Railway Car Builders of North America

An ever-growing list of all independent builders.

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Company Plant Location Date Successor, Comments or Cross-reference
Gadsden Car Works Gadsden, AL? 1908  
Gantt Mfg. Co. Greenville, SC 1973-1976/1978+?  
Gardner, Inc. James T.
(James T. Gardner, Inc.)
Chicago, IL c1906 Appears to be a dealer in railway equipment, locomotives, cars and rail.
Garrett & Eastwick Philadelphia, PA 1830-1839 Philip Garret (watchmaker) began building locomotives. In 1835 became partners with Andrew M. Eastwick and hired Joseph Harrison, Jr. (who introduced the equalizing lever). Built no cars.
To Eastwick & Harrison
Gates Sleeping Car Co. Chicago, IL 1860s-1869 To Wagner Palace Car Company
GATX Corp.
[This is an off-site link.]
Chicago, IL   “GATX Rail owns or manages approximately 168,000 railcars of all types, and is one of the largest railcar lessors in North America.”
General American Car Co. Chicago, IL? 1916-1984 From German-American Car Company. ca. 1925 was doing primarily rebuilding.
General American Car Co. Chicago, IL
East Chicago, IN
c1921 Subsidiary of General American Tank Car Corporation. Known to have received orders in 1921 for 500 refrig. cars for GNR; 600 rebuilt hoppers for IC; 600 freight cars and 14,000 tons steel rails for Chinese government. In 1922 for 700 40-ton refrig. cars for SP; 1,000 50-ton single sheathed auto cars and 250 40-ton stock cars for NP.
General American Transportation Corp. East Chicago, IN
Sharon, PA
Warren, OH
Off: Chicago, IL
1898/1933-1978+ From General American Tank Car Corporation 1933.
Though better known as a fleet operator, this firm built its own tank cars; began building tank and box cars for others as well in 1921.
General American Tank Car Co. Warren, OH
Masury, OH after 1930s
  Built and repaired GATX cars and others.
General American Tank Car Corp. Chicago, IL
Had offices in NYC ca. 1930
1916-1933 From German-American Car Company.
Acquired Standard Tank Car Corporation 1927.
Listed under "Car Builders" in White-Orr's 1930 Classified Business Directory NYC section.
To General American Transportation Corporation
General Electric Co.   1892-1920  
General Motors Diesel Ltd. London, ON 1959-  
General Steel Castings Corp.      
General Steel Industries, Inc. Granite City, IL 1953/55/c1962-1972  
General Tank Car Co.   c1924/25  
Georgia Car & Locomotive Co. Atlanta, GA c1895-1960+  
Georgia Car Co. Cartersville, GA ????-1885 Plant moved to Anniston, AL
Georgia Car & Manufacturing Co. Savannah, GA 1900-1913  
German-American Car Company A West Virginia Corporation 1902/07-1916 Incorporation of Atlantic Seaboard Despatch.
Built 1st car -- a tank car -- in 1907.
Reorganized as General American Tank Car Corp., probably as a result of the war in Europe that became the 1st World War.
Gilbert & Son, Uri
(Uri Gilbert & Son)
Troy, NY 1862-1864 From Eaton, Gilbert & Company
To Gilbert, Bush & Company
Gilbert, Bush & Co. Troy, NY 1864-1882 From Uri Gilbert and Son
To Gilbert Car Manufacturing Company
Gilbert Car Mfg. Co. Troy, NY 1882-1889 From Gilbert, Bush & Company
To Taylor Electric Truck Company
Gill Car Mfg. Co. Columbus, OH 1887 Gill Car Mfg. Co. is listed under “Car Builders” in 1877 edition, Poor’s Directory of Railway Officials, with officers listed as John L. Gill, President, H.R. Gill, Treasurer, Wilson L. Gill, Secretary and Superintendent.
Gill Car Co.
John L. Gill
Columbus, OH 1862-1883 Bought by B&O RR. 1884
Gill, John L. Jr.
(John L. Gill, Jr.)
Allegheny, PA ????-1885  
Gillingham & Winans Baltimore, MD c1831-c1838 Provided some of the first locomotives to the B&O; no cars.
Globe Iron Works Cleveland, OH 1869 Builder of ships and related machinery built three steam dummies for a local line; no cars.
Globe Iron Works San Francisco, CA 1880s, 1890s Built light locomotives; no cars.
Globe Locomotive Works
Globe Works Co.
S. Boston, MA 1854-1868+ John Souther and D.A. Pickering incorporated Souther’s machine-building business. Built locomotives for several years in addition to other machinery. Discontinued their production about 1860. Took up building Steam Shovels (Excavators). {8}
Glover Machine Works Marietta, GA 1892(1903)-1920 John Glover had a foundry, carriage factory, and tannery; built 200 locomotives 1903-1920; no cars. Still active in general machinery 1982.
Godwin & Co., Thomas W.
(
Thomas W. Godwin & Co.)
Norfolk, VA c1865(1872)-1920 Steamboat repair shop began building narrow-gauge locomotives, continued until 1920; built no cars.
Golden State & Miners Iron Works San Francisco, CA 1887-1890 Locomotive builder; built no cars.
Golden Tye Pickens, SC 1974-1979  
Golden West Service     A partnership of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Gunderson and The Greenbriar Lines to remanufacture thousands of freight cars, mostly if not all of Southern Pacific/SSW origin.
Goodrich, B.F.
(B.F. Goodrich)
  1965-1966  
Goodwin Car Co. Offices New York and Chicago. Plant? c1900-1918 Sold and leased “The Goodwin Car,” a dump car that could empty longitudinally both outside and between the rails. Advertised its use for “coal, coke, ore and other dumpable materials . . . filling, ballasting, track-raising.” It may have had cars built for it by others.
Reorganized as Goodwin Car & Manufacturing
Goodwin Car & Mfg. Chicago and New York 1918-c1930 Reorganization of Goodwin Car Company. No evidence it ever did anything, but may have continued leasing Goodwin dump cars.
Listed under "Car Builders" in White-Orr's 1930 Classified Business Directory NYC section.
Goodyear-Zeppelin Co. Akron, OH 1935  
Goold & Co., James
(James Goold & Co.)
Albany, NY 1813(1831)-1890? James Gould [note spelling] began building carriages 1814, shortly added stage coaches. {394}
Existed many years as a builder of sleighs, carriages, coaches and wagons doing business as The Albany Coach Manufactory. (Unclear whether this was a firm name or a DBA.) Added railway coaches to its production 1831. {2}
Gould Storage Battery Co. Depew, NY c1911 Uncertain from advertisement whether they actually built cars or only supplied battaries.
Grant Locomotive Works Paterson, NJ
[Chicago c1883]
1867-1893 Known as a locomotive builder; doubtful it ever built cars.
From New Jersey Locomotive & Machine Works
(See R&LHS Bulletin 104, April 1961 and Bulletin 122, April 1970.)
Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. E. Chicago, IN 1931-1932 To Union Tank Car
Green, M.P. & M. E.
(M.P. & M.E. Green)
Hoboken, NJ 1830s  
Greenbrier Companies     Holding company with 3 North American railcar manufacturing facilities:
Gunderson, Inc. - Portland, OR
Gunderson-Concarril - Sahagun, Mexico
TrentonWorks, Inc - Trenton, NS, Canada
Greenlease Co.     Not a builder, but a subsidiary  of Greenville Steel Car Co. that buys and rebuilds cars for leasing to railroads.
Greenville Metal Prods. Co. Greenville, PA 1910-1914 To Greenville Steel Car Company
Greenville Steel Car Co. Greenville, PA 1914/1916-1986 From Greenville Metal Products Company.
Acquired 1930 by Pittsburgh Forgings Co. but continued  under Greenville name.
Became part of Trinity Industries.
The Gregg Co., Ltd. Newburgh, NY; Hackensack, NJ; Belgium 1898-1937/1986+? Founded 1898 at Newburgh, New York, by William C. Gregg. Their 1903 Catalogue No. 32 states they are “Manufacturers and exporters of Plantation Railway Equipment and Field Appliances.” The main office and works were moved to Hackensack, New Jersey, sometime before 1914. In 1927 it was moved to Belgium. At the beginning of the 2nd World War in 1939, it was seized by the German government. {12} It was apparently returned to private ownership after the war and appears to have been in business as recently as 2003, as Ed Kaminski has published an extremely limited edition book titled The Gregg Company Ltd. - A Centenniel History, 1903-2003.
Gregg Mfg. Co. Chicago, IL c1921 “Built sugar cane cars and portable track”  (May have been a reference to the Gregg Co., Ltd.)
Grice & Long Trenton, NJ 1858-1871 Built a number of steam passenger cars for both street and steam railways. Also steam dummies and mining locomotives.
Grove Works     Fales & Gray
Gulf Railcar Industries   1983-1990? From Richmond Tank Car
Gunderson-Concarril Sahagun, Mexico   One of 3 North American car-manufacturing subsidiaries of The Greenbrier Companies. Was a joint venture with Bombardier until December 2004 when Greenbrier bought out Bombardier's 50% interest.
Gunderson Rail Car Co. Portland, OR 1960-1972  
Gunderson, Inc. Portland, OR 1985-2003+ One of 3 North American car-building subsidiaries of The Greenbrier Companies. Acquired from FMC 1985.
Gunderson Brothers Engineering Corp. Portland, OR 1920/c1960-1978+ Began as a ship builder. Went into freight car building about 1960.
Acquired by FMC (formerly Food Machinery Corp.) in 1965.
Gunderson Rail Services     A railcar-management and rebuilding subsidiary of The Greenbrier Companies. Does not manufacture railway cars.
Gunn & Black     Partnership owning Brinkley Car Works & Manufacturing Company.
Gzowski & Co. Toronto, ON 1854  
Company Plant Location Date Successor, Comments or Cross-reference

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04 October 2007

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