1886 and 1887, Coffin scheduled a series of tests of the Westinghouse air brake, but the tests failed to produce the desired results. Later in 1887, Coffin scheduled another series of tests, this time on a long grade outside Burlington, Iowa. A Chicago, Burlington & Quincy steam locomotive started downgrade with 50 cars rolling behind it. When the train hit 40 mph, the engineer put on the air. The freight shuddered to a dead stop within 500 feet. The air brakes had worked. In 1890, Coffin drafted the first railroad safety act and it was passed by the Iowa legislature that same year. Coffin then turned his efforts to getting a federal law enacted requiring all railroads in the United States to adopt air brakes and automatic couplers as mandatory equipment on all railroad cars. Almost six years later, in 1893, President Benjamin Harrison signed the Railroad Safety Appliance Act, requiring mandatory air brakes and automatic couplers on all US railroad cars. Harrison gave the pen he used to sign the bill into law to Coffin. The law is still on the books. It is estimated that the loss of life of railroad employees was reduced by this reform more than 64% within 10 years of enactment of the law. Death Coffin died at Fort Dodge, Iowa, on January 17, 1915, aged 91. He is buried Willowledge Cemetery in Fort Dodge. References External links Natte, Roger. "Coffin, Lorenzo Stephen", The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press, 2009. 1823 births 1915 deaths Farmers from Iowa Businesspeople from Iowa People from Alton, New Hampshire Oberlin College alumni