American Car and Foundry Company
American Car and Foundry (often abbreviated as ACF) is an American manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches under the brand names of (first) ACF and (later) ACF-Brill. Today ACF is known as ACF Industries LLC and is based in St. Charles, Missouri.[1] It is owned by investor Carl Icahn.
History
American Car and Foundry was formed and incorporated in New Jersey in 1899 as the result of the merger of 13 smaller railroad car manufacturers. The company was made up of:
| Company | Founded | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Car Manufacturing Company | 1872 | Buffalo, New York |
| Ensign Manufacturing Company[2] | 1872 | Huntington, West Virginia |
| Jackson and Woodin Manufacturing Company | 1861 | Berwick, Pennsylvania |
| Michigan-Peninsular Car Company | 1892 | Detroit, Michigan |
| Minerva Car Works | 1882 | Minerva, Ohio |
| Missouri Car and Foundry Company | 1865 | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Murray, Dougal and Company | 1864 | Milton, Pennsylvania |
| Niagara Car Wheel Company | Buffalo, New York | |
| Ohio Falls Car Company | 1876 | Jeffersonville, Indiana |
| St. Charles Car Company | 1873 | St. Charles, Missouri |
| Terre Haute Car and Manufacturing Company | Terre Haute, Indiana | |
| Union Car Company | Depew, New York | |
| Wells and French Company | 1869 | Chicago, Illinois |
Later in 1899 ACF acquired Bloomsburg Car Manufacturing Company (of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania). Two years later, ACF acquired Jackson and Sharp Company (founded 1863 in Wilmington, Delaware), and the Common Sense Bolster Company (of Chicago, Illinois). The unified company made a great investment in the former Jackson & Woodin plant in Pennsylvania, spending about $3 million. It was at this plant that ACF built the first all-steel passenger car in the world in 1904. The car was built for the Interborough Rapid Transit system of New York City, the first of 300 such cars ordered by the railroad.
1904 and 1905 saw ACF build several motor cars and trailers for the London Underground.[3] In those two years ACF also acquired Southern Car and Foundry (founded 1899 in Memphis, Tennessee), Indianapolis Car and Foundry and Indianapolis Car Company.
During World War I ACF produced artillery gun mounts and ammunition, submarine chasers and other boats, railway cars, and other equipment to support the Allies.[3] ACF ranked 36th among United States corporations in the value of World War II production contracts.[4]
Timeline
- 1899: American Car & Foundry is formed from the merger of 13 smaller companies.
- 1899: ACF acquires Bloomsburg Car Manufacturing Company
- 1901: ACF acquires Jackson and Sharp Company and Common Sense Bolster Company
- 1904: ACF builds the first all-steel passenger car in the world for the Interborough Rapid Transit
- 1904: ACF acquires Southern Car and Foundry
- 1905: ACF acquires Indianapolis Car and Foundry and Indianapolis Car Company
- 1922: ACF diversifies into the automotive industry with the acquisition of Carter Carburetor Corporation[3]
- March 31, 1924: ACF acquires Pacific Car and Foundry
- 1925: ACF acquires Fageol Motors Company of Ohio and Hall-Scott Motor Car Company[3]
- 1926: ACF acquires J. G. Brill Company[3]
- 1927: ACF acquires Shippers Car Line[3]
- 1935: ACF builds lightweight Rebel streamline trains for the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad
- 1939: ACF's Berwick plant switches to construction of military tanks.
- August 2, 1941: ACF's 1,000th military tank is completed for the United States military effort of World War II
- 1954: The company officially changes its name to ACF Industries, Inc.[3]
- 1954: ACF purchases Engineering and Research Corporation.[5]
- 1954–1955: ACF delivers 35 "Astra Dome" dome cars to the Union Pacific Railroad
- 1960: ACF completes the last passenger car that it is to build (New York City Transit R28[6] IRT car).
- 1961: ACF closes Berwick plant.
- 1977: Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) came up with the idea of the first double-stack intermodal car in 1977.[7] SP then designed the first car with ACF Industries that same year.[8][9]
- 1984: ACF is purchased by Carl Icahn
- 1997: ACF reaches leasing agreement with GE Capital Railcar for 35000 of its 46000 railcars, mostly on 16 year leases with optional purchase agreements.[10]
- 2003: ACF Industries LLC became a successor to ACF Industries, Incorporated on May 1, 2003.[3]
Products
In the past ACF built passenger and freight cars, including covered hopper cars for hauling such cargo as corn and other grains. One of the largest customers was the Union Pacific Railroad, whose armour-yellow carbon-steel lightweight passenger rolling stock was mostly built by ACF. The famous dome-observation car Native Son was an ACF product. Today the US passenger-car market is erratic in production and is mostly handled by specialty manufacturers. Competitors Budd, Pullman-Standard, Rohr Industries, and the St. Louis Car Company have all either left the market or gone out of business.
The manufacturing facility in Milton, Pennsylvania, is serviced by the Norfolk Southern Railway and is capable of manufacturing railcars and all related railcar components. The plant is capable of producing pressure vessels in sizes 18,000–61,000 gwc, including propane tanks, compressed gas storage, LPG storage, and all related components, including heads. The plant, covering 48 acres, provides 500,000 square feet of covered work area and seven miles of storage tracks. The Huntington, West Virginia, production site was closed in late 2009.[1]
See also
- American Car Company
- Canadian Car and Foundry
- Jan Rogers Kniffen - former company treasurer
- List of rolling stock manufacturers
References
- 1 2 ACF Industries, St. Charles, MO. "About ACF." Accessed 2011-12-18.
- ↑ White, John H., Jr. (1993). The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 142. ISBN 0-8018-4404-5. OCLC 26130632.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ACF Industries. "History." Accessed 2011-11-18.
- ↑ Peck, Merton J. & Scherer, Frederic M. The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis (1962) Harvard Business School p.619
- ↑ S Oliver Goodwin (26 August 1956). "Saving Pilots and Planes Is Erco's Main Business: ACF Division Has 75 Pct. of Output In Simulators". The Washington Post.
- ↑ "R26/R28/R29". NYCSubway.org. 2005. Archived from the original on 2 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ↑ Chronological History - Union Pacific Railroad Company
- ↑ Kaminski, Edward S. (1999). - American Car & Foundry Company: A Centennial History, 1899-1999. - Wilton, California: Signature Press. - ISBN 0963379100
- ↑ "A new fleet shapes up. (High-Tech Railroading)". - Railway Age. - (c/o HighBeam Research). - September 1, 1990
- ↑ Sources:
- Christopher Carey (11 March 1997), "ACF LEASES 35,500 RAILCARS TO RIVAL: GE CAPITAL IS GIVEN OPTION TO PURCHASE", St Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, via business.highbeam.com)
- "ACF Industries Enters Into Railcar Lease With GE Capital Railcar", PRNewswire, via www.thefreelibrary.com (ACF Industries, Incorporated), 10 March 1997
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to American Car and Foundry Company. |
- ACF Industries - Official site
- ACF Industries Archival Collection - University of Missouri
- History of ACF trucks - Trucksplanet
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