Date: ca. late 19th-20th centuries
Creator: American Car and Foundry Company
HISTORY: This collection comprises a major portion of the corporate archives of the American Car & Foundry Company (AC&F or ACF), a railroad rolling stock manufacturer in St. Charles, Missouri. The firm donated this collection to the St. Louis Mercantile Library in 1993.
The thirteen original companies that merged to create ACF are:
- Buffalo Car Manufacturing Company, Berwick, Pennsylvania (founded in 1872)
- Ensign Manufacturing Company, Huntington, West Virginia (founded in 1871)
- Jackson and Woodin Manufacturing Company, Berwick, Pennsylvania (founded in 1840)
- Michigan-Peninsular Car Company, Detroit, Michigan (founded in 1892)
- Minerva Car Company, Minerva, Ohio
- Missouri Car and Foundry Company, Madison, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri (founded in 1876 MO/1891 IL)
- Murray, Dougal and Company, Milton, Pennsylvania
- Niagara Car Wheel Company, Buffalo, New York
- Ohio Falls Car Manufacturing Company, Jeffersonville, Indiana
- St. Charles Car Company, St. Charles, Missouri (founded in 1873)
- Terre Haute Car and Manufacturing Company, Terre Haute, Indiana
- Union Car Company, Depew, New York
- Wells and French Company, Depew, New York
SCOPE: This collection contains the business and manufacturing records of the American Car & Foundry Company and selected predecessor firms. Subjects and materials include:
- Plans
- Production data
- Promotional and advertising items
- Photographs of freight and passenger cars, some shown from multiple views
- Selected movies produced by the firm
- Records of the firm's Research and Development Department
- AC&F nuclear power plants and wartime military production
- Bills of materials listings for individual freight and passenger cars.
HOLDINGS: 756 record boxes and other materials.
ACCESS: This is collection B-3. This collection is available for on-site use only in the Rare Book and Manuscripts Reading Room. Some of the collection may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, depending on condition. Researchers are advised to call ahead concerning changes in hours due to University intersessions and holidays. The St. Louis Mercantile Library is located on levels one and two of the Thomas Jefferson Library building.
Portions of this collection are stored offsite. More information about conducting research with the archival collections of the Library, including current building hours and reading room policies, can be found on our Research page.
Inventory
A portion of this collection is available to view online through the UMSL Digital Library.
This collection is divided into 61 sub-collections:
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Collection #1: ACF Accounting
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Collection #2: ACF Advertising, Catalogs, & Sales Promotion Materials
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Collection #3: ACF Annual Reports, All Divisions
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Collection #4: ACF Articles, Letters, and Speeches Concerning the Company
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Collection #5: ACF Correspondence Files
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Collection #6: ACF General Orders Files, by Division
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Collection #7: ACF Library Books, Magazines and Technical Reports
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Collection #8: ACF Lot Books, 1931-1952
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Collection #9: ACF Order of Work Books
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Collection #10: ACF Product Development Files
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Collection #11: ACF Product Planning Reports
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Collection #12: ACF Proposals to Railroad Customers
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Collection #13: ACF Public Relations
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Collection #14: ACF Publications
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Collection #15: Subsidiary Companies, Albuquerque
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Collection #16: ACF Subsidiary Companies, Amcar (& Shippers)
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Collection #17: ACF Subsidiary Companies, The Brill Corporation
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Collection #18: ACF Subsidiary Companies -Carter Carburetor
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Collection #19: ACF Subsidiary Companies, Erco
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Collection #20: ACF Subsidiary Companies, Polymer Corporation
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Collection #21: ACF Subsidiary Companies, Pressed Steel Products
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Collection #22: ACF Subsidiary Companies, WKM
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Collection #23: Defense Collection
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Collection #24: Engineer's Appraisal of ACF as a Going Concern
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Collection #25: Estimating Files, New York
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Collection #26: High School Essay Competition
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Collection #27: Miscellaneous Collections (American Association of Railroads, Technical Publications)
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Collection #28: Miscellaneous Collections (Donated Material by ACF Staff)
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Collection #29: Movies and Recordings
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Collection #30: New York Historical Files
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Collection #31: News Clippings
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Collection #32: Oversize
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Collection #33: Passenger & Freight Car Plans and Drawings
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Collection #34: Passenger and Rapid Transit Car Proposals
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Collection #35: Passenger Cars
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Collection #36: Photographs, ACF Facilities by Plant
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Collection #37: Photographs, Aircraft Fuselage Construction
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Collection #38: Photographs, Albums
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Collection #39: Photographs (Black & White Prints)
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Collection #40: Photographs (Black & White Negatives)
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Collection #41: Photographs (Black & White Glass Negatives)
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Collection #42: Photographs (Color Slides & Negatives)
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Collection #43: Photographs (Architectural Woodwork, Buses, Truck Bodies)
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Collection #44: Photographs (Berwick Plant)
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Collection #45: Photographs (Car Repair Series)
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Collection #46: Photographs (Hospital Car, Mortuary Car Conversions)
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Collection #47: Photographs (Huntington Plant)
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Collection #48: Photographs (Inventory of Laboratory Equipment)
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Collection #49: Photographs (LCL Project)
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Collection #50: Photographs (Lantern Slides)
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Collection #51: Photographs (Mine & Industrial Cars)
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Collection #52: Photographs (Miscellaneous Products)
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Collection #53: Photographs (MO Series)
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Collection #54: Photographs (Staff)
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Collection #55: Photographs (Storage Tanks & Pressure Vessels)
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Collection #56: Photographs (Wilmington Plant)
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Collection #57: Project Series
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Collection #58: Research & Development Reports
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Collection #59: St. Louis Plant
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Collection #60: Specialty Catalogs, Handbooks, & Technical Reports of ACF Suppliers
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Collection #61: Talgo Project
View more detailed collection descriptions and inventories for:
