PACCAR, the parent company of DAF, Kenworth and Peterbilt heavy-duty trucks, can trace its origins to 1905 when William Pigott (b. June 27, 1860 - d. July 19, 1929) founded the Seattle Car Manufacturing Co.

William 'Pigiron' Pigott was born in New York City on June 27, 1860, to Michael and Anna (Byrne) Pigott, two Irish nationals who emigrated from County Cork to Manhattan in 1846. Sometime after the end of the Civil War the family relocated to Hubbard, Trumbull County, Ohio where Michael took a position at the blast furnaces of the Andrews & Hitchcock Iron Co. Other siblings included Christine (b. 1858 in NY); Mary (b.1860 in NY); Ann (b.1866 in NY); Michael Jr. (b.1867 in NY); and Elizabeth R. (b.1869 in OH) Pigott.

William and his younger brother, Michael Jr. received their education in the Trumbull County public and parochial schools after which they went to work at Andrews & Hitchcock, Michael eventually worked his way up to shipping clerk and William, salesman, with a territory covering Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

In the course of business William encountered another energetic pig iron salesman named William D. Hofius (b. September 25, 1852), who represented Hofius & Eldridge, a Sharpesville, Pennsylvania firm he had co-founded with Charles F. Eldridge in 1883. He later became involved with the Grafton Furnace at Leetonia, Ohio, under the firm name of McKeefrey & Hofius.

In 1888 the two William’s (Pigott & Hofius) purchased a blast furnace in Syracuse, New York, its listing in the 1890 Directory of the Iron and Steel Works of the United States and Canada follows:

“The furnaces of the Onondaga Iron Company are now leased by the Mohawk Furnace Company, of Syracuse, N. Y., which will operate them with coke as fuel, making two grades of foundry iron, “Arnold Scotch” and “Hercules.” Daniel Eagan, President; Wm. Pigott, Secretary and Treasurer; W. D. Hofius, General Manager.”

Their Syracuse enterprise ultimately proved unsuccessful and on July 1, 1892 Pigott and Hofius relocated to Trinidad, Colorado, where they purchased the Trinidad Iron and Steel Co., its listing in the 1894 Directory of the Iron and Steel Works of the United States and Canada follows:

“Trinidad Rolling Mill, The Trinidad Iron and Steel Company, Trinidad, Las Animas county. Built in 1888—9 and started in April, 1889; 3 scrap heating furnaces, 2 spike machines, and 3 trains of rolls (9, 12, and 18-inch); product, merchant bar iron and steel, mine T rails, and railroad spikes; annual capacity, 12,000 gross tons of bar iron and 15,000 kegs of spikes. W. D. Hofius, President and General Manager; William Pigott, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.”

On November 19, 1894 in Cleveland, Ohio, Pigott married Ada E. Clingan (b.Aug. 1866 in Hubbard, Ohio to Calvin N. and Sarah J. Clingan), and to the blessed union was born two children, William C. (b. Aug. 20, 1895 in Pueblo, Colorado), and Paul J. (b. April 8, 1900 in Seattle, Wash.) Pigott.

In early 1895 the two partners sold their Trinidad operations to the Colorado Fuel and Iron Co. of Pueblo, Colorado, with Pigott staying on as superintendent and Hofius moving to the west coast as the firm’s sales representative. In October, 1895, Pigott severed his connection with the Colorado firm and in early 1896 moved his family to Seattle, King County, Washington where he joined his old partner selling steel rails and railway supplies to loggers in Seattle, as W.D. Hofius & Co., its listing in the 1896-97 Seattle Directory being:

“W.D. Hofius & Co. (W.D. Hofius, Los Angeles, Cal.; Wm. Pigott) Iron and Steel, Machinery and Railway Supplies, 216 & 217 Bailey Bldg.”

The Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 created much demand for the partner's line of products, and the firm prospered, their listing in the 1898 Seattle Directory follows:

“W.D. Hofius & Co. (W.D. Hofius, Wm. Pigott) Iron and Steel, Machinery and Railway Supplies, 421 Bailey Bldg.”

In 1898 the frim relocated their offices to the Dexter Horton Bank Bldg., their listing in the 1899-1900 Seattle Directories follow:

“W.D. Hofius & Co. (Wm.D. Hofius, Wm. Pigott) Railway Supplies, 72-74 Dexter Horton Bank Bldg.”

The 1901 Seattle Directory lists a third partner, George J. Danz:

“W.D. Hofius & Co. (Wm.D. Hofius, Wm. Pigott, George J. Danz) Railway Supplies, 72-74 Dexter Horton Bank Bldg.”

Pigott left the partnership in 1901 and formed his own firm, Railway and Steel Supply Co., in association with W.T. O’Brien, its listing in the 1902 Seattle Directory being:

“Railway and Steel Supply Co., (William Pigott, W.T. O’Brien) Railway Equipments, Pig Iron, Wire Rope, Spikes and Bolts and Steel In All Shapes, 65 Starr-Boyd bldg.”

Hofius found more success and at the time of his 1912 passing he was president of the Hofius Steel and Equipment Company, President of the Seattle Dock Company, Director of the Superior Portland Cement Company and Director of the First National Bank of Seattle.

In addition to railway hardware, Railway and Steel Supply dealt in steel, pig iron, and coke. An early specialty was the logging truck - a set of wheels that could be placed under each end of a log to bring it out of the woods, the firm's entries in the 1903-1904 Seattle Directories list ‘Logging Truck’ as one of their specialties:

“Railway and Steel Supply Co., (Wm. Pigott, D.E. McLaughlin, W.T. O’Brien) Railway Equipments, Pig Iron, Logging Trucks, Spikes and Bolts and Steel In All Shapes, 65 Starr-Boyd bldg.”

William T. O’Brien was a resident of Portland, Oregon and Dorsey E. McLaughlin a Seattle resident. Railway and Steel Supply Co.’s manufacturing operations were located in a warehouse located at 810 1st Avenue S., Seattle.

In 1904 Pigott formed an associated firm, the North Coast Dry Kiln and Truck Co., to build and supply kilns for the drying of shakes (shingles) and lumber. As sales increased Pigott found it beneficial to have his own blast furnace and rolling mills and in late 1903 purchased a 55 acre tract located on the tidewater flatsat the mouth of Longfellow Creek in Humphrey (later Hubbard, Youngstown, now West Seattle).

As loggers harvested the Northwest's timber, the need for rolling stock to transport their logs increased exponentially, and on  February 11, 1905 Pigott formed the Seattle Car Mfg. Co. with a capitalization of $10,000. The new company took over the logging truck and railcar business, inventory and machinery of Railway and Steel Supply Co.

Pigott's newly-formed Seattle Steel Co.'s blast furnace and rolling mill were completed in the spring of 1905, officially commencing operations on May 4, 1905. Within the month Seattle Car Mfg. commenced the construction of rolling stock on an adjacent plot that was leased from Seattle Steel Co.

The growing demand for their rolling stock forced a January 1906 recapitalization of Seattle Car Mfg. to $100,000. The firm’s first rail cars were two-piece railway trucks or ‘disconnects’ that were placed under each end of a large log, enabling it to be hauled by rail to a mill. The firm eventually constructed regular rolling stock and served as the northwest distributor of Climax logging locomotives which were constructed in Corry, Pennsylvania. Seattle Car Manufacturing Company first appears in the 1906 Seattle Directory as follows:

“Seattle Car Mfg. Co. (Wm. Pigott, Pres.; Michael J. Pigott, Vice-Pres, W.G. Bert, sec., D.E. McLaughlin, treas, T.G. Haywood, Mngr.), 208 Alaska Bldg.”

Seattle Car Mfg.'s listing in the 1907-1908 Seattle Directories follow:

“Seattle Car Manufacturing Co. (Wm. Pigott, Pres.; O. D. Colvin, Vice-Pres-Gen Mngr.), 1006-8 Alaska Bldg.”

As capacity increased, business improved, and Seattle Car Mfg. underwent a second recapitalization to $250,000. Pigott purchased a 120-acre site located in north Renton, Washington at the corner of North 4th St and Factory Ave. North, and construction began on a new, more modern factory in the summer of 1907.

On the night of August 12, 1907 Seattle Car Mfg.'s original plant was destroyed by a massive fire that consumed a majority of the plantas well as their stockpile of lumber and a great number of finished railway cars. Insurance covered only 50% of the loss, and the delay caused the cancellation of the order currently under construction. The panic of 1907 (October, 1907) further reduced the firm's already shaky finances and Seattle Car Mfg. entered into voluntary receivership soonafter.

Construction of the Renton plant was completed on February 1, 1908, orders increased and by October of 1908 Seattle Car Mfg.'s debts were discharged and the firm emerged from receivership Shortly thereafter increased orders called for an additional $100,000 increased in capital.

Teh completeion of the Renton plant coincided with the debut of the “connected” logging car which was sold under the 'Hercules' trade name. Prior to its introduction, the front and rear trucks of a typical logging railcar were separate, only the log being hauled connected them."Seattle Car’s 'Hercules' tied the front and rear trucks together with strong lengthwise members, to which bunks were installed to keep the logs in place and chocks to hold the ends securely, providing a significantly safer method of transporting  timber by rail.

The company’s next railcar innovation was an all-steel, 50-ton logging truck that debuted at the 1909 A.Y.P. Exposition* in Seattle.

(*The Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition was a world's fair held in Seattle in 1909, publicizing the development of the Pacific Northwest.)

Soon after Seattle Car introduced air brakes on their logging cars, as well as a purpose-built rig for conveying steam donkeys (portable steam-powered forestry winches).

In 1909 Seattle Car purchased a controlling interest in San Francisco's Holman Car Company, and established satellite plants in Portland, Oregon, and Richmond, California, its listing in the 1910 Seattle Directory follows:

“Seattle Car Manufacturing Co. (Wm. Pigott, Pres.; O. D. Colvin, Vice-Pres-Gen Mngr., P.P. Paden [Renton, Wash.] sec.), 1006-8 Alaska Bldg.”

In 1911 the firm was reorganized as the Seattle Car and Foundry Co., its listing in the
1912-1917 Seattle Directories being:

“Seattle Car & Foundry Co. (Wm. Pigott, Pres.; O. D. Colvin, Vice-Pres-Gen Mngr., C.L. Havens Sec., T. Scott Clingan, treas.), 211-14 Alaska Bldg.”

In July of 1911 Pigott's other firm, the Seattle Steel Co., merged with the San Francisco-based Portland Rolling Mills, forming the Pacific Coast Steel Co. Pacific's first officers included: E.M. Wilson, pres. and treas.; D.P. Poak, vice-pres.; Wm. Pigott, D.E. McLaughlin, vice-pres.; W.S. Burt, sec.

Seattle Car & Foundry's display ad in the 1916 Seattle Directory states:

“Note: - This company now controls and operated the business formerly conducted under the name of the Railway Supply Co.”

In 1915 Pigott represented the Seattle Chamber of Commerce on a visit to China where he spent several months investigating opportunities for trade in China and the Philippines. In 1915 Seattle Car & Foundry introduced a two-wheeled trailer for hauling logs by auto truck they dubbed the 'Universal Trailer' which was highlighted in the following article that appeared in the April 6, 1916 issue of Motor Age:

“Logging by Motor Truck Where Horse Is Useless

“‘Toothpicks’ That Weigh 14 Tons, Cut in Forests of Washington, Are Play-Things for the Powerful Five-Wheelers

“By Frederick Wagner

“Seattle, Wash., March 25 — Motor trucks in the forests of Washington are entering a field that heretofore has been immune from the imprint of even horses' hoofs. They are blazing a trail of their own, and incidentally starting one grand trek back to the soil. The results have been startling.

“These mechanical horses of the logging camps transport huge logs from the forests to the railroad and to the mills direct. The powerful motor trucks are performing a duty that, in this section of the United States, at least, the horse has been unable to perform. And not only that—they are speeding the giants of the forest to the mills so quickly that hundreds of thousands of feet of timber ordinarily consigned to the bonfire of stumps are being sold, and at good profit. Epoch-Marking In Transportation World

“Thus the logging truck is performing a dual benefit. But even a more far-reaching good is coming from this epoch marking event in the transportation world. The acceleration of the process of clearing rich agricultural land of timber is a great advantage to the state and nation. It means the quickening of the movement back to the soil.

“Take the rancher, for instance, who has cleared off a good-sized area for agricultural purposes. He has from 20 to possibly 100 or 200 acres of additional land that contains some excellent timber. Standing in the forest it scarcely is valuable enough to justify erecting a saw-mill. To build a logging railroad to transport the logs to market would be so costly as to make it impracticable. The rancher utilizes only what timber he needs for fuel purposes. The remainder is a white elephant on his hands, for logging by horses, too, is an economic problem.

“So, the land owner invariably is in a quandary as to what to do with his timber.

“Comes now the powerful logging truck, operating rapidly and inexpensively and carrying huge loads. It can rush the logs to market and obtain good prices, the rancher gets some revenue from his otherwise valueless timber, and his land is cleared as if by magic. The result is profit for all—for the rancher, the truck operator—some of them are clearing $35 per day after deducting all expenses, including depreciation—and the mill, which is eager to get the logs.

“Operating in the forests adjacent to Seattle are no less than ten of these modern mechanical steeds. They have been in daily use for periods of from 3 months to 2 years. They have worked under greatly varied conditions of travel and in all kinds of weather. They have demonstrated beyond all doubt their adaptability to this grueling service and are a permanent fixture in the transportation field in this section of Uncle Sam's domain.

“Prominent among the makes of trucks pioneering in this new industry are the Kelly, White, Mack and Locomobile which range in size from 3 to 5 tons.

“An automobile trip of 20 or 25 miles from Seattle over splendid highways brings one to the very heart of the forests where are thousands of giant fir trees. One is frequently reminded that he is in the timber belt by the periodic screech of the logging-engine whistle. A Trip Through the Woods

“Turning off the main highway and following a hard-packed temporary road, the car bearing the representative of Motor Age came to a clearing in the maze of giant trees. The crew of a logging engine in charge of one man, who was assisted by several husky men in the forest a hundred yards away, were busily engaged in preparing for the truck's arrival. The men were fastening cables to huge logs. There was an ear-piercing blast of the whistle, and a big fir came grinding and crashing through the brush, and, with lightning rapidity and accuracy, it was deposited upon a big pile of timbers.

“Down the temporary road came rattling noisily, with the exhaust of the motor adding to the warning of its approach, a 5-ton motor truck and trailer. Several minutes later it had completed a small loop and was standing beside the loading platform.

“The driver and his helper dismounted from the trucks, and, assisted by two members of the forest crew, hurriedly fastened the cables to one of the Washington ‘toothpicks.’ The engine attendant was given the signal to hoist. In a flash a massive log rolled into place on the truck and trailer.

“A workman with notebook and measuring stick leaped upon the truck and measured the log. It was 20 feet long and more than 60 inches in diameter. The rule credited the toothpick with containing 3,597 board feet of lumber, which at an average of 8 pounds to the foot, made it touch the scales at 28, 776 pounds.

“Three minutes after the truck had arrived at the platform it was loaded and ready for the rush to the railroad siding. The motor of the big truck emitted a defiant roar and started away with its weighty cargo.

“Over 3½ miles of highway the car sped, running at a speed of 8 miles per hour. Soon it was at the railroad siding. Here a cable was hooked to the giant of the forest, and, with a mighty thud its 14-ton package struck the ground, ready to be loaded on a flat car and taken to the mills.

“Trucks Work Rapidly

“The discharging process required but a matter of several minutes, and the vehicle was on its way back to the logging camp. Its second load consisted of a giant fir containing 3,474 feet of lumber and weighing slightly less than 14 tons. The third trip produced a 10-ton log containing some 2,500 feet of lumber.

“And so on, the truck continued. The three and a quarter mile run with the truck loaded required about one hour and ten minutes; and the return trip, empty, consumed about thirty-five minutes. The round trip, including loading and unloading, averages about two hours. In an ordinary day's work the truck will handle at least 15,000 feet of lumber, or approximately 60 tons. Sometimes a single load runs as high as 20 to 25 tons, particularly when a number of small logs are carried.

“To handle such tremendous weight properly and economically, it is necessary to use staunch trailers, of which there are several types. The first ones pressed into service in the logging business were fourwheel trailers. Some of the latest models are of the tractor type.

“The trailer used near Enumclaw, Wash., mentioned in this article, has front wheels with a diameter of 40 inches, and 10-inch steel tires. The rear wheels measure 48 inches across and have 14-inch tires. The truck is equipped with the same sized wheels.

“While the truck in particular has a rated carrying capacity of five tons, it handles 10, 15 and 20-ton loads with ease because of the sharing of the burden with the trailer. Near Enumclaw there are several grades running as high as 5 per cent, and never has any trouble been experienced. The same condition is true of the district east and north of Seattle where a number of the logging trucks are in use.

“The introduction of the motor truck in the logging fields, was not made to the tune of sweet music; most assuredly not. County commissioners held up their hands in horror. The roads would be utterly ruined by the trucks alone, they cried. Carry a 15 or 20-ton load on our new high ways! Ruinous, absolutely, was their positive decision.

“Facts, figures and arguments availed but little, till persistence finally won, and the commissioners agreed to witness a demonstration.

“It took just two trips to completely upset their wild hallucinations on the subject. Now the commissioners are boosters for the trucks, for they have learned that the wide wheels are a benefit instead of a detriment. They fill in and thoroughly pack down the ruts made by narrow tired wagons with the same effect as that produced by a steam roller. It is interesting, too, to observe that the best roads in the vicinity of Enumclaw are those over which the wide tired trucks operate.

“Not only that—the county commissioners have used the trucks on several occasions to haul drags over the roads after a hard rain.

“That, in brief, is what Washington has learned about motor trucks for hauling logs. It is not surprising therefore that the fleet of these carriers is increasing.

“With lumber commanding higher prices than at any time in the last several years and with a shortage of logs in the Puget Sound district, the truck business has received a tremendous impetus. Operators of logging machines are making big money, and the mills are paying timber owners good prices. Big Market Open

“In addition to the heavy orders being placed by a number of eastern railroads, the Great Northern Railway Co. has announced that it is in the market for 30,000,000 feet of lumber, representing an investment of between $300,000 and $400,000. It is the largest order given by any one corporation in the northwest markets for many years. The lumber is to be used in constructing snowsheds in the Cascade mountains along the line of the Great Northern.”

Seattle Car & Foundry's display ad in the 1916 Seattle Directory states:

“General Offices: Seattle, U.S.A. Agencies: Portland Equipment Co., Spaulding Bldg., Portland, Ore., Vancouver Equipment Co., Bank of Ottawa Bldg., Vancouver, B.C.”

The June 8, 1916 issue of the Centralia Daily Chronicle Examiner mentioned that the firm had received an order from the Russian  Military:

“It is reported that the Russian Government has placed an order for steel cars with the Seattle Car & Foundry Company, the cars are designed for the transportation of troops.”

Between 1910 and 1917, Seattle Car & Foundry constructed an average of 656 railway and 107 industrial cars per year, mostly to handle logs. Of the 840 cars manufactured in 1910, for example, 300 were boxcars for the Northern Pacific, with the remainder being rail cars for the transport of logs. The firm's expanding product of rolling stock included trams, boxcars, flat and gondola cars, logging cars, cabooses, camp cars, dumping cars, push cars, quarry cars, purpose-built track construction cars andtrucks, bunks and chocks.

In 1917 Seattle Car and Foundry merged with its Portland competitor Twohy Brothers , the reorganized firm becoming Pacific Car and Foundry, the June 29, 1917 issue of the Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) reporting:

“Twohy Brothers In Merger: Combines With The Seattle Car and Foundry Company

“Seattle – June 27 – Merger was announced today of the Seattle Car and Foundry company, of which William Pigott is president, and the Twohy Brothers company of Portland. The combined plants represent an investment of $1,000,000. The new corporation will be known as the Pacific Car and Foundry company and will have headquarters in Seattle.”

The formalities of the merger weren’t carried out until late August and on September 4, 1917 the merger became official. Twohy Bros. was founded by John W. (1854-1927), James C. (1856-1908) and Dennis D. (1859-1909) Twohy, the sons of John and Lucy Twohy who had emigrated from Ireland in 1845. In the early 1890s, James and Dennis enetered the railroad construction business at Helena, Montana, and in 1898, their brother John - an attorney - joined his brothers, who were now located in the Pacific Northwest at Spokane, Washington. The firm's main line of work consisted ofclearing rights-of-way, shaping road beds, and laying down track for the Canadian National,  Northern Pacific, and the Southern Pacific railroads.

In 1908 James C. Twohy passed away, closely followed by Dennis D. Twohyin 1909, leaving John W. (aka 'Judge') Twohy at the helm. On January 25, 1910 the firm was reorganized as a stock company, Twohy Brothers Company, Inc., with John W. Twohy as president and his sons John D. (1885-1930) and James F. (1889-1976) as vice-president-general manager and secretary-treasurer respectively. In a 1915 ad in the Timberman, the Twohy Brothers Co. boasted:

"Repairing and Construction—Facilities unequalled by any shop on the Pacific Coast — We make a specialty of repairing locomotives, cars, steam shovels and logging donkeys—We also like to submit you figures on all kinds of tank work, boiler work and heavy forging."

The brothers developed a sideline in the manufacturing of their own railway construction cars, which were built in their repair shop in Portland. Excess capacity allowed them to produce additional cars for third parties, and before long they had become Seattle Car & Foundry's chief competitor. In late 1916 the Union Pacific Railroad placed a 400-car order, split between the two firms, for steel under-frame boxcars. Another 300-car order from Southern Pacific followed, this time for all-wood boxcars. Short on capital, 'Judge' Twohy approached Pigott with a proposal that the two firm be combined for the benefit of all, the result being the 1917 mergers and the creation of Pacific Car & Foundry.

Pigott was named president at a meeting of the trustees on September 6, 1917; John Twohy was elected vice president and treasurer; O.D. Colvin, vice president and general manager; James E. McInerny, who had been with the Twohy firm, secretary; and T.G. Haywood, director of purchases, its listing in the 1918-1919 Seattle Directories being:

“Pacific Car & Foundry Co. (Wm. Pigott, Pres.; O. D. Colvin, Vice-Pres-Gen Mngr., James F. Twohy, V-Pres-Treas, James E McInerny, Sec-Asst. Treas.), 210-15 Alaska Bldg., Works, Renton, Wn.”

In 1918, the new firm received an order for 2,000 steel boxcars from the United States Railway Administration, which had taken over the nation's railroads on December 26, 1917 in the buildup to the First World War. By this time the firm specialized in the manufacture ofsteel framed wooden boxcar and mechanically-cooled refrigerator cars.

Sales of the firm's 'Universal Trailer' also increased, their ad in the 1918 Seattle Directory mentioning it for the first time:

“Builders of ‘Universal Trailer’ For Auto Trucks.”

In its July 15, 1919 issue, The Commercial Car Journal’s Warren Eugene Crane mentioned Pacific Car & Foundry’s ‘Universal Trailer’ had been thoroughly tested by the Army Signal Corps.:

“A 5-ton Standard truck with an 8½-ton Universal trailer has been in operation in the Signal Corps of the United States Army near Port Angeles, Washington. It operated six months lacking three days, for twenty-four hours a day without a breakdown, over macadam, plank, corduroy and dirt roads. On one occasion it hauled a locomotive for a logging train, weighing twenty-one tons, a distance of thirty miles under many adverse road conditions. At another time it hauled the Chicaloon, a sixteen-ton motor boat from Port Angeles, Washington, to the interior of the Olympic Peninsula. They made an average of four miles and a half to a gallon of gasoline, and thirty miles to a gallon of oil.

“Sergeant C. J. Morris in charge of the work was given instructions to work at top speed. In order to keep the truck going at a high grade of efficiency, he insisted that the oil in the transmission, motor and differential should be changed every thousand miles.

“The motor truck and trailer have been important factors in the logging industry in the Northwest. Up to the time of the motor truck, the big lumber companies had many tracts of land which they had not cleared because the cost of building a narrow gauge railroad to them would have offset the possible return from the sale of the timber. After the installation of motor trucks and trailers, the cost was only 95 cents per thousand, as compared with $2.75 per thousand with narrow gauge railroads, and $3.50 per thousand feet with horses.

“‘The motor truck has been a wonderful factor in the winning of the war.’ said William Hartford, sales manager of the truck department of the Shields Livengood Motor Company, of Seattle. ‘Out here in the Pacific Northwest they have helped to clear the forests of spruce for airplanes, and to carry army supplies to the various cantonments. Motor trucks have also been big factors in the construction of roads through the forests to tracts of timber that have hitherto been inaccessible.’

“The day of the motor truck is here, and every business man or government official who has a transportation problem should install a motor truck if he wishes his organization to attain the highest degree of efficiency.”

The November 22, 1919 issue of American Lumberman outlined a recent move of a railway locomotive by a Pacific Car Universal Trailer:

“A New Moving Stunt That Save Money; Motor and Trailer Saved Over $1,500 On One Job

“First Aid To A Locomotive

“Bellingham, Wash., Nov. 15.—Do you want a railway locomotive moved? If so, call for a truck.

“That is the way they do in the Pacific Northwest. It is much quicker than laying a track and is just as efficient. Furthermore, it is cheaper.

“All this and more has been satisfactorily demonstrated by the Pacific Car it Foundry Co., Seattle, which had occasion to remove a 30-ton Heisler locomotive from the Butler Co.‘s logging camp near Sedro-Woolley to that town. This ponderous load, with an oil equipment weighing three tons, was taken four miles over a rough, narrow road, with many soft spots, on a 10-ton Garford truck and an 8½-ton Universal trailer, furnished by the Clipper Shingle Co., of Van Zandt. And it was done without any mishaps except dropping into a few soft holes.

“The story of this interesting undertaking, which has caused wide comment among loggers and others, was secured by the American Lumberman’ correspondent from A. D. Miller, of the locomotive department of the Pacific Car & Foundry Co. His account follows:

“‘This locomotive was taken from the Butler Co. camp seven miles north of Sedro-Woolley. It was a Heisler of thirty tons weight. Added to this was an oil equipment with three tons of oil. The length of the locomotive was 31 feet and its width 9 feet 2 inches. We hauled this locomotive over the old Fairhaven railway grade (abandoned) for a distance of two miles, then over a new county road two miles into Sedro-Woolley, mounted on a 10-ton Garford truck and an 8½-ton Universal trailer.’

“‘We found the old grade very narrow and very rough traveling on account of numerous washouts. The county road was very crowded with soft spots which stalled us four times. By truck and trailer settling in soft places we were compelled to jack the trailer up and install planks and ties to enable us to get up on the solid ground. We had no mishaps excepting dropping in these soft holes. It was necessary for us to reinforce two old cedar culverts or small bridges.’

“‘This locomotive they started to bring out by laying rails and taking up, working ahead of the locomotive. After spending five days with a crew of men they had only proceeded one-half mile. As this locomotive had been sold on time delivery we had to resort to quicker means of delivery.’

“‘The previous spring, being at Mr. Barker's logging camp, located on Lake Whatcom, I observed a load of logs, weighing approximately 29 tons, being easily transported by an 8½ -ton Universal trailer ;and a 5-ton truck.’

“‘I immediately made arrangements to secure a truck and trailer for the moving of this locomotive. I arranged with the Clipper Shingle Co. to secure one of its standard rigs which it was logging with: built a high-line track of cribbed ties, ran the locomotive up on the track, blocked her up, removed track, backed truck and trailer under locomotive and lowered them by means of jacks and cribbing into position, this taking practically one day's time. We were about seven hours next day traversing the four miles of road, four hours of which we spent in jacking the outfit out of the soft holes we encountered and one and one-half hours spent in strengthening the culverts. We placed a couple of jacks under trailer bunks to take the load partly off from trailer and left her overnight.’

“‘The next morning we unloaded the locomotive by means of blocking her up and digging a small trench under the wheels of trailer and truck, removing them very easily and quickly. We then built a track crib up to the locomotive trucks, got up steam and climbed a 12 percent grade on 2½ lengths of rails into a standard gondola car. This work and properly staking the locomotive in the car took approximately one day.’

“The locomotive was shipped to California, where it went into immediate use in the logging business.

“‘The locomotive with tank of oil and equipment weighed 33 tons, which was moved on a Garford truck and Universal trailer of 8½-tons, the trailer being manufactured by the Pacific Car & Foundry Co., of Seattle. This load was carried on Firestone Giant tires. We experienced no trouble of any kind with the trailer, truck or tires. In addition we trailed behind the locomotive a wagon loaded with heavy timbers, ties and tools, also dragged approximately 1,000 feet of cable, which we had to use in one instance with blocks to pull out of a hole which the trailer had settled into.’

“‘Our cost of loading, hauling, unloading and placing in car was $475. It we had kept on as at first by laying a track it would have cost $2,000 and consumed two more weeks of time. This work was accomplished in three days with a crew of eight men, with four additional men while moving. The very efficient crew included seven ex-service men just released from the United States forces.’

“‘The Clipper Shingle Co. did not hesitate to place its truck and trailer at our service for this work, knowing the weight to be hauled and the roads we had to traverse, having every confidence that it would be a successful undertaking. Our dispatch in handling the locomotive was greatly facilitated by reason of the two very efficient and capable drivers, Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Comfort, who were furnished by the Clipper Shingle Co.’”

Pacific Car's listing in the 1920 Seattle Directory follows:

“Pacific Car & Foundry Co. (Wm. Pigott, Pres.; O. D. Colvin, Vice-Pres.; H.N. Curd, Gen Mngr.; James F. Twohy, V-Pres.; Jas E. McInerny, Sec-Treas.; John Purse, General Auditor), 210-15 Alaska Bldg., Works, Renton, Wn.”

The cessation of the War resulted in a general economic decline in 1920, with Pacific Car being especially hard hit as many railroads had started to produce their own rolling stock in their own shops.  Luckily sales of the firm's Universal Trailer remained strong, providing some work for Pacific Car's plant in Renton, Wash. The Portland plant was somewhat successful in obtaining orders for building and repairing refrigerated rail cars, which some became their specialty.

William Pigott had forecast the downturn in the railcar manufacturing and in January 1921 retired, having overseen the construction of $10 million worth of rolling stock during his tenure as president. Pigott was subsequently elected chairman of the board and 'Judge' John W. Twohy became president, H.N. Curd, vice president and general manager, and W.S. Bassage, secretary and treasurer.

The firm’s 1921 Seattle Directory display ad marks the first appearance of Pacific Car’s Sessoms’ Lowering Car:

“Solves side hill logging problems. Eliminates switch backs and use of locomotives on switch backs. One of these cars saved $400,000 in an operation which lowered 400,000,000 feet of logs.”

The Sessoms Car was described in the August 1921 issue of the Timberman:

“In 1913 H. V. Sessoms, logging superintendent for the Ebey Logging Co., Arlington, Wash., announced the fact that he had about perfected a system for lowering logs on a curved incline railway. In July, 1914 the Timberman first described this arrangement which has been successfully used with few modifications since that time.

“In view of the fact that eight years have taken the logging roads further back into the mountain sides, increased attention has been paid to incline systems and other arrangements for removing timber from steep ground. It is therefore deemed of sufficient interest to present once more the description of the Sessoms’ system which has since been taken over by the Pacific Car & Foundry Co. of Seattle and Portland.

“Referring to the photographs in this connection, one will note the lowering car and its cable arrangement. This lowering car is all steel and of the four-wheel pedestal type with steel frame and of the simplest construction. The machinery for lowering the car is mounted forward on the frame and connected with it by a ball and socket joint. This latter device consists of a frame built of boiler plate, with three sheaves 36 inches in diameter, over which the cable passes. Extending from the car a short distance back of this frame are out rigger arms which guide the cable and at the same time perform the function of trips for the line guides. The cable passes through the lowering car from an anchor at one of its ends and then back to the drum on the hoisting engine. Two or three cars of logs are attached to the lowering car, the signal given to the hoisting engineer and the train goes smoothly down the incline. Line guides, topped with small grooved wheels or rollers to hold the cable from lateral movement, are placed short distances apart along the track. These line guides pick up the cable as the car goes down and drop it when the car returns to the top of the hill.

“In the matter of safety this car has long since justified itself. Records of one camp show that more than 400 million feet of logs have been lowered down an incline of 31 per cent without a single mishap.

“With the type of track and roadbed on which the Sessoms lowering car is operated, there is practically no maintenance cost, no drainage problem presents itself, fuel costs for the hoisting engine are very small and the time consumes but a few minutes. Only the brakeman, engineer and fireman are required for this operation.

“Those who have watched the operation of the lowering car were particularly impressed with the manner in which protection and control are provided for the cable, whether the track is strait, curved or has varying grades. The deadline side of the cable is anchored across the track opposite the hoisting engine. As the outrigger of the lowering car passes along it places the cable on the rollers of the line guide posts where they rest without sagging perceptibly until the car returns to take them up on the cable itself is once more coiled on the first. Where there are curves, the guides have a pin which is struck by the outrigger. The arm is then raised and holds the cable while the rig makes the curve. This is on the deadline end. On the liveline side the guide post and the rig rides on this as the curve is passed. If there’s a hollow in the grade, a grooved roller holds the cable to a point parallel with grade. Thus the cable is equally taut at all times.

“This system of line guides keeps the rig from touching ground at any time and it lengthens its usefulness. In one recent operation 100 million feet of logs were lowered without a change of cable.”

To keep the plant busy during the early Twenties Pacific Car & Foundry branched out into the structural steel business, create columns and girders for numerous Seattle bridges and landmarks, their listing in the 1922-24 Seattle Directories being:

“Pacific Car & Foundry Co. (Wm. Pigott, Chairman of the Board; John Twohy, Pres.; O.D. Colvin, Vice-Pres.; H.N. Curd, V-Pres and Gen Mngr.; W.S. Bassage, Sec-Treas.; John Browne, General Auditor), 210-15 Alaska Bldg., Works, Renton, Wn.”

In 1923 American Car and Foundry, the nation's largest manufacturer of interurban cars rolling stock, set its sights on opening a west coast operation. Rather than start from scratch, they elected to purchase an existing operation, and Pacific Car & Foundry fit the bill. They made a generous offer to buy Pacific Car and Foundry, and with its founder's blessing, the deal was concluded in 1924 with ACF's L.T. Carroll being brought in to serve as president.

Although William Pigott's two sons, Paul and William Jr. became ACF shareholders, neither elected to work for the firm, in particular Paul did not support the sale, and he went to work for Seattle's Wallace Bridge & Structural Steel Co., as a sales engineer.
Born in 1900, Paul Pigott grew up in Seattle where he attended Broadway High School and graduated from Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana. He attended Stanford University, graduating with a degree in metallurgical engineering.

Pacific Car and Foundry's first post-merger listing in the 1925 Seattle Directory follows:

“Pacific Car & Foundry Co. (Wm. Pigott, Chairman of the Board; L.T. Carroll, Pres.; Harry N. Curd, V-Pres.- Gen Mngr.; W.S. Bassage, Sec-Treas.; Patrick P. Padden, General Auditor), 210-214 Alaska Bldg., Works, Renton, Wn.”

As the sales of interurbans and streetcars started to decline in the early 1920s the directors of Pacific Car's parent company (ACF) became interested in acquiring stock in the motor coach manufacturing industry. They joined together with one of their chief competitors, the J.G. Brill Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a scheme to acquire control of the Hall-Scott Motor Car Co. and the Fageol companies of California and Ohio in order to obtain an integrated bus manufacturing business.  Pacific Car's excess capacity was put to use manufacturing bus bodies for the Fageol-based 'Safety Coaches' which sold on the West coast by ACF.

Now completely retired, William Pigott participated in the Pacific and National Foreign Trade Councils, arranging for Seattle to host the National Foreign Trade Council's annual meeting in 1925. While in Vancouver, B.C., serving as chair of the Pacific Foreign Trade Council, Pigott suffered a heart attack, passing away one week later, on July 19, 1929. His obituary in the July 20, 1929 issue of the Oakland Tribune follows:

“Steel Leader Dies In North: William Pigott, Chairman of Pacific Coast Company, Succumbs to Stroke

“VANCOUVER. B. C., July 20 -(AP) - Willliam Pigott, 69,of Seattle, chairman of the board of the Pacific Coast Steel company, died in St. Paul's hospital here last night. He suffered a stroke here July 4, and while hopes were at first held out for his recovery, his condition in the last few day became grave.

SEATTLE, July 20.—(AP)—A Seattle industrial leader for 25 years, William Pigott was nationally known for his activities in promoting foreign trade. He was born in New York City and educated in Trumbull county, Ohio, schools. He came to Seattle In 1895, and in 1904 organized the Seattle Steel company, which later merged with the Pacific Coast Steel company, now operating large mills in Seattle and San Francisco. He also organized the Seattle Car Manufacturing company and the Seattle Car & Foundry company.

“At one time he was superintendent of the Merchant Steel mills of the Colorado Fuel & Iron company, at Pueblo, Colo. He was elected president of the Pacific foreign trade council In 1925, and was re-elected in 1926. During the World War he was in charge for a time of wooden shipbuilding in this district.

“Pope Pius conferred the title of knight commander of the Order of St. Gregory on him a few years ago in recognition of his extensive philanthropies. He was chairman of the board of the Pacific Coast Steel company.

“He is survived by his widow, at present traveling in Europe, and two sons, Paul and William.”

Pigott left his substantial fortune to his wife (Ada (b.1866-d.1941) and two sons (William Jr. b.1895-d.1947 & Paul b.1900-d.1961). His shares in Pacific Coast Steel were sold off and the firm was subsequently acquired by Bethlehem Steel. Although American Car & Foundry suffered during the Depression, Pacific Car floundered, receiving no new orders for rail cars in 1930 and only 35 during 1931. Pacific Car's immediate troubles were of little consequence to their parent, who bankrolled the acquisition of additional west coast businesses, the May 4, 1931 issue of the Centralia, Wash. Daily Chronicle reporting:

“Following the recent purchase by Pacific Car & Foundry Co. of business of Bacon & Matheson Forge Co. comes purchase also of Arrow Pump Co., another Seattle concern; improvements planned, 15 men to be employed.”

Pacific Car's listings in the 1931-34 Seattle Directories follow:

“Pacific Car & Foundry Co. (L.T. Carroll, Pres.; H.N. Curd, V-Pres.- Gen Mngr.; W. Scott Matheson, Mgr. of Sales), 711 White Bldg. W.S. Bassage, Sec-Treas.; John Browne, Auditor; F.W. Chriswell, Sales Mgr.; E.T. Fehnel, Asst Sales Mgr.), Works, Renton, Wash.”

Employment at the car works had fallen from 1500 in 1923 to 125 in 1934 and most of the latter were part-timers. Between 1930 and 1933 Pacific Car failed to produce a profit for American Car & Foundry and in early 1934 William J. and Paul Pigott purchased Pacific back from ACF for pennies on the dollar ($50,000) with Paul becoming president and William Jr., vice president. The May 1934 issue of the Lumberman reported the sale to the trade as follows:

“Control of Pacific Car and Foundry is Back in Hands of Northwest Men

“During the past month control of the Pacific Car and Foundry Company of Seattle and Portland, for years a prominent factor in the western logging industry, has passed back into the hands of Paul and William Pigott, sons of the late William Pigott, who founded the business and who was its chief executive until about ten years ago when American Car & Foundry Co. purchased the controlling interest.

“The history of the Pacific Car and Foundry Company dates back to the beginning of the century. The late William Pigott, founder of the business, was at that time associated with the late W. D. Hofius. In 1902 this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Pigott organized the Railway & Steel Supply Co. In the following year the company started the manufacture of logging trucks, bringing out the Hercules truck. The company had a small shop at 806 First Ave. South. In addition to logging trucks the company also built a dump truck.  The business grew and in 1905 Mr. Pigott decided that the manufacturing activities should be divorced from the supply business, so he organized a new company known as the Seattle Car Manufacturing Company and built a plant at Youngstown, on the site of the present steel plant. Mr. Pigott was president, T.G. Haywood, manager, and E.H. Fehnel, purchasing officer.

“The Seattle company was the pioneer builder of heavy duty logging trucks, and their equipment was used wherever logs were transported on the Coast, from British Columbia to Mexico. In 1906 the company was reorganized and O.D. Colvin was made vice president and general manager, and F.W. Chriswell was recruited as chief engineer, and organized engineering and mechanical departments, and the building of all types of rolling stock was undertaken.

“In August, 1907, the Youngstown shop burned, and a large and well-arranged plant was erected at Renton. About this time the name of the firm was changed to the Seattle Car and Foundry Co. Throughout its history the company has been constantly developing and engineering new products. In 1909 the all steel 50-ton logging truck was developed and exhibited at the A.Y.P. exposition in Seattle. The same year the connected truck was brought out, a development that had a far reaching influence on logging methods in the West. Along with this new and improved bunks were designed and patented that me the requirements of the loggers.

“Along with the development of logging equipment the company found time to uncover business in the Orient. Mr. Chriswell was dispatched to the Far East in 1912 and made another trip in 1914. In 1912 the company perfected an idea advanced by Pete Connacher for building a large heavy duty utility car. With the advent of the motor truck- in the logging field the company brought out its Universal trailer and has since put out about 1,000 of these units. While this evolution was taking place in logging practice, the car company again changed its name. In 1917 the Twohy shop at Portland was absorbed and the company became the Pacific Car and Foundry Co., with William Pigott remaining president, and Judge Twohy becoming vice president.

“That winter the company opened an office in Washington, D. C., to keep in touch with government business. F. W. Chriswell was in charge. To care for new business it was necessary to extend both shops and add new machinery, which was done during the latter half of 1918. Before the car building program was started in 1919, H. N. Curd joined the company as manager.

“With the advent of the tractor along about the time of the world war the Pacific Car and Foundry Co. developed a high-wheel log carrier, one of which was built and used in a California pine operation. In 1922 Mr. Pigott was made chairman of the board and Judge Twohy became president. Mr. Curd, vice president and general manager, and W.S. Bassage, secretary and treasurer.

“In 1924 control was secured by the American Car and Foundry Company and L.T. Carroll was moved from New York to become president. During the ten-year period of control by the American Car and Foundry Company, three members of the old company passed on – William Pigott, Judge Twohy and O.D. Colvin.

“This period is marked by an outstanding accomplishment; the discovery or invention of the company’s chief metallurgist, Alex Finlayson, of an alloy steel of remarkable physical properties. It is known as Carcometal, and its high elastic strength has brought it to the attention of designing engineers. During the last three years the company has taken the opportunity to make use of the advantages of Carcometal in reducing the weight of equipment to be carried on and drawn behind tractors. Among this equipment is a log trailer, a Single Drum Reversible Hoist to be used with these log trailers, Double Drum Hoists with two speeds on both drums for cold decking and clearing and combination bulldozers and trailbuilders for the various models and sizes of tractors. To help balance the shop facilities during the last ten years, many steel bridges and structural steel buildings were fabricated and a drop forging department was added under the direction of Scott Matheson. Sheet metal work and galvanizing were also undertaken, so that the shop facilities furnished a varied line of products.

“And now comes another change in the management. The sons of the founder of the company, William and Paul Pigott, have bough control from the American Car and Foundry Company. It means a “new deal” and old associates will again take a personal interest int eh car company. Paul Pigott is president, William Pigott, vice president and treasurer; H. N. Curd, vice president and general manager, and W. S. Bassage, secretary.”

(H. N. Curd, former manager of the Lenoir Car Works, Lenoir City, Tenn., came to the firm in 1919).

Pigott worked hard at improving the company's business and within 18 months it had returned to profitability.  Pigott diversified Pacific Car's product line to include more specialized equipment for loggers which included the popular Carco line of power winches for crawler tractors. The firm also acquired the Hofius Steel Co. (a firm originally founded by his father's ex-partner) and during the late 1930s Pigott supplied structural steel for wuch wide-ranging products as the Grand Coulee Dam (1938), the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge (1939) and the Lake Washington Floating Bridge (1939). It's listing in the 1936-1939 Seattle directories listing the structural steel division at as follows:

“Pacific Car & Foundry Co. (Paul Pigott, Pres.; H.N. Curd, V-Pres.-Genl. Mgr.; J.E. LeBlanc, Sec.-Asst. Treas.; Wm. Pigott jr., V-Pres.-Treas.;), 820 White-Henry-Stuart Bldg.

“Pacific Car & Foundry Co., Structural Steel Division, 220 W. Hudson.”

In 1936 Pacific Car & Foundry got involved in the manufacture of a deck-and-a-half inter-city motor coach that predated the Greyhound Scenic-liner by two decades. The revolutionary motor coaches were streamlined versions of a deck-and-a-half design patented by George W. Newell in 1927.The Newell deck-and-a-half motor coach was the brainchild of George W. Newell (b. June 4, 1868 - d. May 8, 1948) and Edwin M. Swift (b. Jan. 13, 1867 - d. Jul 29, 1948). Newell served as superintendent of the Seattle Street Railway after which he became manager of the Seattle-based North Coast Lines and North Coast Transportation Co. of which Swift was chief mechanic/engineer.

The prototype Newell-Swift deck-and-a-half coach was constructed at the North Coast Lines shop in Everett on a drop-frame Fageol bus chassis powered by a 6-cylinder Hall-Scott engine. The coach proved popular when it entered service in 1927 and additional examples were constructed using Yellow Truck & Coach, Fageol and Kenworth chassis, albeit in the Seattle shops of Heisers Inc. The design was continually improved and a number of individuals made contributions to the project, foremost among them being Newell’s two sons, Richard B. and Robert L. Newell, and Harry W. Musiel, Heisers’ chief engineer.

Strictly speaking, The Newell-Swift coach was not the first deck-a-and-a-half constructed, that distinction goes to Dwight E. Austin’s Pierce-Arrow Pickwick Parlor-Buffet observation coaches, which first hit the road in 1925. Austin, a talented Los Angeles-based engineer, designed a number of similarly-configured ‘observation coaches’ for the Pickwick Lines during the late 1920s although his main claim to fame were the double-decked Pickwick Night Coaches which plied the western seaboard during the early 1930s. For more information on Austin, take a look at his biography which is located here.

Swift and Newell made their patent application for a ‘passenger coach’ on September 17, 1925, and on August 17, 1926 were awarded US Patent No. 1596212.  The patent is located in appendix 1.

Although Pickwick had already placed Austin’s deck-and-a-half coach in service by the time of Newell & Swift’s patent application, Austin didn’t apply for a patent on his ‘automobile stage body’ until May 7, 1927 and wasn’t awarded his patent (US. Patent No. 1902607) until March 21, 1933. As Newell and Swift were the first to receive a patent, all deck-and-a-half coaches from that point on were referred to as Newell-type or Newell-Swift motor coaches.

Newell-type coaches destined for East Coast operators were constructed by the *American Car & Foundry Company’s Twin Coach subsidiary in Kent, Ohio using coachwork supplied by Lang and Kuhlman in Cleveland, Ohio, the April 23, 1927 issue of Automotive Industries reporting:

“The American Car & Foundry Co. has recently added a new body model to its 230 in. wheelbase mechanical drive chassis line. This model, designated as a Newell type, while frequently found out West, has not until now been introduced in the East. The body has seating capacity for 29 passengers and is characterized by a raised observation section at the rear. Beneath this is a baggage compartment of about 85 cu. ft. capacity, occupying about one-third of the floor space of the coach. Entrance to the observation section is through the front part of the coach, a stairway being provided between the rear seats of the lower deck. This model is adapted chiefly for long cross-country runs.”

(*At the time Pacific Car & Foundry was still a subsidiary of A.C.F.)

The Newell-Type A.C.F. coach debuted at the 1927 convention of the Motor Bus Division American Automobile Association/National Association of Motor Bus Operators, held June 18, 19 and 20, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois.

“A series of developments progressing for some time at the Berkeley, Calif., and Detroit plants of the A. C. F. culminated in the production of a new 38-passenger Newell type bus and a revamping of the ‘Metropolitan’ type.

“The power plant is a Hall-Scott having a 5-in. bore and 6-in. stroke. It develops a maximum of 175 horsepower at 2,000 r. p. m., a moderate speed as present engines go. The clutch is a double-plate unit used in conjunction with a specially designed three speed forward gearset. Two independent sets of brakes are provided, the service brakes being air operated on all four wheels. Large dimension springs which are practically flat under load are used. Rear springs are 64 x 5 in. while those in front 43 x 3 ½. To insure full control of front springs both Gruss air springs and Houdaille double-acting hydraulic shock absorbers are used.

“Series 175 is furnished either in 264-in. or 240-in. wheelbase. At present only the Newell type body is being built, but other parlor bodies shortly will be available. Another California design at the show was the Pickwick ‘Nitecoach.’ This vehicle has a number of modifications over the original model announced a year ago. Most of these, however, are along lines that make for greater passenger comfort; fundamentally the design is unchanged.

“The present unit has sleeping capacity for 28, as against 26 in the former model. An important contribution to easy riding is a new spring design in which two main leaves are double-shackled at each end. The entire coach is of duralumin, with the exception of side pillars and main lower frame channels which are pressed steel.”

The Motor Transport Section of the August 27, 1927 issue of Railway Age provided a detailed description of A.C.F.’s Newell-type coach:

“A.C.F. Observation Parlor Coach

“In the ordinary type of coach with all of the passengers seated in one compartment, it is natural for the first people in the coach to select the seats near the operator because of the better view of the countryside through the window. When the coach is full, it often happens that the passengers going a short distance which tends to delay the discharging and loading of passengers. In order to help eliminate this situation the American Car & Foundry Motor Company, 30 Church street, New York, has recently placed on the market the Newell observation parlor coach with a seating capacity for 29 passengers, exclusive of the driver — 12 passengers in the lower compartment and 17 in the observation compartment. With this seating arrangement the passengers going a long distance take seats in the observation compartment, while the short-haul passengers will find seats in the compartment nearest the exit. The coach is arranged for one- man operation using the right front door for both entrance and exit.

“The Model C4 body is carried on the Model 508-25 chassis that has a wheelbase of 230 in. The body and chassis are built of materials and to the rigid specifications commonly used for the construction of A.C.F. Motor coach equipment. The body framing is constructed of white ash reinforced with steel angles and plates which make for a rigid body. The cowl consists of a pressed steel frame, welded and riveted together. A heavy ribbed aluminum casting is bolted in to obtain the proper body curves. All window panels are made of No. 20 gage pressed steel and all other lower panels with No. 16 gage aluminum. The roof is of the ‘soft’ type free from rumbles. The yellow pine floor is covered with 3/16 in. gray cork filled linoleum laid on cement. “The interior lighting consists of four dome lights in the lower ceiling and six in the observation compartment ceiling. All dome lights are 21 c.p. with frosted diffusing lenses. There is one ventilator in the lower compartment and two in the observation compartment roof. Exhaust from the engine may be diverted for heating purposes by a suitable valve through 1 ¾ in seamless steel tubing extending above both sides of the body under the outer seats in both the lower and observation compartments and across the observation compartment under the transverse seat at the rear.

“The space under the observation compartment is used for carrying luggage and express matter. This space is clean, dry and easily accessible. The total space is 140 cu. ft. or nearly 5 cu. ft. per passenger. The floor area is 53 sq. ft., or 1.8 sq. ft. per passenger. A double door having a clear opening 28 in. high by 33 in. wide is located on the right side to the rear of the wheel housing. Ahead of the wheel housing on the right and left side is a single door 23 in. high by 19 in. wide.”

A group of 15 Newell-type coaches were mentioned in the ‘Orders for Equipment’ column of the September 24, 1927 issue of Railway Age:

“The New England Transportation Company has ordered from the American Car & Foundry Motor Company 15 Newell type deck-and-a-half parlor coaches.“

The September 24, 1927 issue of Railway Age provided further details:

“Line with a Bus Route

“The New England Transportation Company, highway subsidiary of the New York, New Haven & Hartford, begins the operation of observation parlor buses between New York and Boston on October 1. The route followed - via Stamford, Conn., New Haven and New London and Providence, R.I. - parallels the railroad’s main line between the two terminals. The highway coaches used in the service are the 'Newell' type, with the rear portion elevated to give maximum observation facilities to all passengers. Two schedules, one day and one night, are operated. The fare is $6.50 for the day trip and $5 at night, whereas a railroad ticket costs $8.26. Mileage is 240 as compared with 229 by rail.”

In 1928 George W. Newell’s son Richard L., joined his father after working as a draftsman with the Hall-Scott Motor Car Co., the SAE Journal reporting:

“Richard L. Newell has relinquished his position as draftsman for the Hall-Scott Motor Car Co., of Berkeley, Calif., and is now a body draftsman with the North Coast Transportation Co., of Seattle, Wash.“

In 1930 Richard L. Newell went to work for North Coast Line’s body supplier, Heisers Inc., as a ‘body designer,’ Motor Freight and Commercial Transportation reporting:

“Richard Newell has left the employ of the Pacific Northwest Traction Company, Seattle, Wash., which controls the North Coast Transportation Company to become body designer with Heisers, Inc., body builders for large equipment. This company has built the bodies for the fifteen new coaches which the North Coast Transportation Company is placing in operation this summer.”

The 1930 US Census lists the Newell family in the northern Seattle suburb of Everett, Snohomish County, Washington, George’s occupation being ‘general manager’ of the ‘North Coast Bus Line’. Robert L. and Richard B. are no longer listed with their parents, Robert’s listing gives his occupation as ‘musician’ in an ‘orchestra’, Richard’s as ‘civil engineer’ for a ‘bus building co.’

A Heiser-built Newell Observation Coach was pictured in the December 1930 issue of Autobody with the following caption:

“All-Metal Frame for Newell-Type Observation Coach

“All-steel frame of a 30-passenger intercity coach of the Newell type, built by Heiser's Inc., of Seattle, for the North Coast Transportation Co.”

The 1930-1935 Seattle directories list Richard B. Newell, designing engineer, Heisers Inc., and his father George Newell, mgr. North Coast Lines and North Coast Transportation Co., r. New Washington Hotel. While working for Heisers Richard B. Newell contributed to the design, engineering and construction of two distinct series of Newell-type observation coaches for the North Coast Lines. The first consisted of the two semi-monocoque all-metal coaches mentioned above that debute in the inter of 1931-32; the second were their noticeably streamlined replacements, the KHO-33 which were constructed in three variations from late 1934 into 1938.

The latter series, all of which were constructed for North Coach Lines, featured the same streamlined all-metal semi-monocoque deck-and-a-half passenger compartment behind the driver, the only difference being their layout. Most examples featured a streamliend front end and an amidships-mounted Hall-Scott Petral 6-cylinder engine residing below the upper deck. These were built in two series - the 600 series featured a radiator mounted behind a grill at the front of the coach while the 700 series were equipped without a grill, the engine drawing its air from air intakes and radiators located in the lower side panels of the coach adjacent to the amidships-mounted Hall-Scott 6-cylinder. The side panel-mounted cooling system was developed and patented by Kenworth engineer John G. Holstrom, who included a nice side view of the KHO-33 coach on the application. Supposedly two (2) 600 series (front-cooled) were constructed and ten (10) 700 series (side-cooled), the latter in two different lengths and wheelbases. Most all remained in use through the Second World War, two of which were photographed dropping off passengers at Camp Harmony, a Japanese Interment Camp located in Puyallup, Washington. A third variation deleted the central-mounted Hall Scott in favor of a conventional front-mounted Hall-Scott with its requisite grill, radiator, hood, cowl and front fenders. Several were built, with surviving pictures having been identified as being fitted with either Kenworth or A.C.F. front-end badging and sheet metal. The drivetrain, steering and suspension components for all of the coaches were engineered and assembled by Kenworth. The coachwork was constructed over a four-year period first by Heisers, Inc. (1934-1936), then by Pacific Car & Foundry who completed the last three coaches during 1937 and 1938 at their plant in Renton, Washington.  The latter coaches are sometimes referred to as being constructed by the Pacific-Tricoach division of Pacific Car & Foundry, however the design and engineering were completed at Heisers. Fortunately one 700 series coach survives, albeit unrestored, and in rather shabby condition, in the collection of the Washington State Railroads Historical Society, which is currently headquartered in Pasco, Washington.

The streamlined North Coast Lines deck-and-a-half coaches mentioned above were introduced to the trade in the June 1934 issue of Metropolitan:

“The Bus Goes Modern

“Streamlined Observation Deck Bus of the North Coast Transportation Company

“Lighter-Weight, Low Floor Height, Pancake Engine Under Chassis, an Streamlining In New Observation Coach

“In the far Northwest where the deck-and-a-half or observation deck bus has been developed to a high degree of perfection, the North Coast Transportation Company has placed in service a coach of this type which has undergone radical changes in design and equipment.

“Approaching the new coach from the front reveals that the customary hood has disappeared in the dash which slopes back in streamline effect into the general design of the body. This is made possible by the use of a Hall-Scott, 180 h.p. ‘Pancake’ motor which is slung low under the middle of the Kenworth chassis. The driver through this arrangement sits at the extreme front of the coach, permitting maximum passenger capacity. Due to the elimination of the chassis frame, the coach is 16 in. lower than the standard deck-and-a-half coaches, and it is approximately 3,000 lbs. lighter, although the body is of all-steel construction. Another interesting feature is the fact that its maximum height is the same as the average single deck coach and, while it is no longer from tip to tip than the average coach, it accommodates 32 passengers and carries a much greater load of baggage and express largely because of its streamline design and location of the engine beneath the chassis. Extra baggage and express space is made available in the streamline tail of the coach and along the right side.

“Another advantage of the low height is that there is only one step which is but 13 in. above the ground. This feature afford greater comfort and convenience to passengers in boarding and leaving the coach which is especially appreciated by elderly persons and children. The coach is 32 ft. long and 96 in. wide, but it has 4 in. more width inside than the coaches formerly using the drop type window. This additional space is gained through the use of metal sash and a raised type window in the lower section which permits thinner body walls. In the upper portion of the coach, the forward one-third of the window is made to slide, while the rear two-thirds is stationary. This innovation permits the occupant of each seat to choose whatever ventilation desired without creating a draft for anyone else.

“In winter the coach will be heated by steam generated in a special boiler arrangement from the exhaust, which is under perfect control at all times from the driver’s seat where an air valve regulates it operation.

“Air Clutch and Electro-Pneumatic Gear Shift

“Another innovation of the bus is the air clutch and an electro-pneumatic gear shift recently developed by E.M. Swift, superintendent of equipment of the North Coast Transportation Company, which is considered one of the greatest advances in mechanical control. Worked entirely by air and electricity, the gears are shifted silently and instantly. The gear shift lever is located on the dash, and consists of a small rod the size of a lead pencil. This is set by the operator merely with the flick of his finger, and does not act until the clutch pedal is operated. The entire mechanical control is contained in a small steel box about 4 in. square which is foolproof and accident-proof.

“It is not an untried experiment as the new control has been in satisfactory operation for several months on another coach operated by this company. Driver fatigue has been greatly lessened by the use of this control.

“The color scheme of the exterior is black and aluminum, harmonizing with the red, black and white insignia of the company. Seats are upholstered in blue and beige mohair of excellent quality, and are equipped with super comfortable head rests. Other equipment of interest on the new coach includes non-shatterable wind shields, fan type roof ventilators, and individual pillar lamps with mirrors. The new vehicle was built by Heiser’s, Inc., whose engineers worked closely with the North Coast Company designing the coach.”

An article on the KHO series coaches also appeared in the June 1934 issue of Bus Transportation:

“Streamline 21-passenger coaches of this type are being built to specifications developed by Washington Motor Coach System.

“Two of the largest companies in the Northwest have developed streamline equipment, built to their own specifications, which incorporates several new features and is the last word in bus equipment in the Northwest territory. These are the heavy duty, streamlined, Newell-Swift type coach, of 32-passenger capacity, developed for the North Coast Transportation Company, and the lighter 220 series streamline coaches of 21 passenger capacity developed for Washington Motor Coach System.

“Specifications of the North Coach job include: length 32 ft.; width, 96 in.; height 104 1/2 in., this being 16 1/2 in. lower than the previous observation deck and a half type; seating capacity. 32 passengers, 11 downstairs and 21 in upper section; weight 17,000 lb., which is 3,000 lb. lighter than some types of conventional buses of similar capacity. George Newell, general manager, and E.M. Swift, superintendent of equipment, created the new design, the streamlining being among the most radical yet adopted on equipment of this size. A Hall-Scott 180 hp. 'pancake' engine furnishes power and is slung low under the body, about 8 ft. forward of the rear axle. Kenworth Motor Truck Corporation assembled the propulsion units and Heiser, Inc., constructed the body, which is of light steel. An innovation in the front section of the upper compartment is sliding windows which permit the occupant of each seat to enjoy a private breeze without annoying anyone else. An air-clutch and an electro-pneumatic gear shift are new developments. Worked entirely by air and electricity, the gears are shifted silently and instantly through a gear shift lever located on the dash, consisting of a small rod the size of a lead pencil. This is set by the operator merely with the flick of his finger, and does not act until the clutch pedal is operated. The entire mechanical control is contained in a small steel box about 4 in. square and it is said to be fool proof and accident proof.

“A bus of this type, on a recent test run, demonstrated a 20 per cent saving in gasoline consumption as compared with old-style buses of similar capacity. Streamlining and a lower center of gravity provide a smooth ride.

“Major specifications of the 220 series developed for Washington Motor Coach Systems are: Chassis, Model 701 White. Wheelbase-197 in. Engine, Model 8-A-high compression heads. Transmission-constant mesh helical gear third, with constant mesh helical gear overdrive. Rear Axle-standard White, ratio 5.88 to 1. Tires, 7.50-20, duals in the rear. Electrical systems-Leece-Neville 12 volt, heavy duty generator and dual coils and condensers. Gas system-Two 45 gal. tanks with dual fuel pumps. Brakes, four wheel hydraulic.

“The body is of all steel construction streamlined. Double seats are reclining, on 36 in. centers, allowing maximum leg room. Upholstery is in mohair, with head rests. There is a center seat arm that can be raised entirely out of the way between the two seat backs. Windows are of the raise type fitted for double windows for winter use. Body is completely insulated to eliminate noises and exclude cold. Two large Tropic Aire heaters are used, one front and one rear. A baggage compartment is provided in rear for large or heavy pieces of express or baggage in addition to large suitcases.”

The design of the Kenworth KHO-33 was not patented although it is commonly believed to have been a collaboration between North Coast Trasnportation's George W. Newell and Edwin M. Swift, Heisers' Richard B. Newell (George's son), and Kenworth's John G. Holstrom - hence the Kenworth prefix in the nomenclature. The only patents issued in relation to the project went to Edwin M. Swift and John G. Holstrom. Swift applied for a patent on its electropneumatic gearshift on March 22, 1934 , for which he was awarded US. Patent No. 2035678 on March 31, 1936, assigning a one half interest to George Newell.  Holstrom was awarded a patent for the vehicle’s engine cooling system: US Patent No. 2165795, radiation of heat from centermounted horizontal engines, filed on March 7, 1938, issued to John G. Holstrom on July 11, 1939 and assigned to Kenworth Motor Truck Corp. Holstrom's patent application included a nice side view of a KHO-33 coach.

The June 29, 1934 edition of the Chehalis (Wash.) Bee-Nugget included a picture of a  KHO-33 with the following caption:

“Streamline design is the dominant factor in 1934 transportation construction and this is reflected in the six new stages now being built and placed in service by the North Coast Lines operating between Vancouver, B.C. and Portland, Ore. and connecting with the Greyhound Lines, the Union Pacific Stages and the Washington Motor Coach System for all California and eastern points.

“These new stream line stages were designed and built in Seattle. They have 32 plus upholstered chairs with linen covered head rests, individual lamps; window drapes and improved ventilating and heating facilities. They are powered by Hall-Scott 175 horsepower horizontal motors mounted mid-stage; have air brakes, air clutch and electro pneumatic gear shifts. Construction is such that there is ample enclosed space for baggage of all passengers, and express which is also handled.”

The November 22, 1935 edition of the Chehalis (Wash.) Bee-Nugget states that North Coast Lines had placed two Kenworth KHOs in service on its Vancouver to Portland run:

“New Stage On Display

“With the same spirit of progressiveness, which automotive concerns throughout the country have show in placing their new models on the market, North Coast Lines have just completed two of the 1936 design stages for their run between Vancouver B.B. and Portland. One of these cars was in Chehalis last week and many persons had the opportunity of inspection.

“The bodies are streamline in design painted black and silver top and silver stripe on which are painted in red the names of various cities throughout the United States which are reached by North Coast Lines and their connections, the Greyhound Lines, Union Pacific Stages and Washington Motor Coach System. The streamline front of the car has no radiators and is painted black and silver extending across from below the windshield, and curved to a point at the lower front. The car seats 32 passengers. The interior is finished in gray and is comfortably furnished with blue plus covered chairs with white linen head rests, individual lamps, steam heat, ventilating fans, etc.

“The power plant is the horizontal or ‘pancake’ type motor developing 135 horsepower mounted mid-stage in a separate compartment just forward of the large baggage and express compartments at the rear of the car and under the upper deck near the rear.”.

As construction of the massive, complex and expensive Kenworth-Heiser streamliners dragged on in the shops of Heisers Inc., an extraordinary strain was placed upon its meager finances and in late 1935 Hesiers, Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection.

As it happens Pacific Car & Foundry's Paul Pigott was eager to get into the bus building business and in March of 1936 he agreed to purchase Heisers, Inc.'s bus-building assets and intellectual property for $23,000. The deal made it the largest manufacturer of motor coaches in the Pacific northwest. It also gave Pigott all of the the parts, tooling and engineering drawings needed to complete the remaining KHO coaches then under construction for the North Coast Lines. The acquisition was annocuned to its shareholders in their 1936 annula report which stated: “The field for the manufacture and sale of motor coaches seems to be enlarging...”

When Heiser's had become insolvent, it executed an assignment of its assets for the benefit of creditors to the Seattle Association of Credit Men. Pacific Car's purchase was from the credit association. The contract provided that the association was to realize 50 percent of the profits from Pacific Car's new motor coach division until the end of 1939.

Pacific Car put its new motor coach division in a disused facility at its Renton, Washington plant, and commenced construction of the remaining Kenworth-Heiser KHO motorcoaches using a number of former Heisers employees. They also did a brisk business in school bus bodies, most of which were built on chassis supplied by their Seattle neighbor, Kenworth.

For many years Kenworth's composite truck cabs had been supplied by Heisers, and after the bankruptcy the truckmaker organized its own cab department using a number of former Heisers craftsmen.

Richard B. Newell, Heisers’ body designer at the time of the bankruptcy, did not move to Pacific Car, electing to establish his own coachworks in association with George W. Yost, manager of Seattle’s Suburban Transportation System, and his brother Robert L. Newell, who had been selling bus and truck bodies throughout the Pacific Northwest for Portland, Oregon’s , Wentworth & Irwin.

Tricoach Corp.’s authorized capital was $50,000, composed of 1,000 shares of $50.00 par value stock. Yost, the principal shareholder, held 150 shares, while the Newell brothers held 5 shares each. Robert Newell served as president and sales manager; Richard, vice-president, treasurer and chief engineer; and Yost, secretary. The firm leased a factory located at the corner of Roy and  6th Ave. North (703-705 6th Ave. N., aka 570 Roy St.) which is currently the home of the Ruins party house.

Although it was legislated out of existence in its home state the firm constructed a small number of Yost's patented Tri-coach semi-trailer units for the B.C. Electric Railway of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Central Canadian Greyhound Lines listed a few conventional Kenworth-chassised Tricoach-bodied coaches in their late 1930s roster, most of which had been purchased used from Alberta's Trans Continental Coach and Midland Bus Lines Ltd., their original purchasers

Tricoach's most popular units were their convertible top sightseeing coaches, which were used by tour operators in Washington, Oregon and even Alaska - the Fairbanks-Valdez Bus Line used two 21-passenger 1937 Ford chassised, steel bodied  Tricoach sightseeing buses on a summer-only run from Fairbanks to Valdez. Similar coaches were constructed on Kenworth chassis, one of which survives today. The latter coach wasone of five that transported guests from Seattle's Olympic Hotel and Tacoma's Winthrop Hotel to Mount Rainier from 1937 to 1962. A fleet of 10 Kenworth-Tricoach transit buses equipped with 6-cylinder Leyland Diesel engines were sold to New Westminster, a southern suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia in 1938.

For the next two years Tricoach competed effectively against their giant cross-town rival. Although North Coast Transportation was headed by the Newell brothers' father, he split his contracts for new equipment between both firms - if he needed 6 buses, 3 would come from Tricoach and three from Pacific Car & Foundry. While Tricoach was able to deliver their coaches and make a profit, Pacific Car did not, and this enfuriated Paul Pigott to no end. When news broke that the City of Seattle was planning to replace its existing trolley lines with Diesel buses and trolley coaches, Pacific Car & Foundry's Paul Pigott arranged a meeting with the Newell brothers, to see if they were interested in coming to work for him.

On August 8,1938 Pigott offered the Newell brothers a potentially lucrative opportunity to join Pacific Car and Foundry Co. as managers of a new bus-building subsidiary, Pacific-Tricoach, which would supercede the former Heisers bus-building operations in Renton.

Tricoach's board - essentially Yost and his wife - and shareholders approved the deal, which stipulated that they (the Yosts and the Newell bros.) could not compete against Pacific Car in the bus-building business for the next seven and a half years (the deal expired in 1945). The creation of the Pacific-Tricoach division of Pacific Car & Foundry Co. was announced in the 1939 issue of the SAE Journal:

“Richard L. Newell, formerly chief engineer of the Tricoach Corp., Seattle, Wash., is now chief engineer of the Pacific-Tricoach Division of the Pacific Car & Foundry.”

The Newells whould be in charge of the division which used Tricoach's exisiting equipment which was leased from the Yosts. The brothers started at a monthly salary of $250 a month, plus a share of the division's profits. Pacific Car's only obligation was to supply them with financing and facilities, it was left to the Newells to turn that profit.

With it's Pacific-Tricoach brand school buses and Kenworth-Heiser intercity coaches Pacific Car & Foundry enjoyed a near-monopoly in the Pacific Northwest bus-building field, his only competitor being Portland, Oregon's Wentworth & Irwin. Despite that fact Pacific-Tricoach failed to ear a profit during its first two years in business, but a large order received in late 1939 put the firm into the black. The contract was the result of a $10.2 million dollar Federal loan awarded to the City of Seattle to pay off its loans to Stone & Webster and to help finance an all-new fleet of diesel buses and trackless trolleys.

In November of 1939 Pacific Car's Renton plant commenced construction on the Seattle Transit System's order for 102 Kenworth-based motor buses and 99 ACF-Brill-based trackless trolleys for the Seattle Transit System. Pacific-Tricoach won the contract to produce the vehicle’s coachwork and on April 28, 1940 the first batch of trolleybuses hit the streets, the last streetcar was retired, one year later on April 13, 1941.

The June 4, 1940 issue of the Fairbanks, Alaska Miner mentioned that the Northland Stages had ordered a Tricoach-bodied Dodge:

“New Dodge Trucks and Buses Arrive For Alaska Use

“Due in soon is a new 20-passenger Dodge bus for the Northland Stages… The bus has a Tricoach body mounted on a one-half-ton chassis, and is equipped with the latest type seats and other comforts for the passengers.”

The 1940 US Census continues to list George Newell in the northern Seattle suburb of Everett, Snohomish County, Washington, by this time the 74-yo inventor had retired. Robert L.’s occupation is listed as ‘Dept. Mgr.’ at an ‘Auto Bus Mfr.’ having married his wife Ora (b.1908) in 1930, the blessed union resulting in the birth of two children, Marjorie (b.1931) and Robert J. (b.1938) Newell. Richard B.’s occupation is listed as ‘mechanical engineer’ in the ‘transportation’ industry, the census also including his wife Julia G. and their two children, Richard (b.1933) and Sally Lynn (b.1938) Newell.

Although Pacific Car's rail car business fell from 88% of its business to only 4% in the years between 1920 and 1939, a large 1,000  car order received from the Pacific Fruit Express Company brought the firm some much-needed cash in 1941. PCF's listing in the 1939-1943 Seattle Directories follows:

“Pacific Car & Foundry Co. (Paul Pigott, Pres.; Wm. Pigott jr., V-Pres.-Treas.; H.N. Curd, V-Pres.-Genl. Mgr.; J.E. LeBlanc, Sec.-Asst. Treas.;), 220 W. Hudson.”

Pacific Car served as a subcontractor to Boeing in the buildup to the Second World War, constructing wing subassemblies for the B-17 and B-29 bombers. They also constructed dry docks and steel tugboats during the War at the Everett Pacific Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. Other War contracts included ammunition cases, 6x6 trucks for tank retrieval, M-55 self-powered Howitzers and 926 Sherman tanks.

Construction of the firm's 6x6 cabover M15, M15A and M26 truck-tractors - the latter a component of the M25 tank retreiver (aka 'Dragon Wagon') - was transferred to Billings, Montana, the September 21, 1943 AP Newswire reporting:

“Manufacturing Plant To Move Inland From West Coast

“San Francisco, Cal., Sept. 20. (AP) - Col. K. B. Harmon announced today the truck-tractor manufacturing operations of Pacific Car & Foundry Co. would be moved to Billings, Mont., from Renton, Wash.

“The shift was ordered to provide additional West coast facilities for production of airplane parts and sub-assemblies. The Renton plant will be devoted to filling air corps subcontracts.

“Pacific Car & Foundry has leased the Midland Empire Fair Association buildings and grounds at Billings, and will move its truck works there. Col. Harmon said the Renton plant has been turning out M-26 tank-recovery trucks — designed to rescue ‘wounded’ tanks from battlefields.”

The October 17, 1943 issue of the Billings Gazette provided further details:

“Open Personnel Headquarters: Interview Workers For Factory Jobs

“Temporary personnel offices were opened Friday at 111 North Twenty-seventh street by the Pacific Car & Foundry company, manufacturers of truck tractor units, for interviewing prospective employees for jobs at the plant being established at the Midland Empire fairgrounds, Ralph Ford, Billings manager, said Saturday.

“He estimated approximately 200 will be employed. A staff of 20 will be hired for office work. Hiring will be done through the local United States employment bureau and will start about November 10, Ford said. Production is expected to be in full swing by December 1, he added.

“Applicants are being interviewed by Clarence Bailey of Seattle, company personnel manager. Offices will be moved to permanent quarters in the fine arts building at the fairgrounds upon the completion of alternations. The plant also will use the poultry, 4-H and administration buildings. Remodeling is in charge of Alex Thomson, Pacific Car & Foundry company engineer, Ford said.”

The M15 and M15A and M26 trucks were powered by a 240-hp Hall-Scott 6-cylinder which transferred power to the wheels via a 4-speed transmission and a 3-speed transfer case which divided the power between the tandem axles rear and single axle front end. The truck was also equipped with a 35,000 pound carometal at the front and two winches at the rear, which could provide another 60,000 pounds of pulling capacity for load­ing/unloading of the attachedPointer-Williamette semi-trailer (on the M26) and recovering disable tanks and artillery.

The 45-ton trailers were manufactured by the Pointer-Williamette company in the Williams Motor Company plant located at 423 North Broadway, Billings, Montana, the December 10, 1943 Billings Gazette reporting:

“The Pacific Car & Foundry company plant is located at the Midland Empire fairgrounds, where 53,000 square feet of buildings and 250,000 square feet of ground have been acquired. Remodeling and installation of equipment is estimated at $85,000.

“Location of the Pointer-Willamette company factory is 423 North Broadway, former site of the Williams Motor company. Total operating space is approximately 40,000 square feet. Crews are at work on alteration of the building at a cost estimated at approximately $10,000.

“According to Lieutenant Louie E. Daue (Army Ordinance Dept.) both plants are expected to be in operation about January 1.

“Each company has been operating under army ordnance contracts in their factories In the Seattle and Portland areas. The move inland was made to divert manpower in the Pacific northwest, critical labor area, to airplane and shipbuilding, it was explained.”

Open cabs became popular later in the War and Pacific Car produced an M26A1 variant which provided armoring only on the lower half of the 7-man cab.Total Pacific M26 /  M26A1 production during WWII was 1272 trucks. 

Flush with cash from their lucrative wartime projects, Pacific Car & Foundry acquired their Seattle neighbor, the Kenworth Motor Truck Co., in 1945 - an arrangement that proved beneficial for both parties. The Newell brothers' contract with Pigott expired at the close of the war at which time they left the employ of Pacific Car and re-established themselves as the Tricoach Company, Inc., relocating to 2730 Fourth Ave. South, Seattle where they embarked upon the sales and distribution of Kenworth school and transit coaches and in late 1948 Superior Coach Corp. school buses.

Pacific Car & Foundry pioneered the introduction of bus roof escape hatches as a direct results of a 1947 incident in Renton where an intercity transit coach plunged into the Duwamish River, killing 8 passengers. Water pressure blocked the coaches doors, making it impossible for passengers to escape. Quick-thinking rescuers cut a hole through the roof with an axe, saving the life of two passengers, prompting a Washington State patrolman to suggest that a built-in roof escape might prevent a similar catastrophe. Pacific Car's April 1949 COACH newsletter announced that its school bus bodies would now include a roof escape hatch as standard equipment.

Pacific Car also produced the coachwork for Roy C. McCarty's stillborn 1948 Mustang  prototype, one of a handful of teardrop-shaped streamlined cars constructed during the late 1930s and 40s. McCarty, the service manager of a Seattle Lincoln dealership, designed the rear-engined car in his spare time but the car failed to attract investors and it's likely only a single prototype was produced although some references put the number at 12. It's ballyhoo was just as interesting as the car:

“From out 'o the West - the Mustang. It's a 'WHALE' of a car!”

2 modified Kenworth Model T-216 Pacific School Coaches were used as trams on Oregon's Mt Hood Ski Resort during the earl 1950s. Popularly known as the 'Skiway Cloudliners' the modifiedKenworth Model T-216 Pacific School Coaches ran on a modified logging cable system on a 3-mile run which included a change in elevation of 2,100 feet. 

The bi-directional coaches featured the T-216's distinctive front ends both fore and aft as the coaches couldn't be turned around for the return trip, having to run backwards. Each 35' long bus was powered by two 185-hp under-floor engines powering the drive pulleys, which replaced the standard wheels and tires found on a regular Model T-216. Heavy cable transferred the power from the drive pulleys to a complex arrangement of overhead pulleys which rested upon the stainless steel cables that stretched between the support towers that connected the tramway to the mountainside. The system was pictured and described in the November 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics:

“Sky Riding Bus

“Twin buses that glide high through the air will carry sightseers and skiers up the slopes of Mount Hood in Oregon during this year's winter sports season. The 36-passenger buses literally wind themselves along their cables, completing a trip of more than 3 miles in less than 10 minutes. Said to be the longest aerial passenger lift in the worlds, the tramway whisks skiers from the 3800-foot level to Timber Lodge at 6000 feet. The cables are supported by 38 A-shaped steel towers upt to 72 feet tall. The traction cables wind around power pullesy on the car whcih are rotated by two 185-horsepower engines to carry the coaches up the mountain.

“Both the support and traction cables are stationary. Drive wheels, powered by two gas engines, revolve to wind the bus up the mopuntain.”

A 1956 issue of Bus Transportation pictured a period photo of one of George Newell's deck-and-a-half coaches reminding its readers that it pre-dated the mid-50s Scenic Cruisers by two-and-a-half decades:

“Looking Back: An Early Deck and a Half

“As a way of showing 'there's nothing new under the sun' here's the prototype of today's deck and a half bus. Termed then Newell coaches, after the inventor of the body style, George Newell, the buses featured lots of legroom and a fine view of the road. This particular bus body was mounted on a Fageol chassis… was operated, as the sign says, by the Pacific Northwest Traction Co. Newell, who worked for Northcoast Transportation Co., saw his design grew in popularity on the West Coast. The design got nowhere on a national basis until relatively recently.”

Kenworth Pacific school buses were commonplace in the Pacific northwest into the early 1960s, although production ceased in 1957 and all of Pacific Car's bus building assets were sold to Hayward, California's Gillig Corp. who continued manufacturing the buses 'as-is' save for the elimination of the short lower windshields found on the Kenworth Pacific coaches. In the following years Gillig incroporated a number of the Kenworth-PAcific school buses' features into Gillig's school buses which resulted in a more streanlined appearance.

In June of 1958 Pacific Car and Foundry purchased Kenworth's chief competitor, the  Peterbilt Motor Co., of Tacoma, Washington, and soon after acquired the Dart Truck Co., a Kansas City, Missouri-based manufactured of specilized mining trucks and equipment.

In 1958 William Pigott, the son and namesake of the firm's founder was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Knights of St. Gregory by Pope Pius XII, an honor that was shared by his father.

In 1960 Pacific Car & Foundry moved into Mexico by purchasing a 49 percent interest in Kenworth Mexicana S.A. de C.V. and later that year established the Carco Acceptance Corp. to help finance the sale of Kenworth, Dart and Peterbilt truck to fleet operators  and individual truckers. In1966 the firm entered the Australian marketplace and in 1969 purchased 28 acres at Bayswater - 30 kms east of Melbourne - for a manufacturing plant and by 1970, the 56,000 sq ft facilitybegan producing trucks using CKD kits (Completely Knocked Down) imported from the US.

Paul Pigott ran the company as chairman and CEO until his January 23, 1961 death which followed a January 11, 1961 surgery for a brain tumor at St. Mary’s Hospital at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., when he was succeeded by his son Charles Pigott.

Pacific Car & Foundry's Structural Steel Division fabricated the steel for the construction of the Space Needle for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair and in the later half of the decade helped construct the Grand Coulee Dam's 3rd powerhouse as well as steel for the World Trade Center in New York City.

Charles M. Pigott (b.1929), Paul Pigott's son, became Pacific Car's president in 1965 and in 1968 became its chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors. In 1967 the Dynacraft division was formed to provide belts, hoses, adapters, and other accessories for Kenworth and Peterbilt truck plants.

On January 25, 1971 Pacific Car and Foundry's directors and shareholders voted to adopt PACCAR Inc. as its new Corporate moniker. The Renton plant, which continued to produce refrigerated rail cars, became the Pacific Car & Foundry division of PACCAR.

In 1973, two major divisions of PACCAR were founded. PACCAR International Inc., with headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, was formed to consolidate the sales and service of company products abroad, and PACCAR Parts Division was established in Renton to supply aftermarket parts sales.

PACCAR Leasing Corporation was formed in 1980 to offer full-service leasing and rental programs through PACCAR's dealer network. A year later, PACCAR became a European truck manufacturer with the acquisition of Foden Trucks in Sandbach, U.K.

PACCAR's new Technical Center opened in July of 1982. Located approximately 65 miles north of Seattle, the multimillion-dollar center underscored the Company's commitment to technical excellence, quality and value in the products it manufactures.

But in the 1970s the rail car business slowed as the trailer-truck business made up most of PACCAR’s business, and by 1984 the company was out of the rail car business.

In 1986, PACCAR signed a merger agreement with Trico Industries, Inc., and became a recognized world leader in manufacturing oil field pumps and accessories. In December 1997 Trico was sold to EVI of Houston.

In 1987, PACCAR acquired Washington-based Al's Auto Supply, an aftermarket retailer and wholesale distributor of auto parts and accessories. In 1988, PACCAR increased its subsidiary PACCAR Automotive, Inc. when it purchased Grand Auto, Inc., a California-based retailer of auto parts and accessories. In October 1999, PACCAR Automotive was sold to CSK Auto, Inc.

PACCAR solidified its place in the Mexican heavy-duty truck market by purchasing the remaining portion of its Mexican Operation, VILPAC, S.A. in 1995.

The acquisition of DAF Trucks N.V. in 1996 and Leyland Trucks in 1998 solidified PACCAR's position as one of the major truck manufacturers in the world. DAF Trucks is a Netherlands based truck company with production facilities in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and Westerlo, Belgium. Leyland manufactures trucks in the 6-18 ton commercial segment at its plant in Lancashire, England.

Charles's son, Mark Pigott (b. February 6, 1954), the company's chairman and CEO in the early 21st century, succeeded him upon his retirement in 1997.

Today, PACCAR is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of high-quality light-, medium and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates. It also provides financial services and information technology and distributes truck parts related to its principal business.

On June 28, 2001, the Renton Chamber of Commerce honored PACCAR as its Business of the Century. The company is the oldest still extant business in Renton. PACCAR’s 100-acre campus houses a Kenworth Truck plant, a distribution center, and the company’s parts division.

The December 16, 2013 issue of the Seattle Times announced the retirement of Mark Pigott after serving 17 years as PACCAR's chief executive:

“Paccar CEO Mark Pigott stepping down after 17 years

“Truck manufacturer Paccar said Monday that Ronald Armstrong will become its new chief executive officer, becoming its first CEO from outside the founding Pigott family in nearly 50 years.

“By Angel Gonzalez

“Paccar said Monday that Ronald Armstrong will become its new chief executive officer, replacing founding-family scion Mark Pigott, who ran the truck manufacturer for 17 years.

“Armstrong, who now serves as president of the Bellevue-based company, will become CEO on April 27. Pigott, 59, will stay on as executive chairman.

“Chief Financial Officer Robert Christensen will become Paccar’s president next April as Armstrong takes on the new role.

“Armstrong’s appointment marks the first time since 1965 that the commercial truck maker’s helm will be led by someone outside the family of William Pigott Sr., who founded the company that eventually became Paccar in 1905. Pigott took the reins from his father, Charles, in 1997.

“But the succession doesn’t signal abrupt change: Armstrong, 58, has worked at Paccar for 20 years, and has served as president since 2011.

“Armstrong will have a salary of $1.1 million and will be eligible for additional annual compensation, while Pigott will receive an annual salary of $500,000 as executive chairman, Paccar said Tuesday.

“Pigott, in his role as executive chairman, will help guide the company’s future strategy, Paccar said. His 49-year old brother John, a partner in a private-investment company, retains a seat on the board. As of the end of last year, together the brothers controlled 2.7 percent of the company’s shares, according to a securities filing.

“Other relatives hold a significant portion of the shares, said Mike Roarke, an analyst with McAdams Wright Ragen, who added that Paccar has been “an old-time, traditional values company” that favors a long-term approach to investment and personnel decisions.

“Nevertheless, the move, which comes in the wake of changes to Paccar’s corporate governance structure, closes an era. “I’m very surprised by this change,” Roarke said.

“Last week Paccar’s board amended its rules to allow separating the roles of chairman and CEO. The board also said it would reduce its size to 10 members after lead director William Staley, former CEO of Cargill, steps down in January. Former Unocal CEO Charles Williamson will become lead director after Staley’s departure.

“Before joining Paccar, Armstrong was a senior manager with consultancy Ernst & Young for 16 years. He graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in accounting. He is a certified public accountant, the company said.

“In June, Paccar paid $225,000 to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit alleging that aspects of the company’s financial reporting between 2008 and 2018 were cloudy. Paccar didn’t admit or deny the charges but agreed to the penalty and to a permanent injunction against future violations. The company also tightened up its financial reporting. The company said at the time it fully cooperated with the SEC probe.

“In the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Paccar reported net income of $309.4 million, or 87 cents a share, up from $233.6 million or 66 cents a share in the same period the previous year. Profits for the first nine months of 2013, however, were 2.4 percent lower than the prior year at $837.1 million.

“Paccar shares rose 2 percent Monday, closing at $57.31. The stock is up 26.8 percent from the beginning of the year.”

© 2014 Mark Theobald for Coachbuilt.com

Appendix 1 Pacific Car & FoundryVideos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtJBHKlrBCE

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