What was the last freight car built by GATX?

[Andrew Falconer]

GATX used to have their employees build their fleet of freight cars. Now they purchase freight cars from other companies for the GATX lease fleet.

 

What was the last freight car built by GATX?

 

When was the final car built by GATX employees?

 

Thanks for the response.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

General American had an assembly plant in East Chicago, IN.  I believe it was closed some time in the 1970's.

[CShaveRR]

East Chicago was where nearly all of the Airslide cars were built.  Tank cars were mostly made in Sharon, Pennsylvania.  

I have asked an expert, whom I hope will be weighing in for us sometime.

I had a reply on here earlier mentioning the last Airslide car being built at East Chicago in April 1985 (GACX 56385); I don't see that response today. 

Carbuilding operations were bought by Trinity Industries, and the East Chicago and Sharon plants were closed immediately.  I know that Trinity-built tank cars were showing up in the GATX lease fleet by 1984.  Trinity continued to build Airslide cars at its Fort Worth plant for a few years, but they were eventually supplanted by Trinity's own designs (Airslide cars were expensive to build and had much smaller capacities than competitive designs).

[samfp1943]

CSSHEGEWISCH

General American had an assembly plant in East Chicago, IN.  I believe it was closed some time in the 1970's.

 

GATX is one of those very evident companies in the American Railroad environment, but many of us see their Marque on various railcars, but do not know much more about the Copmpany.

This linked site is not a GATX company site but provides a fairly interesting Corporate History for the company. see linked @ http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/gatx-corporation-history/

There is also a Wikipedia site, lots of information[ possibly updated as a part of a public relations effort by GATC (?).  <usual disclaimers apply>

@  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_American_Transportation_Corporation

[CShaveRR]

Okay, here we go:  from Eric Neubauer, who is without peer in freight car research:

I had the Airslide car wrong:  it was GACX 56335, built in June 1984 (the other one was built in Fort Worth).

As for tank cars, it could have been one of about four different orders, completed in March 1984.

[Andrew Falconer]

Thanks for the information. I thought it was a while ago.

Over 30 years is most of the expected lifetime of the AIRSLIDE hoppers, unless they are rebuilt and repurposed for Maintenance of Way use.

I notice that TRINITY has replaced most of the freight car designs with new ones about 5 years after taking over the production facilities from other companies they have merged.