The St. Louis Car Company was a major

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 ...

manufacturer of railroad

passenger car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es and

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s. It operated from 1887 to 1974 and was based in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, Missouri.

History

The St. Louis Car Company was formed in April 1887 to manufacture and sell streetcars and other kinds of

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) ...

of street and steam railways supporting the traction industry. In succeeding years the company built automobiles, including the American Mors, the Skelton, and the

Standard Six The Standard Six was an American automobile manufactured in St. Louis, Missouri by the St. Louis Car Company from 1909 until 1910. The company initially built the French Mors cars under license as the American Mors from 1906 to 1909. In 1910 ...

. The St. Louis Aircraft Corporation division of the company partnered with the Huttig Sash and Door company in 1917 to produce aircraft. During the two world wars, the company manufactured gliders, trainers,

alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

s, and

dirigible An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat ( lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding ...

gondolas. Among their most successful products were the

Birney Safety Car A Birney or Birney Safety Car is a type of streetcar that was manufactured in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. The design was small and light and was intended to be an economical means of providing frequent service at a lower infrastruc ...

and the

PCC streetcar The Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where ...

, a design that was very popular at the time. The firm went on to build some of the vehicles used in the transit systems of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, as well as the

FM OP800 The OP800 was a lightweight, streamlined railcar built by the St. Louis Car Co., St. Louis Car Company in 1939. Fairbanks-Morse supplied the , five-cylinder opposed piston engine Prime mover (locomotive), prime mover. The units were configured in ...

railcars manufactured exclusively for the Southern Railway in 1939. The St. Louis Car Company was headed by Edwin B. Meissner Sr., who died at age 71 on Sept. 12, 1956. Meissner was president of the company, one of the nation's largest manufacturers of railroad and light rail cars, and the St. Louis Aircraft Corporation. He was active for many years on the Jewish Federation Board of Directors, and served for over 20 years as President of

Congregation Shaare Emeth Congregation Shaare Emeth (transliterated from Hebrew language, Hebrew as "Gates of Truth") is a Union for Reform Judaism, Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 11645 Ladue Road, in Creve Coeur, Missouri, Creve Coeur, St. Louis Cou ...

. The St. Louis Car Co., later known as General Steel Industries, manufactured St. Louis streetcars and trolleys and cars for far-flung transit systems such as the

Paris Metro Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in France. Meissner's son, Edwin B. Meissner Jr., succeeded his father as head of the company, and continues to be an active member of Congregation Shaare Emeth. Streetcars held sway in St. Louis and its suburbs from the 1880s until the mid- and late 1940s. Andrew Young records that new state-of-the-art buses began to encroach on the streetcars domain. New streamlined streetcars were brought into service in 1946 to replace older cars, some dating back to 1903. In 1960, St. Louis Car Company was acquired by

General Steel Industries General Steel Industries, Inc. (GSI) was an American steel company that operated independently from 1928 to 1981. It was founded by two locomotive manufacturers and a foundry as General Steel Castings Corporation in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. The ...

. In 1964, St. Louis Car completed an order of 430

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

picture-window cars ( R36 WF) for the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

and was building 162 PA-1s (110 single units, 52 trailers) for the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

for their use on the

Port Authority Trans-Hudson The Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is operated as a wholly owne ...

line to New Jersey. Also in the mid-1960s, the company completed building the passenger capsules, designed by Planet Corporation, to ferry visitors to the top of the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...

at the

Gateway Arch National Park Gateway Arch National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In its initial form as a List of nationa ...

(then known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial) in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Car continued business until 1968 and ceased operations in 1974. The final St. Louis Car products were R44 subway cars for the New York City Subway and Staten Island Rapid Transit, and the

USDOT The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

State of the Art Car The State-of-the-Art Car (SOAC) was a heavy rail mass transit demonstrator vehicle produced for the United States Department of Transportation's Urban Mass Transportation Administration in the 1970s. It was intended to demonstrate the latest t ...

rapid transit demonstrator set whose design was based on the R44. The St. Louis Car assembly plant and general office at 8000 Hall Street, St. Louis is now the St. Louis Business Center, a mixed use industrial and commercial complex redeveloped starting in 2005. "St. Louis Business Center" Green Street: Portfolio
/ref>

Selected Products

* PCC

s (1935-1952) *

Peter Witt streetcar The Peter Witt streetcar was introduced by Cleveland Railway commissioner Peter Witt (1869–1948) who led the transit agency from 1911 to 1915 and designed a model of streetcar known by his name that was used in many North American cities, most ...

s *

Trolley buses A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

Interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

cars * Gas-electric

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coa ...

s * CRT/CTA 5003-5004 PCC elevated-subway cars (1947) - retired 1985 * CTA 6000-series PCC elevated-subway cars (1950–59) - retired 1992 * CTA 1-50 PCC elevated-subway cars (1959–60) - retired 1999 *

Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad (reporting mark CNSM), also known as the North Shore Line, was an interurban railroad that operated passenger train, passenger and freight train, freight service over an route between the Chicag ...

Electroliner The Electroliners are a pair of streamliner, streamlined interurban trainsets built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1941. Initially numbered 801–802 and 803–804, they were operated by the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad from 1941 ...

(1941) * Electro-Motive Company (EMD) gas-electric railcars - car body shells (1920s) *

Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded in 1823 as a manufacturer of weighing scale, weighing scales, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinder ...

experimental center cab diesel switchers and

railcars (1939) * GCRTA Red Line "Bluebirds" (1954–55, 1958) *

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

#3 East Boston Tunnel cars (1951) *

heavy rail transit demonstrator set for

(1972–74) - now at

Seashore Trolley Museum Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's first and largest museum of mass transit vehicles. While the main focus of the collection is Tram, trolley cars (trams), it also incl ...

Illinois Terminal Railroad The Illinois Terminal Railroad Company (reporting mark ITC), known as the Illinois Traction System until 1937, was a heavy duty interurban electric railroad with extensive passenger and freight business in central and southern Illinois from 18 ...

Streamliners Streamliners are streamlined trains. Streamliners could also be: * Streamliners (Illinois Terminal Railroad), three equipment sets owned by the Illinois Terminal Railroad * Hal Roach's Streamliners, a set of comedy films directed by Hal Roach * ...

(1948–50) * IRT World's Fair Steinway Motors (1938) - built for

1939 World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities ...

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

Illinois Central Electric District

Highliner The Highliner is a bilevel electric multiple unit (EMU) railcar. The original series of railcars were built in 1971 by the St. Louis Car Company for commuter service on the Illinois Central Railroad, in south Chicago, Illinois, with an additio ...

electric MU cars (1971–72) *

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

NJDOT The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transport ...

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

Arrow I (PRR MP85E6) electric MU cars - push-pull coach conversion (1968) *

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

ACMU The ACMUs (short for Air Conditioned Multiple Unit) were a series of electric multiple unit railcars built for the New York Central Railroad in three orders between 1950 and 1965. The ACMUs were intended to replace/supplement the original fleet o ...

4500 series (1950–51) * NYCT

R8A The R8A was a class of New York City Subway revenue cars built in 1939 by the St. Louis Car Company, and used to gather and transport tokens from stations along the IND Ind or IND may refer to: General * Independent (politician), a polit ...

(1939) * NYCT R17 (1954–55) * NYCT

R21 R21, R-21 or R.21 may refer to: Military * R-21 (missile), a Soviet submarine-launched ballistic missile * , an aircraft carrier of the Royal Australian Navy * , a destroyer of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the United States Navy * Roads ...

(1956–57) * NYCT R22 (1957–58) * NYCT R27 (1960–61) * NYCT R29 (1962) * NYCT R30 (1961–62) * NYCT R33 (1962–63) * NYCT R33S (1963) * NYCT R36 (1963–64) * NYCT

R38 The ''R.38'' class (also known as the ''A'' class) of rigid airships was designed for Britain's Royal Navy during the final months of the First World War, intended for long-range patrol duties over the North Sea. Four similar airships were o ...

(1966–67) * NYCT R40 (1967–68) * NYCT R40A (1968–69) * NYCT R42 (1969–70) * NYCT R44 (1971–73) *

Chicago and North Western Transportation Company The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

Gallery 7600 series coaches #1-16 (1955) *

Pacific Electric The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned Public transport, mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electr ...

"Hollywood" cars (1920s) *

Philadelphia and Western Railroad The Philadelphia and Western Railroad was a high-speed, third rail-equipped, commuter-hauling interurban electric railroad operating in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is now SEPTA, SEPTA's Norristown High Speed Line, thoug ...

original wood cars and freight motors (1907) * Hudson & Manhattan Railroad/PATH "K-car"/MP51 (1958) *

PATH A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail. Path or PATH may also refer to: Physical paths of different types * Bicycle path * Bridle path, used by people on horseback * Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle * Desir ...

PA1 (1965) & PA2 (1967) *

San Diego Class 1 Streetcars The San Diego Class 1 streetcar was a fleet of twenty-four unique streetcars that were originally built to provide transportation for the Panama–California Exposition in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. The cars were designed by the San Di ...

(1910-1912) *

Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

2027-2028

Railcar A railcar (not to be confused with the generic term railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coa ...

s (1936) *

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

Silverliner III (PRR MP85) cars (1967) *

Staten Island Railway The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit, railroad line in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropol ...

R44 (1973) (last St. Louis cars) *

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

(USAX) cars - various types including coaches, ambulance, cafeteria, sleepers *

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, ...

lightweight passenger cars, express and baggage cars (1960–65) *

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

Petrol Electric railmotor (1928) File:St Louis-built Johnstown trolleybus 705 in Roxbury Loop, 11-11-67.jpg, A St. Louis Car-built

trolley bus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...

, in 1967 File:Lisbon tram 2.jpg, One of the few surviving Lisbon's ''São Luís'' type cars (series 400–474): of the original batch of 75 units, imported in 1901 and retired up to 1973, most were scrapped, three remain operational in Lisbon (a museum car restored to original condition and two modified for tourist duty since 1965, fitted with luxury upholstering — No.2, former No.435, on the photo), and five saw heritage use in Detroit in 1978–2003.

References

* Middleton, William Jr. ''The Interurban Era''. Kalmbach Publishing, Milwaukee, WI.

External links

Builders of wooden railway cars: St. Louis Car Company
from ironhorse129.com — some photos of early SLCC cars.
St. Louis Car Company Records, 1887-1997 , WUA University Archives
at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

(html)
St. Louis Car Company history
at

Mid-Continent Railway Museum The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a railway museum, railroad museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin, North Freedom, Wisconsin, United States. The museum consists of static displays as well as a round trip ride aboard preserved railroad cars. Hi ...

, North Freedom, Wisconsin
www.cablecarmuseum.org
at Cable Car Museum, San Francisco, CA
www.streetcar.org
at Market Street Railway, San Francisco, CA {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis Car Company Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States Bus manufacturers of the United States Defunct locomotive manufacturers of the United States Defunct rolling stock manufacturers of the United States Tram manufacturers Trolleybus manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in St. Louis American companies established in 1887 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1887 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1974 1887 establishments in Missouri 1974 disestablishments in Missouri Defunct companies based in Missouri

History

Selected Products

See also

References

External links