National Steel Car is the largest manufacturer of railway

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles ca ...

in Canada, based in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

. The company was founded in 1912, and has been a top 3 rolling stock manufacturer in Canada for its lifetime. National Steel Car is a subsidiary of National Industries Inc. and is currently led by Greg Aziz, Chairman and CEO of National Steel Car.

History

Founded in 1912 by several investors led by Sir

John Morison Gibson Sir John Morison Gibson (January 1, 1842 – June 3, 1929) was a Canadian politician and the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Biography John Morison Gibson, the son of Scottish immigrants, was born in 1842, in Toronto. He grew up o ...

and with interests related to the Magor Car Corporation, Basil Magor was enlisted to lead the National Steel Car project. Once the new plant was functioning in

, Magor became General Manager of National Steel Car Company Limited. The first few years of National Steel Car's production surpassed the expectations of its investors. The company began manufacturing just as Canadian

orders reached an all-time high in 1913. Due to the company's impeccable timing, National Steel Car began business with a large number of box car orders from

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

, and various railcar orders from

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Man ...

. In 1919, Donald Symington of Baltimore and Robert Magor of Magor Car made an offer on the company, and from there on it was reorganized as National Steel Car Corporation Limited. Business at National Steel Car boomed from the beginning of its life until just before the depression period of the 1930s. During the depression, National Steel Car was falling behind in terms of diversity in comparison to its competitors, and suffered a severe lack of orders. At one point the company resorted to producing motor trucks, bus bodies, and outboard motor boats, just so they had orders to fill.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

renewed National Steel Car's business, and the company has been in a relatively healthy state for most of its life since. It shares nearly all Canadian rolling stock orders with Eastern Car Company. National Steel Car also exports to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

regularly, more so in the later years of its life. In 1962,

Dofasco ArcelorMittal Dofasco is a steel company based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Dofasco is a standalone subsidiary of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest integrated steel producer. History Clifton and Frank A. Sherman founded Dominion Foundries and S ...

bought National Steel Car, but by 1990 it had effectively given up control of the declining company, and in 1994 they sold it to Hamilton corporation National Industries Inc., owned by Greg Aziz. By the year 2000, Aziz had increased National Steel Car's workforce from 500 to 3,000 employees and its production capacity from 3,500 to 12,500 rail cars annually. Today, National Steel Car makes and supplies various

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

customers, mainly railway operators and commercial rail operators. Originally named Imperial Steel Car, the name was changed before the end of 1912. Today National Steel Car is one of a few remaining rolling stock companies left in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Products

The following are past and present products made by National Steel Car.

Current

National Steel Car has focused on freight car production since the 1960s and was the second largest car builder in 1950s. *

Boxcar A boxcar is the North American (AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

- super duty and jumbo *

Coil car Coil cars (also referred to as "steel coil cars" or "coil steel cars") are a specialized type of rolling stock designed for the transport of coils (i.e., rolls) of sheet metal, particularly steel. They are considered a subtype of the gondola car, ...

- Longitudinal and transverse coil cars *

Flat car A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...

- including Centre beam cars * Gondola car - including coal car *

Hopper car A hopper car (US) or hopper wagon ( UIC) is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, and track ballast. Two main types of hopper car exist: covered hopper cars, which are equipped with ...

- covered and open top * Intermodal car - spine and well (single and multiple pack) *

Tank car A tank car ( International Union of Railways (UIC): tank wagon) is a type of railroad car (UIC: railway car) or rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities. History Timeline The following major events occurred in ...

- General purpose, insulated and non-insulated cars.

Past

National Steel Car has manufactured various railcar and non-rail products. * 50 ton electric locomotives - for

Inco Vale Canada Limited (formerly Vale Inco, CVRD Inco and Inco Limited; for corporate branding purposes simply known as "Vale" and pronounced in English) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale's nickel mining and ...

1919 * snowplow car - 1950s *

Baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passeng ...

- including 73'-6" baggage-express car * Log stake car ** Lo-Railer workcar for

Edmonton Transit System The Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) (previously known as Edmonton Transit System) is the public transit service owned and operated by the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It operates Edmonton's bus and light rail systems. In , the system had ...

Passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

** River passenger cars for

1929 ** Business cars for

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. C ...

1954; transferred to

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

* trucks - National Truck Company founded 1919 * steel bodies and chassis for cars, bus and streetcars 1926 ** SE-DT streetcars for

Hamilton Street Railway The Hamilton Street Railway commonly known as the HSR is a public transport agency in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The name is a legacy of the company's early period, when public transit in Hamilton was primarily served by streetcars. Although stree ...

1920s * aircraft production in Malton, Ontario began in 1939 - sold to the Government of Canada in 1942 (renamed Victory Aircraft Company and became

Avro Canada Avro Canada was a Canadian aircraft manufacturing company. It was founded in 1945 as an aircraft plant and within 13 years became the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 5 ...

in 1945) Up until 1950 National Steel Car made wood and steel railcars. In 1945 it acquired Valdes Lumber Company of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

to supply wood for their railcar products. ;Aircraft In 1939 an aircraft division was setup to produce aircraft and aircraft components. The Malton plant produced

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft' ...

aircraft under licence and was a subcontractor for the manufacture of

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

fighters (for

Canadian Car and Foundry Canadian Car and Foundry (CC&F), also variously known as "Canadian Car & Foundry" or more familiarly as "Can Car", was a manufacturer of buses, railway rolling stock, forestry equipment, and later aircraft for the Canadian market. CC&F history ...

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) ...

trainers (Canadian Federal Aircraft Ltd.) and

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

bombers (as part of Canadian Associated Aircraft consortium). In September 1941 it received a contract to build the

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stir ...

four-engined bomber. The aircraft plant was taken over by the government and set up as

Victory Aircraft Victory Aircraft Limited was a Canadian manufacturing company that, during the Second World War, built mainly British-designed aircraft under licence. It acted as a shadow factory, safe from the reach of German bombers. Initially the major wa ...

in November 1942.

Clients

Prior to 1995 National Steel Car's focus was within Canada, but since the 1990s it has focused elsewhere in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, namely the

. *

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

Ontario Northland Railway The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario. Originally built to develop the Lake Timiskaming and Lake Nipissing ar ...

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

Dow Chemicals The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...

Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

Shell Canada Shell Canada Limited (french: Shell Canada Limitée) is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a maj ...

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31, ...

Babcock & Brown Babcock & Brown LP was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009. Babcock & Brown Securities LLC was an active investment banking firm focused on equipment and pro ...

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

Agrium Agrium was a major retail supplier of agricultural products and services in North America, South America and Australia and a wholesale producer and marketer of all three major agricultural nutrients and a supplier of specialty fertilizers in No ...

* Nova Chemicals * Lafarge

References

External links

Official website
{{Aircraft manufactured in Canada Rolling stock manufacturers of Canada 1912 establishments in Ontario Companies based in Hamilton, Ontario Manufacturing companies established in 1912