Canadian Car and Foundry
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The product of the amalgamation of three companies in 1909, the Canadian Car and Foundry (CC&F) was Canada’s largest rail car (rolling stock) manufacturer at the turn of the century. Also referred to as the Canadian Car & Foundry, Canada Car & Foundry, or "Can Car," the company evolved into a premier manufacturer of airplanes during World War II. Post-war operations marked a return to the company’s rail car roots as well as the branching off into other transportation markets such as buses and street and subway cars. The company also developed a new type of log skidder called the Tree Farmer.
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[edit] History
In 1909 the Canadian Car and Foundry Co. was formed when three companies, the Rhodes Curry Co. of Amherst Nova Scotia, the Canada Car Co. of Turcot, Quebec, and the Dominion Car and Foundry Co. of Montreal were amalgamated into one operation.
The Rhodes Car Co. was equipped with a wheel and a gray iron foundry for manufacturing wood and freight cars. It also owned and managed 20,000 acres (8,094 ha) of timberland in addition to operating sawmills and planning mills in Halifax and Sydney. The Dominion Car and Foundry Co. was equipped with the machinery and workings to construct steel cars and bolsters, brake beams, and other specialized railway products. Down the road a mile (1.6 km) from Dominion Car and Foundry Co., the Canadian Car and Foundry also was equipped with a wheel and gray iron foundry used for manufacturing wood passenger and freight cars.[1]
From the very first day, the Canadian Car & Foundry turned a profit. The first acting president was Nathaniel Curry, founder of the Rhodes Curry Co. In 1911 the company got involved in the production of steel castings, being widely used in many of its products when it purchased Montreal Steel Works Ltd. in Quebec—at the time, the largest maker of steel castings in Canada. The same year, Canadian Car & Foundry also bought out Ontario Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., a steel foundry and rolling mill. This was followed with the acquisition of Pratt and Letchworth, a rail car manufacturer based in Ontario a few years later.[2] Near the end of World War I, the company established a new plant in Thunder Bay to manufacture rail cars and ships. CC&F became pre-eminent in freight production. It built some of the first steel tank cars in Canada, as well as steel frame box and steel twin pocket hopper cars.[3] It closed down shortly after 1920 and then reopened in 1937 to build aircraft.
[edit] Manufacturer of Airplanes
During World War II CC&F began manufacturing aircraft. In 1939 the company developed a plane called the Hurricane Hawker for RAF. At the peak of production in 1943 the company had built 1,400 aircraft. It also employed a workforce of 4,500, half of which were women.[4] When production of the Hurricane Hawker ceased, CC&F looked for a new contract and was awarded one to build an aircraft called the SB2C Helldiver for the U.S. Navy. Mass production of the plane was impossible because too many specification changes to the actual design were being made.
[edit] Return to Rail Cars
After World War II ended, the CC&F returned to its roots in rail car manufacturing. The company built and supplied about 1,100 electric streetcars to many major Canadian cities including Vancouver, Regina, Calgary, and Montreal, in addition to Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil.[5] The company also became a Bus manufacturer, producing bus coaches for both medium and long distance hauls. One of its more popular designs included a two-decker transit car. Other products for which CC&F became well known as transportation needs shifted were highway transport trailers and subway cars. The company also developed a new skidder model called the Tree Farmer.
[edit] Buy-out of Can Car
In 1957 A.V. Roe Canada Ltd. assumed control of the Canadian Car and Foundry Co Ltd. A.V. Roe Canada was a branch of the large British aircraft company bearing the exact same name. In 1962 A.V. Roe Canada was dissolved and it became part of Hawker Siddeley Canada.
[edit] The Company Today
Since 1992 the former facility that housed the Canadian Car and Foundry in Thunder Bay has served as a production plant for Bombardier.
