| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | rail transport |
| Founded | 1868 |
| Founder(s) | John George Brill |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, PA, USA |
| Products | streetcars, buses, and trolleybuses |
The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars and buses in the United States. The company was founded by John George Brill in 1868 as a horsecar manufacturing firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, merged with the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF) in 1944 to become ACF-Brill and ceased production in 1954. Brill manufactured over 45,000 streetcars (also known in the U.S. as trolleys), buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars. At its height, it was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurbans in the U.S. It produced more streetcars and interurbans and gas electrics than any other manufacturer.
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J. G. Brill began fledgling operations in 1868 and operated with the Brill name until 1956.
In 1926, ACF Motors Company obtained a controlling interest in J. G. Brill. In 1944 the two companies merged, resulting in the ACF-Brill Motors Company.[1] On January 31, 1946, controlling interest in ACF-Brill was acquired by Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation for $7.5 million. Consolidated Vultee was sold on November 6, 1947, to the Nashville Corporation, which sold its share to investment firm Allen & Co headed by Charles Allen Jr on June 11, 1951. In early 1954, ACF-Brill ceased production and subcontracted remaining orders. The properties were sold, and on December 30, 1955, the company was merged with supermarket companies into ACF-Wrigley Stores Inc.
ACF-Brill announced in 1944 that Canadian Car and Foundry of Montreal, Quebec were licensed to manufacture and sell throughout Canada buses and trolley coaches of their design as Canadian Car-Brill; the firm built about 1,100 trolley buses and a few thousand buses under the name.
The lines that operated interurban passenger cars recognized in the mid 1920s that they badly needed faster and more efficient equipment. Up to that time, both the wood and the steel interurban cars were very large, sat high, and were heavy. Car manufacturers such as Cincinnati Car Co., St. Louis Car Co., and Pullman worked to design equipment for a better ride at speed, improved passenger comfort, and lower power consumption. This included designing trucks to be able to handle rough track. Brill in conjunction with Westinghouse and General Electric worked on a new design. The result was the 1929 aluminum and steel wind tunnel developed slope roof Bullet cars, the first of which were purchased by the Philadelphia and Western Railroad, a third rail line running from 69th Street Upper Darby to Norristown in the Philadelphia region.[4] This line still runs as SEPTA Route 100. These Bullets were successful and operated until the 1980s, but not many others were sold. Only central New York state interurban Fonda, Johnstown, and Gloversville ordered Bullets. Five were procured in mid-Depression 1932. In 1936, the abandoned FJ&G sold its Bullets to the Bamberger Railroad in Utah where they ran high speed service Salt Lake City to Ogden until the mid 1950s.[2] The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) was a client of Brill's and purchased many buses and streetcars over the years. (See TTC Streetcar roster.) Brill produced many trackless trolleys for U.S. cities.
Three of the SEPTA cars are now at the Seashore Trolley Museum.
The American Car & Foundry Co. controlled, as of January 26, 1926:
Other companies that built licensed versions of Brill vehicles:
Canadian railway car builder Preston Car Company was acquired in 1921 and operations were closed in 1923.
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