# Gilbert Car Company

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Rolling stock manufacturer

Gilbert Car Company Industry rail transport Founded 1830 Defunct 1895 Fate receivership and liquidation Headquarters Troy, New York , United States Products railroad freight cars, passenger cars and streetcars

**Gilbert Car Company** was a [railroad car](/source/Railroad_car) builder based in [Troy, New York](/source/Troy%2C_New_York).[1] It began manufacturing [streetcars](/source/Streetcar) in the late 1880s. Gilbert cars were sold and exported worldwide.[2][3][4][5][6]

Founded by Orsamus Eaton (1792–1872) and [Uri Gilbert](/source/Uri_Gilbert) (1809–1888), the company changed names several times as the partnership changed:

- 1830 Eaton and Gilbert

- 1844 Eaton, Gilbert & Co[7]

- 1862 Uri Gilbert and Son

- 1864 Gilbert, Bush & Company[8]

Diagram of [NSWGR](/source/New_South_Wales_Government_Railways) Sleeping Car 8, built in 1880 by Gilbert Bush & Co.

- 1879 Gilbert & Bush Co

- 1882 Gilbert Car Manufacturing Co[9]

- 1889 Taylor Electric Truck Company

In 1879, Gilbert leased the [Buffalo Car Works](/source/Buffalo_Car_Works) facility in Buffalo, which had a capacity of five to twelve new cars per day.[10] The Gilbert company saw some success in 1881 when it secured an order for several hundred [refrigerator cars](/source/Refrigerator_car) for the newly established [American Refrigerator Transit Company](/source/American_Refrigerator_Transit_Company).[11] In 1886, Gilbert leased the [Jones Car Works](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jones_Car_Works&action=edit&redlink=1) of [Schenectady](/source/Schenectady%2C_New_York).[12]

Following the [Panic of 1893](/source/Panic_of_1893), and the death in March 1893 of company president Edward Gilbert, son of Uri Gilbert,[8] the company entered receivership in August 1893.[13][14][9][15] Only a few months earlier, Gilbert had completed construction of a hundred cars for [New York Central Railroad](/source/New_York_Central_Railroad) passenger trains.[16] Then in 1895, the company stopped building rail cars.[1] Upon closure, the plant value was estimated at $400,000 (equivalent to $15,480,000 in 2025).[17] In 1899, the plant was rumored to be the target of acquisition for conversion into an [automobile](/source/Automobile) manufacturing facility.[18][19]

## Products

- [freight cars](/source/Freight_car)

- [passenger cars](/source/Passenger_car_(rail))

- drawing room cars

- [sleepers](/source/Sleeping_car)

- [monitor roof](/source/Monitor_roof) or [clerestory](/source/Clerestory) ("clear-story") cars

- horse cars

## See also

- [List of rolling stock manufacturers](/source/List_of_rolling_stock_manufacturers)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Midcontinent_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Midcontinent_1-1) ["Gilbert, Bush & Company"](http://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/builders/gilbertbush.htm). *Builders of Wooden Railway Cars*. North Freedom, WI: Mid-Continent Railway Museum. Retrieved January 18, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["The Railroads"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55972809/the-buffalo-times/). *The Buffalo Times*. Buffalo, New York. February 22, 1884. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Railway Cars for England"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55971291/coldwater-enterprise/). *Coldwater Enterprise*. Coldwater, Kansas. October 10, 1891. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["American Cars on English Roads"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55971871/the-sun/). *The Sun*. New York, NY. October 3, 1891. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Mann Cars Going Abroad"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55974029/the-times-picayune/). *The Times-Picayune*. New Orleans, Louisiana. July 29, 1885. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["For the South Australian Railways"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55974364/the-morning-journal-courier/). *The Morning Journal-Courier*. New Haven, Connecticut. July 27, 1885. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["6 Troy Cars Set British Rail History"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55971189/the-troy-record/). *The Troy Record*. Troy, New York. November 2, 1964. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Edwardobit_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Edwardobit_8-1) ["Edward Granger Gilbert"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55971621/obituary-for-ebward-uri-anuer/). *New York Tribune*. New York, NY. March 8, 1893. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Failures_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Failures_9-1) ["Failures East and West – Gilbert Car Manufacturing Company in the Hands of a Receiver"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55971953/the-inter-ocean/). *The Inter-Ocean*. Chicago. August 17, 1893. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["The Gilbert Car Company"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55973279/the-buffalo-commercial/). *The Buffalo Commercial*. Buffalo, New York. October 14, 1879. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["The Railroads"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55972348/buffalo-morning-express-and-illustrated/). *Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express*. Buffalo, New York. May 3, 1881. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Local Railway News"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55972076/democrat-and-chronicle/). *Democrat and Chronicle*. Rochester, New York. November 30, 1886. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Big Concerns In Trouble"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55971498/the-new-york-times/). *The New York Times*. August 17, 1893. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Gilbert Car Company's Assets"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55971413/buffalo-evening-news/). *Buffalo Evening News*. Buffalo, New York. August 18, 1893. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Car Manufacturers Fail – The Gilbert Company of Troy Closed by the Sheriff"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55972210/the-salt-lake-herald/). *The Salt Lake Herald*. Salt Lake City, Utah. August 17, 1893. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Notes and Personals"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55972606/st-louis-globe-democrat/). *St. Louis Globe-Democrat*. St. Louis, Missouri. June 26, 1893. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["The Gilbert Car Company Failure"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55972997/democrat-and-chronicle/). *Democrat and Chronicle*. Rochester, New York. July 11, 1895. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Auto-Truck Trust To Be Formed Here"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55973625/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/). *The Brooklyn Daily Eagle*. Brooklyn, New York. May 29, 1899. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Automobile Company's Plant"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55973818/the-sun/). *The Sun*. New York, NY. May 25, 1899. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.

Authority control databases: National United States Israel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gilbert Car Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Car_Company) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Car_Company?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.