Magnetic Signal Company


The Magnetic Signal Company of Los Angeles, California was the manufacturer of the ubiquitous "Magnetic Flagman" wigwag railroad crossing signal seen all over California and the western states.

Company history

Its general offices and factory were located at 3355 East Slauson Avenue in Vernon, an industrial area just south of downtown Los Angeles. This was an ideal location for a company that would eventually supply over 7,000 wig-wag signals to the country and the world, as it had great rail access for not only shipping its products out, but for bringing in the raw materials needed to manufacture its products. The Union Pacific's old Los Angeles and Salt Lake line to the harbor ran just east of that location, and the main lines of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe ran by just north of there as well. This probably had a great deal to do with those three railroads being some of Magnetic Signal's biggest customers.
In its heyday, Magnetic Signal not only manufactured wigwag signals, but also the alternating-flasher type railroad signals, reflectorized "Railroad Crossing" signs, button reflectors for highway signs, traffic island beacons, curb beacons, flasher relays, automobile and bicycle reflectors, and even a "Portafount" portable drinking fountain. The company had sales offices located in New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Although it is known that the Signal Department of the Pacific Electric Railway developed the first wigwags in 1909, under the direction of Albert Hunt, it is not known at exactly what point the Magnetic Signal Company became a separate entity. What is known is that it soon became a subsidiary of the American Brake Shoe and Foundry Company of Los Angeles, which also owned National Bearing Metals Corporation and the Canadian Ramapo Iron Works. It remained a subsidiary of American Brake Shoe until it was purchased by the Griswold Signal Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota sometime in the late 1940s. At that time, the offices and factory on Slauson Avenue were closed down and relocated to Minneapolis.