The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887–1973, based in St. Louis, Missouri.

The St. Louis Car Company was formed in April of 1887, to manufacture and sell streetcars and other kinds of rolling stock of street and steam railways. In succeeding years the company built automobiles, including the American Mors, the Skelton, and the Standard Six. A division of the company produced aircraft such as the Cardinal. During the two world wars, the company manufactured gliders, trainer, Alligators, flying boats, and dirigible gondolas. Among their most successful products were the Birney Safety Cars and the PCC Cars. The Car Company disbanded in 1973. For more information on the history of the company, see Andrew D. Young and Eugene Provenzo, The History of the St. Louis Car Company (Howell North Books 1978).

In the 1940s, St. Louis Car Company was one of the manufacturers of PCC streetcars, 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 and Chicago, as well as the FM OP800 railcars manufactured exclusively for the Southern Railway in 1939.

In 1955, SLCC became a division of General Steel Industries and continued business until 1968 and finally ceased operations by 1973.

Products

• PCC streetcars
• FM OP800
• Peter Witt streetcars
• Interurban cars
• Electroliner
• Victorian Railways Petrol Electric railmotor (1928)
• SEPTA Silverliner III cars (1967)
• CRT/CTA 5003-5004 PCC elevated-subway cars (1947)
• CTA 6001-6720 PCC elevated-subway cars (1950-59) - retired 1992
• CTA 1-50 PCC elevated-subway cars (1959-60)
• NYCT R8A (1947)
• NYCT R17 (1955)
• NYCT R21 (1956)
• NYCT R22 (1957)
• NYCT R27 (1960)
• NYCT R29 (1962)
• NYCT R30 (1960-62)
• NYCT R33 (1962-63)
• NYCT R33 WF (1963)
• NYCT R36 (1964)
• NYCT R36 WF (1964)
• NYCT R38 (1966)
• NYCT R40 (1968-69)
• NYCT R40M (1969)
• NYCT R42 (1969-70)
• NYCT R44 (1972-73)
• Metra Illinois Central Electric District Highliner electric MU cars (1971-72)
• State of the Art Cars (SOAC) light rail demostrator (1974) - now at Seashore Trolley Museum
• NJ Transit (NJ DOT/Penn Central) Arrow I electric MU cars (1968-69)
• PATH PA1 (1965)
• PATH PA2 (1967)

See also

• Canada Car and Foundry
• Ottawa Car Company
• New York City Subway rolling stock
• F-Market & Wharves Streetcar Line
• John I. Beggs

References

External links

• Builders of wooden railway cars: St. Louis Car Company — some photos of early SLCC cars.
• Guide to the St. Louis Car Company Collection at Washington University of St. Louis (PDF) — the SLCC archives collection at the WUSTL University Archives.