Collection Items

  • Film, Video
    Welding the big ring
    Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6 and Biograph Co. prod. records: Welding big ring | Variant title: Westinghouse works | Welding big ring | Westinghouse works
    A group of men weld one area of a large ring in a fire. They lift the ring, which is hanging horizontally on chains, out of the fire. Four men hammer the hot area on the ring into shape while the remaining men hold the ring. They put the ring into the fire again, take it out, and take it over to a machine...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Casting a guide box, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1
    A large bucket full of molten material is poured into a large container, possibly a mold, by a group of men using machinery. Some other men stoke the fire under the container. When finished pouring, the men lift the bucket up from the container and take it away on a crane. Two men put prods down repeatedly into the container, while others lay covers...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Panorama exterior Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6: Railroad from Pittsburg to Stewart, Westinghouse works | Shooting title in Biograph Co. prod. records: Railroad panorama, Pittsburg to Stewart, Westinghouse works | Panorama of exterior | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Railroad from Pittsburg to Stewart, Westinghouse works | Railroad panorama, Pittsburg to Stewart, Westinghouse works
    The view from a moving train shows some of the Westinghouse interests and the surrounding areas. It appears that the film is in two parts and has been incorrectly spliced together with the last part put first. The film is supposed to show one rail route, but maps indicate that the first part of the film logically should be placed last. The first part...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Steam whistle, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1
    A closeup of the steam whistle blowing at the "Westinghouse works" complex of factories in Pennsylvania, probably at the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Coil winding section E, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel
    Rows of women are shown at tables with winding machines. They wind using material from spools behind them, apparently putting the finished products on the table in front of them. Various supervisory staff, male and female, walk through the aisles, checking the work of the women.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Tapping a furnace, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1
    A large bucket is lowered into a pit by male workers using machinery. Molten material from a furnace is poured into the bucket using a slide. The bucket, which has flames coming from inside, is lifted up from the pit by a crane.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Coil winding machines, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1
    Numerous women stand in rows at winding machines, taking material from large spools behind them. A male supervisor walks down the aisle, checking the work of the women.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Girls taking time checks, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1
    Almost 200 women file by a device on the wall from which they take their time checks. A man runs half-way across the screen at the end of the film.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Taping coils, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1
    Numerous women stand at several rows of tables where they appear to be wrapping tape around some devices, presumably coils. Male supervisors walk down the aisles, observing the women's work.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Girls winding armatures
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Copyright title: Girls winding armatures (Westinghouse works) | Title in Biograph photo catalog: Girls winding armature | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1 | Westinghouse works | Girls winding armatures (Westinghouse works) | Girls winding armature | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 1
    Numerous women sit in rows at machines where they appear to be winding some type of wire and tooling it onto machines. Two young men push spools of this wire down the aisle. Supervisors, male and female, walk down the aisle and observe the women's work, stopping for a while at one woman's station.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Testing a rotary, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    A small group of men turn on what appears to be a generator. As the rotary spins, the men make adjustments to the machine and check its operations.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Testing large turbines, Westinghouse Co. works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6 and Biograph Co. prod. records: Testing large turbine, Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Variant title: Testing large turbines, Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works | Testing large turbine, Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Testing large turbines, Westinghouse works
    On the left of the screen, a small group of men lift the top off of what appears to be a turbine with a crane and continue to check the machine, tightening various parts with wrenches. On the right side, a few men appear to be testing the workings of what may be a turbine.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Westinghouse Air Brake Co. Westinghouse Co. works (casting scene)
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6 and Biograph Co. prod. records: Westinghouse Air Brake Co. casting machine | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse Air Brake Co. casting machine | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    What appear to be molds pass by some men on conveyor belts. The men take them off the belt and dump the contents onto the ground. Other men pick up with tongs the parts that have been dumped onto the ground and put them on a pile in the foreground.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Steam hammer, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    From what appears to be a furnace, a large, glowing block is lifted with the help of a crane over to a table by a group of men. A hammer comes from above and pounds down on the block repeatedly as the men turn the block several times so that it will acquire a certain shape.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Assembling a generator, Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    A group of men work on various parts of a large generator, assembling the pieces. A crane carries a large piece of the generator over to the rest of the machine, and the men guide it down to assemble it. The crane brings two other pieces to the machine and lays them down where they belong.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Assembling and testing turbines, Westinghouse Co. works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Variant title: Assembling and testing turbines, Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Assembling and testing turbines, Westinghouse works
    A turbine is shown operating. Two men walk up to it, check the running of various parts on it, and write their findings down on paper. A third man is seen walking through a few times, once stopping to look at one of the men's writings.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Westinghouse Air Brake Co. Westinghouse Co. works (moulding scene)
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6 and Biograph Co. prod. records: Westinghouse Co. no. 3, moulding machine | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse Co. no. 3, moulding machine | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    Men working in teams carry buckets of molten material and pour the material into what appear to be molds lined up on the ground.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Panorama of Machine Co. aisle, Westinghouse Co. works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Variant title: Panorama of Machine Co. aisle, Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Panorama of Machine Co. aisle, Westinghouse works
    A camera on an overhead crane travels down a large, long aisle where men are shown working on large machinery on either side. Carts carrying equipment are shown traveling on rails down the aisles. There are also men walking in the aisles.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Panorama view street car motor room
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6 and Biograph Co. prod. records: Panorama motor room, Westinghouse works | Panoramic view streetcar motor room | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Panorama motor room, Westinghouse works
    A camera moving forward on an overhead crane gives a traveling view of men working on machinery. Carts carrying parts and pieces of machinery pass by on rails; cranes lift machinery; and men perform their various duties, including hammering objects.
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Westinghouse Air Brake Co. Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Title in Biograph photo catalog, v. 6: Westinghouse Air-Brake Company | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse Air-Brake Company | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    A large group of men are shown performing various tasks in one room at the Westinghouse Air Brake Co. On one side, men are shown pouring a hot liquid into molds on the floor. A conveyor belt delivers items which are then taken off the belt by a man. Men on the other side of the screen appear to be lifting items out of...
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Film, Video
    Panoramic view aisle B., Westinghouse works
    Variant title: Westinghouse works | Variant title from MAVIS: Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2 | Westinghouse works | Westinghouse works--Paper Print Collection. Compilation reel 2
    Filmed using a camera on an overhead crane, a traveling view of a large, long aisle is shown. Men are busy performing various tasks on machinery, probably generators. Other men are walking down the aisle in all directions, and carts carrying items come and go. The film ends when the camera reaches the end of the aisle where windows and a large opening are....
    • Contributor: American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Bitzer, G. W. - Paper Print Collection (Library of Congress)
    • Date: 1904
  • Collection
    Inside an American Factory: Films of the Westinghouse Works, 1904 The Westinghouse Works Collection contains 21 actuality films showing various views of Westinghouse companies. Most prominently featured are the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Westinghouse Machine Company. The films were intended to showcase the company's operations. Exterior and interior shots of the factories are shown along with scenes of male and female workers performing their duties at...
    • Contributor: Library of Congress. National Digital Library Program - Bitzer, G. W. - American Mutoscope and Biograph Company - Library of Congress. Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division
    • Date: 1999

    Collection Items: View 39 Items

  • Web Page
    Related Resources Selected Bibliography About the Westinghouse Companies circa 1904 75th Anniversary of the Westinghouse Brake Company: Commemorating Three-Quarters of a Century of Pioneering, Wilmerding, PA: The Westinghouse Air Brake Company, 1944. The Westinghouse Companies in the Railway & Industrial Fields, Westinghouse Companies Publishing Department, 1905. Works of Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company: Their Industrial and Sociological Aspect, Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, 1904. About George...
  • Web Page
    Rights and Access Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions.
  • Article
    Articles and Essays Top of page Skip to main content Library of Congress Search Everything Audio Recordings Books/Printed Material Films, Videos Legislation Manuscripts/Mixed Material Maps Notated Music Newspapers Periodicals Personal Narratives Photos, Prints, Drawings Software, E-Resources Web Archives