Standard Steel Car Company

1921 advertisementalso controlled a plant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. SSC
The Standard Steel Car Company (SSC) was aalso entered the field of automobile production in 1913
manufacturer of railroad rolling stock established inwith the Standard Eight, which in 1919 had 83
Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1902 by John M. Hansenhorsepower (62 kW). Automobile production ended in
and "Diamond Jim" Brady. The company immediately1921.
became one of the largest builders of steel cars in the"Diamond Jim" Brady died in 1917, and Hansen retired
United States. Pullman, Inc. purchased control of SSC infrom the presidency in 1923, succeeded by Colonel
1929 and merged it with Pullman Car &James Frank Drake. Hansen stayed on as Chairman
Manufacturing in 1934 to form Pullman-Standard Carof the Board until his death in December 1929. That
Manufacturing Company.same month, Pullman Inc. agreed to purchase SSC for
History610,000 shares of Pullman stock (worth approximately
The overnight success of the Pressed Steel Car$51,000,000) and $6,000,000 in cash. SSC continued to
Company at the end of the 19th century spurred aoperate independently for several years as the Great
flurry of competitors in the suddenly booming marketDepression brought business to an almost literal
for steel cars. American Car & Foundrystandstill. Merger with Pullman Car &
predecessor Michigan-Peninsular Car had producedManufacturing in 1934 created Pullman-Standard, a
steel frame cars beginning in 1897, American Steelsecond giant car builder to rival American Car &
Foundries produced steel cars in 1900, and theFoundry. Pullman continued to operate at Butler until it
Cambria Steel Company opened a car plant atexited the railroad car business in 1982, and sold the
Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1901. Pressed Steel Car'splant to Trinity Industries in 1984.
Chief Designer John M. Hansen and famed salesmanAcquisitions
"Diamond Jim" Brady left the company in 1901 to foundSSC gained control of a number of other car builders
SSC. With financial backing from Andrew Mellon, SSCduring its existence.
was incorporated on January 2, 1902, broke ground forMiddletown Car Works (Middletown, Pennsylvania) by
its new plant in Butler in April, and produced its first car1909
(Chesapeake & Ohio 23001) in August.South Baltimore Car & Foundry (Baltimore,
Hansen's carbuilding philosophy was the opposite ofMaryland) by 1910
Pressed Steel Car founder Charles T. Schoen's.Keith Car & Manufacturing (Sagamore,
Schoen believed that each part of a car should be cutMassachusetts) by 1912
and shaped (pressed) from sheet steel to minimizeOsgood Bradley Car Company (Worcester,
weight and the need for assemblies of small partsMassachusetts) by 1913
while maximizing strength. The custom stamping diesIllinois Car & Manufacturing (Chicago Heights and
and assemblies needed for this work were expensiveHammond, Indiana) by 1928
and uneconomical in small quantities. Hansen preferredRichmond Car Works (Richmond, Virginia) by 1928
to use standard steel shapes that were already widelySiems-Stembel Company (St. Paul, Minnesota) by 1928
available from the steel mills at economical cost. SSC'sCanton Car Company (Canton, Ohio) by 1934
earliest production reflected this: a steel hopper withReferences
side posts made from standard channel and angleKaminski, Edward S. Pullman-Standard Freight Cars,
shapes became the company's signature product,1900-1960. Signature Press (2007)
building over 7,500 through 1907.Railroad History #138. The Railway and Locomotive
Expansion was immediate. Capacity was increasedHistorical Society (1978)
first to 60 cars a day, then 125 cars a day in 1903.Neubauer, Eric A. Pullman-Standard Freight Car
Production peaked at 29,411 cars in 1907, 2,836 ofProduction (2002)
those built in January of that year. SSC subsidiaryWhite, John H., Jr. The American Railroad Freight Car.
Standard Car Truck Company opened at New Castle,The Johns Hopkins University Press (1993)
Pennsylvania in 1906, and a second SSC plant openedMiddleton, William D., Smerk, George M., Diehl, Roberta
at Hammond, Indiana in 1907. Hansen established a carL. Encyclopedia of North American Railroads.
shop in LaRochelle, France for SSC in 1917, and SSC