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Seattle Car and Foundry Company
A major piece of Pacific Northwest industrial history, this company helped supply the booming logging and rail trades before becoming part of the business that later evolved into PACCAR. Its story connects early Seattle manufacturing, the Renton railcar works, and a series of name changes and mergers that shaped a lasting transportation company.
1 Audiobook
Seattle Car & Foundry Company, Catalogue No. 3, December, 1913
by Seattle Car and Foundry Company
About the author
Founded in 1905 by William Pigott Sr. as Seattle Car Manufacturing Company, the business began by making railway and logging equipment for the fast-growing industries of the Pacific Northwest. After a destructive fire at its earlier plant, the company expanded in Renton, where its larger works became central to its growth.
In 1911, the company took the name Seattle Car and Foundry Company. Contemporary histories describe it as an important builder of rail and industrial cars, especially for logging operations, during a period when regional demand was rising quickly.
In 1917, Seattle Car and Foundry merged with Portland-based Twohy Brothers and became Pacific Car and Foundry Company. That later business is part of the corporate lineage of PACCAR, so Seattle Car and Foundry is best remembered as an early and influential predecessor in the history of one of Washington state's most enduring manufacturers.