Builders of Wooden Railway Cars ... and some of other stuff
Canada Car & Manufacturing Company Toronto Steel, Iron & Railway
Works Company, Ltd The Canada Car & Manufacturing Company was
given birth by the Toronto Steel, Iron & Railway Works Company,
Ltd. The latter was founded in the mid 1860s by two Toronto
stock brokers and financial agents, John L. Blaikie and William
Alexander. It produced mainly signals and track appliances. One
piece of its stationary steam engines was manufactured by
William Hamilton & Sons’ St. Lawrence Foundry. Through the years
Blaikie invented a number of articles and processes useful to
the railway industry, but by the early 1870s the company’s
revenues were declining and they were looking for other fields
of opportunity. In 1872, Blaikie and Alexander were approached
by a group interested in establishing a railway car factory
using their works as a basis. Blaikie and Alexander would
receive stock in the new enterprise in exchange for title to
their factory. There was just one li