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The General Steel Castings Corporation was a steel casting corporation in the United States established in 1928 [1] by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, American Locomotive Company, and American Steel Foundries. [2]
Steel casting is a specialized form of casting involving various types of steel. Steel castings are used when cast irons cannot deliver enough strength or shock resistance.
A corporation is an organization, usually a group of people or a company, authorized to act as a single entity and recognized as such in law. Early incorporated entities were established by charter. Most jurisdictions now allow the creation of new corporations through registration. Corporations enjoy limited liability for their investors, which can lead to losses being externalized from investors to the government or general public, while losses to investors are generally limited to the amount of their investment.
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
The company began construction on its new foundry and headquarters on 112 acres (45 ha), [3] in Eddystone, Pennsylvania near Baldwin Locomotive's facilities. [2] The new plant opened two years later, circa July 1930, and produced castings weighing from 100 to 110,000 pounds (45 to 49,895 kg). [4]
On July 30, 1929, the company completed its acquisition of the Commonwealth Steel Company and its plant in Granite City, Illinois. [5] Commonwealth Steel was a major supplier of large steel castings, used in products produced by General Steel's owners, such as one-piece locomotive beds 52 feet (15.85 m) long weighing approximately 40,500 pounds (18,400 kg) [6] and large cast steel underframes for railroad cars. By 1930 the company was making one-piece locomotive beds with integral cylinders and cradle, pilot beams, Delta trailer trucks, and water-bottom tenderframes that were over 87 feet (26.52 m) long. [7]
Commonwealth Steel Company was an American steel company based in Granite City, Illinois and founded in 1901 "by some of the young men who had helped establish the American Steel Foundry". The company produced steel castings and railroad supplies at its 10-acre (4 ha) plant, employing about 1,500 people.
An underframe is a framework of wood or metal carrying the main body structure of a railway vehicle, such as a locomotive, carriage or wagon.
A railroad car or railcar, railway wagon or railway carriage, also called a train car or train wagon, is a vehicle used for the carrying of cargo or passengers on a rail transport system. Such cars, when coupled together and hauled by one or more locomotives, form a train. Alternatively, some passenger cars are self-propelled in which case they may be either single railcars or make up multiple units.
As reported in The Commonwealther, "[t]he new Company, with larger resources and with two plants equipped to produce Commonwealth devices, will undoubtedly mean a better serving of the country with devices for the railroads and other customers. As stated by Mr. Howard [Commonwealth Steel's president, Clarence H. Howard]…the cooperation of the locomotive companies with us should mean a wider field of opportunities for our organization, our men, and our product." [5]
The company's first Board of Directors meeting, after the acquisition of Commonwealth Steel, was held on August 7, 1929 and included among the attendees the president of the Pullman Company, David A. Crawford, President William C. Dickerman of the American Locomotive Company, and President George H. Houston of the Baldwin Locomotive Company. Howard Clarence, the president of the Commonwealth Steel Company became Chairman of the Board of Directors and continued his duties at the Commonwealth Division of the now larger company. [5]
The Pullman Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late nineteenth century development of mass production, and takeover of rivals, the company developed a virtual monopoly on production and ownership of sleeper cars. At its peak in the early 20th century, its cars accommodated 26 million people a year, and it in effect operated "the largest hotel in the world". Its production workers initially lived in a planned worker community named Pullman, Chicago. Pullman developed the sleeping car, which carried his name into the 1980s. Pullman did not just manufacture the cars, it also operated them on most of the railroads in the United States, paying railroad companies to couple the cars to trains. The labor union associated with the company, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, founded and organized by A. Philip Randolph, was one of the most powerful African-American political entities of the 20th century. The company also built thousands of streetcars and trolley buses for use in cities. Post World War II changes in automobile and airplane transport led to a steep decline in the company's fortunes. It folded in 1968.
General Steel operated two plants, one in Eddystone, Pennsylvania and one in Granite City, Illinois. [8]
Eddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,410 at the 2010 census.
Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 29,849 at the 2010 census, making it the second-largest city in the Metro East and Southern Illinois regions, behind Belleville. Officially founded in 1896, Granite City was named by the Niedringhaus brothers, William and Frederick, who established it as a steel making company town for the manufacture of kitchen utensils made to resemble granite.
The company, initially using the products developed by Commonwealth Steel, specialized in large castings including tank armor and gun turrets, [9] locomotive frames and trucks.
Over the years, the company expanded into other industrial areas. On May 1, 1961, the company changed its name to reflect its diversified business portfolio and became General Steel Industries. [10]
