Ralston Steel Car Company employees photograph   Save
Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: Caption reads: "Workmen driving rivets with a machine riveter on the center sill of a freight car. The Ralston Steel Car Company." 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_B08F01_006_001
Subjects: Manufacturing industries--Ohio; Steel industry; Transportation--Ohio--History; Factories; Employees
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)