| Industry | rail transport |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1830 |
| Defunct | 1895 |
| Fate | receivership and liquidation |
| Headquarters | Troy, New York, United States |
| Products | railroad freight cars, passenger cars and streetcars |
Gilbert Car Company was a railroad car builder based in Troy, New York. It began manufacturing streetcars in the late 1880s. Gilbert cars were sold and exported worldwide.
Founded by Orsamus Eaton (1792–1872) and Uri Gilbert (1809–1888), the company changed names several times as the partnership changed:
- 1830 Eaton and Gilbert
- 1844 Eaton, Gilbert & Co
- 1862 Uri Gilbert and Son
- 1864 Gilbert, Bush & Company
- 1879 Gilbert & Bush Co
- 1882 Gilbert Car Manufacturing Co
- 1889 Taylor Electric Truck Company
In 1879, Gilbert leased the Buffalo Car Works facility in Buffalo, which had a capacity of five to twelve new cars per day. The Gilbert company saw some success in 1881 when it secured an order for several hundred refrigerator cars for the newly established American Refrigerator Transit Company. In 1886, Gilbert leased the Jones Car Works of Schenectady.
Following the Panic of 1893, and the death in March 1893 of company president Edward Gilbert, son of Uri Gilbert, the company entered receivership in August 1893. Only a few months earlier, Gilbert had completed construction of a hundred cars for New York Central Railroad passenger trains. Then in 1895, the company stopped building rail cars. Upon closure, the plant value was estimated at $400,000 (equivalent to $14,649,600 in 2023). In 1899, the plant was rumored to be the target of acquisition for conversion into an automobile manufacturing facility.
Products
- freight cars
- passenger cars
- drawing room cars
- sleepers
- monitor roof or clerestory ("clear-story") cars
- horse cars
See also
References
- ^ "Gilbert, Bush & Company". Builders of Wooden Railway Cars. North Freedom, WI: Mid-Continent Railway Museum. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
- "The Railroads". The Buffalo Times. Buffalo, New York. February 22, 1884. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Railway Cars for England". Coldwater Enterprise. Coldwater, Kansas. October 10, 1891. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "American Cars on English Roads". The Sun. New York, NY. October 3, 1891. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Mann Cars Going Abroad". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. July 29, 1885. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- "For the South Australian Railways". The Morning Journal-Courier. New Haven, Connecticut. July 27, 1885. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- "6 Troy Cars Set British Rail History". The Troy Record. Troy, New York. November 2, 1964. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Edward Granger Gilbert". New York Tribune. New York, NY. March 8, 1893. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Failures East and West – Gilbert Car Manufacturing Company in the Hands of a Receiver". The Inter-Ocean. Chicago. August 17, 1893. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Gilbert Car Company". The Buffalo Commercial. Buffalo, New York. October 14, 1879. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Railroads". Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express. Buffalo, New York. May 3, 1881. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Local Railway News". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. November 30, 1886. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Big Concerns In Trouble". The New York Times. August 17, 1893. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Gilbert Car Company's Assets". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, New York. August 18, 1893. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Car Manufacturers Fail – The Gilbert Company of Troy Closed by the Sheriff". The Salt Lake Herald. Salt Lake City, Utah. August 17, 1893. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Notes and Personals". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. St. Louis, Missouri. June 26, 1893. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Gilbert Car Company Failure". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. July 11, 1895. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Auto-Truck Trust To Be Formed Here". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. May 29, 1899. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Automobile Company's Plant". The Sun. New York, NY. May 25, 1899. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.