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
Oahu Railway & Land Co. Honolulu, HI C1900/1010 Built cars for itself and possibly for other island railroads. OR&L coach #1, combination #36 and caboose #1 are at LA's Travel Town Museum. Parlor/observation car #64 is at the Hawaiian Railway. [We understand the road's 9 original coaches were built by Carter Brothers in California. If you can help us on this point, please contact us.]
Oakland Planing Mill     Burham-Standeford & Company
O'Brien & Sons San Francisco, CA 1880-1890s  
O'Ferrell, John, & Co.
(John O'Ferrell & Co.)
Piqua, OH 1887 John O'Ferrell & Co. is listed under “Car Builders” in 1877 edition, Poor’s Directory of Railway Officials.
Ohio Falls Car & Locomotive Co. Jeffersonville, IN 1864-1876 To Ohio Falls Car Manufacturing Company
Ohio Falls Car Co. Jeffersonville 1887 Ohio Falls Car Co. is listed under “Car Builders” in 1877 edition, Poor’s Directory of Railway Officials.
Ohio Falls Car Mfg. Co. Jeffersonville, IN 1876-1899/c1945 From Ohio Falls Car & Locomotive Company
One of the original companies consolidated into American Car & Foundry.
Oil Well Supply Co. Oswego, NY 1900-1925  
Oliver, W.J., Mfg. Co.
(W.J. Oliver Mfg. Co.)
  1908-1913  
O’Meara, Michael O.
(Michael O'Meara)
Sherbrooke, QC 1849-1854  
Ontario Car & Foundry London, ON 1887- ?? Successor to Ontario Car Company. Thomas Muir is named as Managing Director in its listing under “Car Builders” in 1877 edition, Poor’s Directory of Railway Officials.
Ontario Car Co.     T. Muir & Son
Ontario Foundry Cobourg, ON 1867-1873 To Crossen Car Company
Orange Car & Supply   1923  
Orange Iron Works   1906-1913  
Orenstein & Koppel     German car builder; predecessor of Arthur Koppel Company, Koppel, PA, USA; still going strong in Europe, but building no railway equipment.
Orenstein-Arthur Koppel Co. Koppel, PA 1908-1917 From Arthur Koppel Company
To Koppel Industrial Car & Equipment Company
Ortner Freight Car Co. Mt. Orab (Cincinnati), OH
Covington, KY
1953-1987 Became part of Trinity Industries
Osceola Car Co. Osceola Mills, PA 1915?  
Osgood Bradley     Name of owner/founder of Bradley Car Works in its various permutations. See Bradley
Ostermann Mfg. Co. West Pullman (Chicago), IL 1906-1911 Freight car construction and repairing.
H.C. Ostermann retired in 1909 and sold his stock to H.E. Delph, owner of West Pullman Car Works.
Sued 1910 by IC RR for fraud relative to car repairs.
To West Pullman Car Works [before 1910?]
Ottawa Car & Aircraft, Ltd. Ottawa, ON 1939-1947 From Ottawa Car Mfg. Company
Ottawa Car Co. Ottawa, ON 1891-1917 From Ahern & Soper Car Works
To Ottawa Car Mfg. Company
Ottawa Car Mfg. Co. Ottawa, ON 1917-1939 From Ottawa Car Company
To Ottawa Car & Aircraft, Ltd.
Ottawa Car Works Ottawa, KS c1911  
Oxford Co-operative Car Co. Oxford, PA 1873-1880 The small town of Oxford loaned workers $50,000 to start a car company. The panic of 1873 almost did it in, but an 1880 fire finished the job.
Built express cars #13 and #14 for the V&T 1874.
Company Plant Location Date Successor, Comments or Cross-reference

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11 April 2006

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