Niles Car and Manufacturing Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Niles Car and Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of railroad equipment, including many streetcar and interurban cars.[1] It was founded in 1901 in Niles, Ohio and 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.[2][3] 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.[4]
Niles specialized in building wooden-bodied cars in the heyday of interurban building.[1] Its cars had a reputation of being well-built and stylish; Niles advertising called them "The Electric Pullmans".[5][6]
[edit] Customers
Niles' clients included[1] the:
- Bamberger Electric Railroad
- Buffalo, Lockport and Rochester Railway
- Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railway
- Northern Electric Railway (later part of the Sacramento Northern Railway
- The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company
- Pacific Northwest Traction Company
- Rock Island Southern Railway
- San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway
- St. Paul Southern 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 Railroad
- Yakima Valley Transportation Company
- Youngstown and Ohio River Railroad
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Hilton, George W. & Due, John F. (1960, 2000). The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4014-3.
- ^ "Baker's Brother got a Contract", The New York Times, 1918-02-01, pp. 1,6.
- ^ Faurote, Fay L. (Ed.) (February 1919). The Aircraft Year Book. New York City, New York: Manufacturers Aircraft Association, Inc., 149–153. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
- ^ 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 on 2007-09-30.
- ^ Niles Car & Manufacturing Company. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
- ^ (1908) American Street Railway Investments: Fifteenth Annual Volume: 1908. McGraw Publishing Company, p. XXI. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
