In the 1990’s, a railroad employee was injured using a homemade tool to operate a railcar handbrake. Similar tools had been used for decades to enable employees to operate the handbrake from the ground rather than having to climb a ladder.

Recognizing the value of this tool, but wanting to improve and standardize the design, Don Browning, a Safety Manager at Norfolk Southern, developed the original BrakeStick™ (aka the Omni Stick or BrakeStick™ 1.0) and a manual for its proper use on the railroad. BrakeStick™ 1.0 radically improved employee experience and productivity and over the years was widely adopted across the railroad industry.

However, field use demonstrated that the BrakeStick™ 1.0 locking mechanism was prone to failure because by nature of the design it was the focal point of load forces. Recognizing this, Don independently began developing BrakeStick™ 2.0 to remedy this issue designing it specifically to spread force along the body of the tool.

In development of BrakeStick™ 2.0, Don worked in conjunction with Norfolk Southern Research & Test (R&T), iterating multiple designs to ensure maximum durability and user experience. Ultimately, R&T conducted a battery of tests on the final design of BrakeStick™ 2.0 demonstrating that the tool far exceeded baseline standards.

In 2019, BrakeStick™ 2.0 went into limited production and after years of successful use in 2023 entered full production. As of 2025, there are over 3500 units in the field.