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Our intrepid volunteer archeologists descended into the depths of Union Station which is undergoing major restoration and retrieved this “Johnson Silent Drive Air Compressor” from a basement fan room where a pair of them were used as part of Union Station’s HVAC system. It cleaned up very nicely and we expect that it can easily be restored to operation.

The company that made it was founded in 1885 as the Johnson Electric Service Company. They became a pioneer in the development of systems to regulate the environments in buildings. Today they are the Johnson Controls Company.  For their history, visit this Wikipedia Entry of the history pages at the Johnson Controls website.  At that website they have quite an innovative interactive timeline of the company’s history which you may access by clicking here.   

Posting by Russ Milland; Photos by Michael Guy