National Steel Car Limited 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, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

in Canada, based in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. 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 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 () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, and various railcar orders from

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canada, 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 Edmonto ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

regularly, more so in the later years of its life. In 1962, Dofasco 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 () 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 their being ''C ...

and American 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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 (Association of American Railroads, AAR) and South Australian Railways term for a Railroad car#Freight cars, railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simpl ...

- super duty and jumbo * Coil car - Longitudinal and transverse coil cars * Flat car - including Centre beam cars * Gondola car - including coal car *

Hopper car A hopper car () or hopper wagon () is a type of railroad freight car that has opening doors or gates on the underside or on the sides to discharge its cargo. They are used to transport loose solid bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, a ...

- 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) or tanker is a type of railroad car (UIC: railway car) or rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodity, commodities. History Timeline The following major event ...

- General purpose, insulated and non-insulated cars.

Past

National Steel Car has manufactured various railcar and non-rail products. * 5300 freight cars for the French Northern Railway and Paris, Lyon and Mediterranean Railway, 1915-1920 * steel coal hopper cars for the indian Bengal Nagpur Railway in 1919 * 50 ton electric locomotives - for Inco 1919 * snowplow car - 1950s *

Baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (American English), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (British English and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (Indian English) is a railroad car that is designed to c ...

- including 73'-6" baggage-express car * Log stake car ** Lo-Railer workcar for Edmonton Transit System * Passenger car ** River passenger cars for

1929 ** Business cars for

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

1954; transferred to

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

* 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 (HSR) is the public transport agency for Hamilton, Ontario. The name is a legacy of the company's early period, when public transit in Hamilton was primarily served by streetcars. Although streetcars are no longer us ...

1920s * aircraft production in

Malton, Ontario Malton is a neighbourhood in the northeastern part of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located to the northwest of Toronto. Malton is bounded by Highway 427 to the east, the Brampton city limits (a Canadian National Railway (CN) rail ...

began in 1939 - sold to the Government of Canada in 1942 (renamed Victory Aircraft Company and became Avro Canada 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 is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

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 cooperation aircraft, 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-operat ...

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 by ...

fighters (for

Canadian Car and Foundry The Canadian Car & Foundry Company, Limited, and from 1957 onwards the Canadian Car Company Limited, was a manufacturer of buses, railway rolling stock, forestry equipment, and later aircraft for the Canadian market. CC&F history goes back to 18 ...

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, 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), R ...

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, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, 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 ...

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 w ...

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, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, namely the

. * Canadian National *

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

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

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

* Dow Chemicals *

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 monitor ...

Shell Canada Shell Canada Limited () 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 major part of its business, as ...

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

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

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

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

Agrium Agrium Inc. 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 ...

* Nova Chemicals * Lafarge * Quebec Iron Ore

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