JG Brill Company
| JG Brill Company | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Private |
| founding | 1868 |
| resolution | 1944 |
| Seat | Philadelphia |
| Branch | Railway cars , trams , trolleybuses , omnibuses |
The JG Brill Company was a manufacturer of passenger transportation systems . It was founded in 1868 and grew, including through several takeovers, to become the largest manufacturer of trams and trolleybuses in the USA . The tram business was given up in 1944, and production was completely stopped in 1954.
history
The company was in 1868 by the German immigrant John George Brill as "JG Brill & Son." In Philadelphia founded. Due to the innovative design of the vehicles, they were soon sold throughout the United States and Canada . The company, named "JG Brill Company" from 1887, also sold a large number of vehicles to Latin America and Australia.
Around 1899 the company tried to set up a trust that would dominate the electric tram market. This Consolidated Street Car Company , which was supposed to include almost all relevant manufacturers, ultimately did not materialize.
From 1902 the following wagon manufacturers were bought for expansion:
- American Car Company , St. Louis, Missouri (1902)
- GC Kuhlman Car Company , Cleveland, Ohio (1904)
- John Stephenson Car Company , Elizabeth (New Jersey) (1904); these systems were sold again in 1919.
- Wason Manufacturing Co. , Springfield, Massachusetts (1906)
On February 6, 1907, JG Brill was in the state of Pennsylvania and in 1908 acquired a majority in the Danville Car Company in Danville, Illinois .
Subsidiaries were founded in France (Compagnie JG Brill) and Canada (Canadian Brill Co.) . During the First World War the company produced almost exclusively war material for the USA and its allies. In particular, Springfield Aircraft Corporation was set up in 1917, together with JG White & Company , to manufacture fighter jets. This company was discontinued after the end of the war.
There was a brief cooperation with the Packard Motor Car Company , whose commercial vehicle department manufactured trolleybuses with Brill technology, for the cities of Detroit and Toronto , among others . The project ended with Packard's exit from the trucking market in 1923.
In 1926 the commercial vehicle and body manufacturer American Car & Foundry (ACF), founded in 1899, took over the majority of Brill. With the Brill Corporation , a holding was founded, to which the majority of the JG Brill Co. and the various wagon factories were transferred.
A cooperation with Fageol Twin Coach came about via ACF ; this company existed as a Flxible / Twin Coach until the 1960s.
In the mid-1930s, business became increasingly difficult due to increasing automobile traffic, the global economic crisis and stiff competition. In 1933 the company posted a loss of US $ 1 million. The factories were gradually closed; Also in Philadelphia in 1941, after the new "Brilliner" tram car , which industrial designer Raymond Loewy (1893–1986) helped to create, had also remained unsuccessful. This model was intended as an answer to the new PCC series, which arose as a cooperation between suppliers and transport companies. Their design came from Otto Kuhler (1894–1977).
The company held many patents e.g. B. for signal horns and automatic door openers .
In Fort Edward ( Ontario , Canada ) there had been a branch since 1922, which manufactured Brill and ACF-Brill vehicles under license. Brand names were Canadian Brill and from 1944 to 1954 Canadian Car & Foundry-Brill (CCF-Brill).
In July 1944 the tram business was given up; JG Brill Co. has been completely integrated into ACF-Brill . ACF-Brill continued to produce road vehicles for public transport. On January 31, 1946, the aircraft manufacturer and armaments company Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation (later: Convair) took over this company for US $ 7.5 million; production ended in 1954.
During the more than seventy-year history of JG Brill Co., it produced more than 45,000 railroad cars, trams, trolleybuses, omnibuses , chassis and the like up to 1944 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i coachbuilt.com: JG Brill Company
- ↑ coachbuilt.com: GC Kuhlman Car Company
- ↑ a b c coachbuilt.com: ACF Brill Company
- ↑ coachbuilt.com: Fageol Twin Coach
- ↑ Debra Brill: History of the JG Brill Company at Google Books, accessed May 6, 2020
Products
- Fageol / Brill Twin Coach 44S
- Brill Bullet tram car
- Brilliner tram car
- C-36 city bus
- IC-41 coach
Web links
- History of JG Brill Company
- Buses of ACF Photo Archive
- coachbuilt.com: JG Brill Company (accessed March 5, 2014)
- coachbuilt.com: ACF-Brill Company (accessed March 5, 2014)
- coachbuilt.com: Fageol Twin Coach (accessed March 5, 2014)
- coachbuilt.com: GC Kuhlman Car Company (accessed March 5, 2014)