Ralston Steel Car Company Forge Shop interior   Save
Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: Photograph of the interior forge room o the Ralston Steel Car Company, where materials were heated to create steel car parts using tongs, an anvil and a hammer. This photograph includes machinery used in the forge room, as well as multiple hearths and stations for heating materials. The Ralston Steel Company was founded by Joseph S. Ralston and Anton Becker in 1905, when the men bought the former plant of the Rarig Engineering Company on the east side of Columbus. The increasing power of steam locomotives drove demand for the all-steel cars they manufactured, and the company was extremely successful with their drop-bottom general purpose gondola car. These cars had bottom pans that would drop down, allowing coal to pour out instead of the traditional method using shovels and wheelbarrows. This allowed for automatic unloading of coal and hopper cars which led to more efficient production. With the exception of the Great Depression, Ralston experienced a successful run until the 1950s, when demand for freight trains dropped after World War II. The company shut its doors in 1953. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F08_025_1
Subjects: Manufacturing industries--Ohio; Steel industry; Transportation--Ohio--History; Factories
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)