Thursday, October 1, 2020

Pressed Steel Car Company

(Satellite, their buildings are long gone)

The companies Fox Pressed Steel Equipment and Schoen Pressed Steel were merged in 1899 to form Pressed Steel Car Co. in 1899. They pioneered the steel freight car. Specifically, Fox introduced the steel truck and wheels to railroads in 1888 and Schoen started mass producing 50-ton steel coal hoppers in 1897. The Western Steel Car & Foundry/United States Rolling Stock Co. shown below joined Pressed Steel Car.

Rod Sellers posted
Where am I?

https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/pressedsteel1.htm
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/illinois/railroad-car-company-owner-founded-hegewsich/article_f558cd83-ccc6-5a81-8032-4fa940302c2e.html


"In 1940, during World War II, Pressed Steel started to produce large quantities of M-4 armored tanks and allied war materials for the war effort.  Also, from 1942 through 1945, many women started to work in the heavy industry.
Pressed Steel Car Company received an award for their excellent job in producing tanks on September 10, 1942." [midcontinent.org]


1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP




3 comments:

  1. Really fascinating read on the history of the Pressed Steel Car Company. It’s amazing how much industrial influence they had, especially in shaping freight and passenger rail transport. Hard to imagine the scale of production they managed back then. Appreciate the detail on their innovations and wartime efforts too — not something you often see covered. Cheers for sharing this bit of industrial history!

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  2. What a fascinating look into the Pressed Steel Car Company’s legacy — your breakdown of their manufacturing processes and industrial footprint really brings the scale of their operations to life. I especially appreciated the way you tied the company’s output to shifts in consumer demand over time. In my own work restoring old railcars, I’ve leaned on parts salvageers like A1 Wreckers for hard‑to‑find components, so it’s great to see these industrial histories still resonating today. https://www.a1wreckers.com.au/cash-for-cars-sunshinecoast/

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  3. Really enjoyed this deep dive into the Pressed Steel Car Company’s journey — your coverage of both its early innovations and wartime transformation paints a vivid picture of industrial evolution. It made me think how far “scrap to structure” concepts have come, and how today’s waste or salvage operations (even those offering cash now) echo those old‑line metal trades. It’s fascinating to see the history behind what eventually became modern metal recycling chains — gives added perspective to services like Melbourne Cash 4 Carz in their role of re‑using material.
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