| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1840; 184 years ago (1840) |
| Defunct | 1950 |
| Headquarters | Niles, Ohio, USA |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Locomotives High-speed trains Intercity and commuter trains Trams People movers Signalling systems |
The Niles Car and Manufacturing Company was an American manufacturer of railroad equipment, including many streetcar and interurban cars. It was founded in 1901 in Niles, Ohio and published catalogs showcasing their various cars.
Niles specialized in building wooden-bodied cars in the heyday of interurban building. Its cars had a reputation of being well-built and stylish; Niles advertising called them "The Electric Pullmans."
The company also produced equipment for the trucking industry, an industry reference citing 2 models of 1 and 2 tons respectively, costing $1500 to $2400, utilizing a worm drive and custom bodies to suit.
The company ceased producing railroad cars in 1917. The plant and equipment were purchased by the Engel Aircraft Company to produce aircraft parts for the United States Army Signal Corps.
Customers
Niles' clients included the:
- Aurora Elgin and Chicago Railroad (later the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad); including the oldest operating interurban in the US (#20)
- Bamberger Electric Railroad
- Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railway
- Northern Electric Railway (later part of the Sacramento Northern Railway)
- The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company
- Northern Ohio Traction & Light
- Pacific Northwest Traction Company
- Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo Railroad
- Rock Island Southern Railway
- San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway
- St. Paul Southern Electric Railway
- The Chicago Lake Shore and South Bend Railway
- Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway
- Toronto Civic Railways (DE DT M - late TTC Class H, H1 and H3 cars).
- Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway
- Yakima Valley Transportation Company
- Youngstown and Ohio River Railroad
References
- ^ Hilton, George W.; Due, John Fitzgerald (1960). The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4014-2. OCLC 237973.
- See, e.g., "Niles Cars 1914," a reproduction of one of their catalogs, illustrated with photos and blueprints (Electric Railway Historical Society Bulletin No. 30, 1958).
- "Niles Car & Manufacturing Company". Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- American Street Railway Investments: Fifteenth Annual Volume: 1908. McGraw Publishing Company. 1908. p. XXI. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- Barber, H.L. (1917). Story of the Automobile: Its History and Development from 1760 to 1917. Chicago, Illinois: A.J. Munson & Co. p. 238. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- "Baker's Brother got a Contract" (PDF). The New York Times. February 1, 1918. pp. 1, 6.
- Faurote, Fay L. (Ed.) (February 1919). The Aircraft Year Book. New York City, New York: Manufacturers Aircraft Association, Inc. pp. 149–153. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
External links
Media related to Niles Car and Manufacturing Company at Wikimedia Commons
