000-kW class “M” turbine generator

was from the Ernest Harman U.S. Air Force base

in Newfoundland in 1960.

1953-1962

The Newcomer – The Gas Turbine

It is interesting to consider how far the field of

power generation has come in just over a half-century

of gas turbine development. The following is excerpted

from an article entitled “The Newcomer - The Gas Turbine,”

written by W.R. Morgan and published in the January

1950 edition of the Westinghouse Engineer magazine.

“The task with the gas turbine in the immediate future is,

clearly, to develop it for long-continued operation with

gas temperatures beyond 1,300° Fahrenheit and to

obtain information as quickly as possible that will lead

to constructions suitable for temperatures up to 1,500°

Fahrenheit. Such programs are being aggressively pursued.

Both the central-station field and industry generally

have several attractive applications for the gas turbine

that await its development. There is little doubt that such

practical, long-life machines will become reality and that

machines of open-cycle form, and in capacities up to

about 10,000 kW, will be built in a few years. Closed-cycles

offer possibilities of machines several times this rating.

Now at mid-century, the gas turbine stands about

where the steam turbine stood at the beginning of

the century. The gas turbine inherits much experience

from its cousin. Its development, for all its obstacles,

should be rapid. What the next 50 years hold for

the gas turbine makes for interesting speculation.”

Judging by his comments, it is likely that W.R. Morgan

would have been surprised by the amount of progress

that has taken place in the fields of turbine design

and engineering in the last 50 years. The Westinghouse

501G gas turbine, rated at 253 MW or 253,000 kW,

is 25 times larger than the 10,000-kW capacity

he forecasted in the article.

Modern materials combined with internal cooling

systems and coatings allow the firing temperature

to exceed 2,500° Fahrenheit, which is well past the

melting point of blades. This fact, alone, would probably

have astonished Morgan.

Considering the amount of progress made over

the last 50 years, it is hard not to wonder where

turbine technology will be 50 years from now.

The first mechanical-drive gas turbines manufactured

in the Sanford Avenue plant were three W92RM,

8,500-horsepower gas turbines for TransCanada

PipeLines.

W62M compressor drive gas turbine for TransCanada PipeLine – 1963.

63

Entry Into the Atomic Age

By the mid-1950s, the company was actively expanding

into new technologies. A year before his death in 1914,

George Westinghouse uttered these prophetic words:

“There exists a form of energy of which we have as yet

no knowledge, but which may become available to us

as the result of further discoveries.” Forty years later

his legacy company would enter the atomic age and

go on to become a major player

in the nuclear industry — with

the help of a German company

named Siemens.

Immediately after the Second

World War, the Allies banned

research from being conducted

in Germany on such items

as power generating and other

high-technology equipment.

As soon as the ban was lifted

in 1955, Siemens and Westinghouse

combined forces in developing pressurized water reactors for

nuclear power plants. In 1956, the Canadian Westinghouse

Company hired scientists and engineers who specialized

in the fi eld of nuclear engineering and started an Atomic

Energy Division. In 1964, the company entered the fi eld

of nuclear fuel manufacture through the acquisition of

facilities in Port Hope, Ontario.

In the United States, Westinghouse nuclear reactors

powered six of the fi rst seven atomic submarines.

The company’s prestige rose in 1958 when two of these

vessels, Nautilus and Skate, were the fi rst submarines

to travel from Hawaii to the Atlantic Ocean by crossing

under the North Pole.

Defence Products for the Cold War

Throughout the decade, the company’s electronics

business located at the Longwood Road plant grew rapidly

as Westinghouse became an important supplier of defence

items, including propulsion steam turbines for Canadian

Navy ships, torpedoes, assorted products for the Korean War,

shipboard fi re control equipment, as well as the “Velvet Glove”

missile in 1958.

In 1957, the Electronic Division’s

engineering and manufacturing

advances in the fi eld of industrial

electronics and microwave com-

munication showed considerable

promise when a demonstration

of a long-range, high-frequency,

tropospheric communications

system (subsequently called

“Microscatter”) provided near-

perfect wireless communications

between the Sanford Avenue

plant and Kinmount, Ontario, located 130 miles away. In later

years, this division produced advanced anti-submarine systems

and ship detection sonar systems for the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In 1959, the company received orders from the Royal

Canadian Air Force and the U.S. Air Force for a Microscatter

system to provide ground control for the Bomarc supersonic

missile defence system located in the U.S. Subsequently,

a helicopter-transportable version of Microscatter was delivered

to the U.S. Air Force and a trailer-mounted model was sold

to the Swedish Air Force. In 1962, this technology was used

in its fi rst commercial application to provide a telephone link

between Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and Uranium City

in Saskatchewan.

The ”Circle W“In 1961-1962, Canadian Westinghouse put on a new face with a modern-looking

"Circle W" logo and an updated logotype for the name "Westinghouse."

The artwork even used "Westinghouse blue," a special ink mix in tend ed to repre-

sent the blue corona visible during an electric arc. The new Westinghouse logo,

along with the slogan, "You can be SURE … if it’s Westinghouse™," would go on to

become two of the most easily-identifi able corporate symbols in North America.

Home Entertainment and Light Apparatus Products

Sales of television sets hit all-time highs in the early 1950s

due to the opening of a number of television stations

that broadcast signals to new areas of Canada. By 1958,

however, sales of televisions, radios and “high-fi delity

reproducing equipment” (record players) were dropping

as a result of low-cost Japanese and European models

fl ooding the market.

Fall season television-broadcasting programming created

much excitement in 1958 with the announcement of the

48-week season of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse,

which served as the vehicle for Westinghouse’s merchan-

dising campaign for consumer products. This pioneering

series, starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, featured a line-up

that included comedies as well as dramas, adventures,

romances, musicals, mysteries and westerns. In Canada,

the program was transmitted over the CBC television network.

In 1960, the Light Apparatus Division landed a large order

for electrical apparatus, including heating and ventilating

systems, for Place Ville Marie in Montreal. Other major projects

included apparatus for a General Motors plant expansion,

the Ford Motor Company glass plant, the Malton International

Airport, the CFTO-TV television station in Toronto,

the London Postal Terminal, the Hamilton Sewage Plant,

the TD Centre in Toronto and the expansions of

McMaster University and the University of Waterloo.

The Electronics Division specialized in radar, sonar and advanced communication systems.

In order to keep up with the demand for television sets, Canadian Westinghouse transferred television production from Hamilton to a facility in Brantford, Ontario in 1954.

Thousands of people toured the Sanford Avenue factory during the fi rst Family Day held in 1961.

Many employees purchased Westinghouse appliances from the

company store. Payment could be made using a payroll deduction plan.

One small visitor was fascinated by a single-stage steam turbine rotor

at the Family Day – 1961.

1953-1962

66

Consumer and Commercial Products Take on a Greater Importance

In the 1960s, rising personal

incomes, increased housing

construction and the impact

of the first baby boomers

entering adulthood, all

contributed to a buoyant

market for Westinghouse

household appliances.

In 1966, the two millionth major appliance

came off the production line at the

Longwood Road plant. The company

was so well respected in the industry

for its innovative designs and high-quality

products that Westinghouse was named

“Appliance Manufacturer of the Year – 1968”

by retailers across Canada.

1963-1972

The rotor for a W62 mechanical-drive gas turbine for TransCanada PipeLines is gently lowered into the casing – 1963.

In 1971, company shareholders voted to adopt the name Westinghouse Canada Limited (Limitée). Ten years later, the Canadian operation changed its name to Westinghouse Canada Incorporated. When abbreviated to Westinghouse Canada Inc., the name was acceptable in both English and French.

Electric blanket advertisement – 1964.

Canada celebrated its 100th birthday in 1967. Westinghouse contributions

to Expo ’67 included the “Dancing Waters” multi-fountain and multi-coloured light display

and Expo Express trains powered by Westinghouse motors and controls.

The Lamp and Lighting business was doing so well that a new 86,000 square foot plant

was built in Galt, Ontario. New products included special fluorescent lights for the large supermarkets

that were springing up across the country. Exterior lighting products included street lighting, floodlights, automotive

lamps and airport runway lighting systems.

67 68

and freezer with a “carousel” icemaker — a precursor to the

refrigerator door-mounted icemaker. In tune with the trend

for more colourful living, a groovy new colour, “Poppy,”

was introduced in 1971 and was an immediate hit.

Dishwashers were so popular that two new dishwasher

production lines were put into operation at the Longwood

Road plant. Vending machines were added to the product line

in 1968. The first 100 were installed in the Hamilton factories

for use by Westinghouse employees.

In 1974, the Appliance Division expanded its operation

with the opening of a new 170,000 square foot Distribution

Centre across the street from the production plant on

Longwood Road. The new building was connected to the plant

by a bridge and conveyor. A computerized inventory

management system was installed to control the flow

of product across the country. Two years later the new

Distribution Centre was sold when the company withdrew

from the major appliance business.*

Westinghouse had been providing in-home service

for refrigerators and other major appliances since their

introduction in the 1930s. By 1967, the company had

equipped their easily recognizable fleet of “Blue Trucks”

with two-way radios to improve the promptness of

home service calls. “Wesplan,” one of the first extended

warranty plans, was introduced in 1973 and provided

owners of Westinghouse major appliances with protection

year after year.

Meanwhile, brisk sales of small domestic appliances led

to the expansion of the Consumer Products Division and

the construction of a modern plant in Orangeville, Ontario

in 1969. This plant was used for the manufacture of portable

appliances such as blenders, cordless electric carving knives,

the “Sesame” can opener, the “Galaxy” kettle, “Steam-n-Dry”

irons, electric frying pans, hair dryers, microwave ovens,

room air conditioners, dehumidifiers and radios. In 1972,

Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the U.S. withdrew

from the portable appliance and consumer electronics

businesses. Four years later, the Orangeville plant was sold

along with Westinghouse Canada’s

major appliance business.*

Canada’s First Colour Televisions

Colour televisions were developed in Westinghouse

laboratories in the United States in the late 1950s. With much

fanfare, the first colour television sets manufactured in

Canada rolled off the production line at the Brantford plant

in 1964. Colour telecasting was scheduled to take place

in Canada in 1966 so they quickly became a top-selling item.

In the U.S.,

Westinghouse made

broadcasting history

on July 20, 1969,

when astronaut Neil

Armstrong became the

first man to set foot

on the moon. The

image of this historic

event was captured

by a Westinghouse

television camera

and transmitted to

50 million television

viewers around the world.

Meanwhile, in Canada, the surge in demand for colour

televisions and stereos for domestic and export markets

created the need to double the Brantford plant’s capacity.

Three years later, however, in the face of mass production

of components and large-scale assembly in Asia, production

of radio tubes, television sets, radios and other home

entertainment products became unprofitable and

was discontinued.

Withdrawal From Traditional Businesses

By the mid-1960s, the company employed approximately

10,000 hourly and salaried employees in its various businesses.

In 1967, amidst celebrations of Canada’s Centennial,

Westinghouse experienced a six-week strike, the first at its

Hamilton plants in 21 years. In 1968, Local 555 was certified

as the bargaining agent for approximately 800 office and

clerical employees in Hamilton.

Although the company enjoyed a number of consecutive

years of growing sales, profits dropped by 20 percent

between 1964 and 1969. In an effort to increase profits,

the company withdrew from some of its under-performing

traditional businesses while focusing efforts on new,

more profitable, product lines.

Technological advances in manufacturing meant that

fabricated parts for air brakes could be used in place of many

foundry-produced components. As a result, after 57 years

of operation, the foundry at the Longwood Road plant

was closed in 1962.

Built-in dishwasher – 1962.Motorized, push-button controls eliminated the need to manually

set washing cycles and provided the maximum in ease of use.

In 1968, the company entered the stereo component market offering a complete line of tuners, amplifiers, turntables, eight-track tape decks and speakers.

The Westinghouse ESCORT – a purse-sized AM radio that incorporated a flashlight, clock, cigarette lighter and a plate for personalizing

sold for $36.35 CAD. “So, if you are lost in the woods at night without matches, you can find your way,

keep yourself entertained, tell the time and light up a smoke, all with the Westinghouse ESCORT.”

A wall-mounted oven was the latest in stylish design – 1962.

Innovations in Appliance Design

In 1967, the company launched its first self-cleaning oven.

High-end models also featured a “look-in” window.

By the 1970s, top-loading automatic washers and a

coin-operated laundry machine were available. Smaller sized

and stackable models were also designed to capture

the expanding apartment and mobile home markets.

Refrigerators with a 16-cubic-foot capacity and “Shape

of Tomorrow” styling were available with replaceable colour-

keyed door panels in avocado, gold-tone and wood grain.

The 1970 line-up included a “side-by-side” refrigerator

Colour televisions sold for about $400 CAD when they were launched in 1964.

By the early 1960s, the Westinghouse “laundry twins“ (a matched set of a “Laundromat” and dryer) were outselling all other laundry equipment in Canada.

* See page 74. 1963-1972

69 70

In 1969, the purchase of the parent Westinghouse

Air Brake Company (WABCO) in the United States by

American Standard Inc. was followed by the sale of the

73-year-old Canadian air brake business to the same company.

International markets became increasingly more important

throughout the 1960s. By 1969, export sales accounted

for 10 percent of the company’s sales. Major orders included:

power transformers for Thailand, Bolivia and Trinidad &

Tobago; switchgear for Brazil, Honduras and Dominica;

electronics for Japan, West Germany and Great Britain;

nuclear power station components for India; and gas turbines

and mine hoists for the United States. The company was also

very successful at selling 240-volt refrigerators, freezers

and washers to Great Britain, Mexico, Venezuela and the

West Indies. In 1972, in anticipation of closer trading

relationships with the rest of the world, the company created

the Metric Conversion Department.

Turbines and Transformers Replace Waterwheel Generators

In 1971, the waterwheel generator business succumbed

to offshore competition from companies including Mitsubishi,

Mitsui and Russian firms that had effectively sewn up

the Canadian market. As a result of the discontinuation

of the waterwheel generator business, the main aisles

in the Sanford Avenue plant were gradually converted

to the manufacture of steam and gas turbine components

and other electrical apparatus.

To respond to the growing market for high-voltage

power transformers, an 80,000 square foot assembly

and test building was added at the Beach Road plant

in 1964. In 1970, a 25,000 square foot office building

was added to the facility.

During this period, a major order was obtained for

735-kilovolt reactors and large generator transformers

for the Churchill Falls Hydro-Electric Generating Station

in Labrador, the largest hydro-electric installation of its kind

in the world. Power lines extended 1,100 miles from

Churchill Falls to Montreal. A large share of the balance

of the work on this project went to offshore competition.

The Canadian Government took action to investigate

possible injury to the domestic industry from the sale

of foreign-made transformers at “dump prices.”

Supplying Nuclear Power Stations

In 1965, the new Port Hope facility shipped its first order

of atomic fuel to a customer in India. In 1968 the division sold

$1.7 million CAD of calandria tubes to Ontario Hydro for its new

nuclear power station at Pickering, Ontario. This was followed

by a $4 million CAD order for nuclear fuel for the Bruce Nuclear

Power Station near Kincardine on Lake Huron in Ontario.

Electronics Division Expands Into Commercial Electronics Products

In 1971, the Electronics Division, which had branched

out into commercial electronics products, moved from

the Longwood Road

plant to a new facility

on Walkers Line in

Burlington, Ontario.

A new Solid State

Devices Department

manufactured hearing

aid amplifiers and

other integrated circuit

devices. In 1972,

the solid state devices

business was sold in

an employee buy-out.

Today, this very

successful high-

technology company

operates in Burlington,

Ontario under the

name of Gennum

Corporation.

In 1968, the Electronics Division was marketing “Wesscam,”*

a revolutionary stabilized camera platform for televising

or shooting film from a moving vehicle. This product,

still highly regarded and considered an industry standard

in 2003, formed the basis of a company that spun off in 1974

as Wescam* and is also located in Burlington, Ontario.

D-line steam turbine for a chemical company – 1964.

Westinghouse patented the first fully automatic operatorless elevator in 1949. This technological advance contributed to the widespread construction of high-rise apartment buildings. In 1968, Canadian Westinghouse formed the Elevator Division and established sales and service offices in Toronto and Vancouver to support the market for elevators and “electric stairways,” as escalators were then called.

In the early 1960s, engineers at Canadian Westinghouse developed a sophisticated electronic control device called LINATROL

for cutting intricate shapes out of metal at speeds up to 200 inches per minute.

LYNX was a subsequent model of this product line.

In the 1970s, the Electronic Division’s Industrial Electronics Department was producing graphical display devices for use in medical and process control applications and “Wand” video display terminals (VDTs).

Not all the Turbine and Generator Division’s turbines were for land use. In 1968, twin 4,400 horsepower W41G gas turbines were provided for the Canadian Coast Guard vessel, Norman McLeod Rogers, the first icebreaker in the world to use gas turbines for ship propulsion. The turbines were designed to provide a power boost for breaking through heavy ice.

Trimming shrouds on an EM25 steam turbine for Fish Engineering for use in Argentina – 1963.

*The original product name was spelled Wesscam. One S was dropped when the new company was named. 1963-1972