max diyer
Well-Known Member
I'm posting this because of my personal interest with Pullman-Standard at Butler, PA.
I've lived near the P-S plant all my life and knew a lot of people who worked there. My interest
of railroading made P-S one of the high points. The plant is gone now, but I have a lot of memories.
Below is a short history of P-S Butler, PA with some pictures of the plant and a Tribute Rail Car.
Pullman-Standard was the largest builder of rail cars in the world.
P-S started as the Standard Steel Car Co. in 1902. The company purchased 224 acres in the Lyndora section of
Butler, PA. for their location. The main plant was ½ mile long, all under one roof and had 15 miles of tracks on
the grounds.
In 1929, Standard merged with the Pullman Car Co. to form Pullman-Standard. In 1952, their 50th anniversary,
the 350,000th car built rolled out of the plant. Production was strong until the mid-70's. In 1982, the P-S Butler
plant closed with 2,500 people still employed.
Over their 80 year history they averaged 2,000 to 3,000 employees at a time.
The plant was demolished in 2005 and the only remnants are the abandoned office building and a water tower.
The site is now a shopping center, office complexes and the Butler Transit Authority.
In 2011, the Butler Transit Authority and other interested parties, wanted to pay tribute to Pullman-Standard and it's
employees. They started to search for a rail car built at the P-S Butler plant. A suitable car was found in
Saskatchewan and was donated by GATX. The car is a PS 2 CD covered hopper built at Butler in June,1974.
The car was made for the Milwaukee Road and was used as a grain hauler.
It was sent to the Kasgro car shops in New Castle, PA, was rebuilt and re-painted with the original Milw. Rd. color
and lettering. Then moved to Butler at a location that would have been under the roof of the old P-S building. It sits on original 1902 rails from the Standard Car Co.
Below are photos of the plant and the tribute car. The PS 2 photos were taken by me a few days ago. That's
not me in the 3rd photo.
I've lived near the P-S plant all my life and knew a lot of people who worked there. My interest
of railroading made P-S one of the high points. The plant is gone now, but I have a lot of memories.
Below is a short history of P-S Butler, PA with some pictures of the plant and a Tribute Rail Car.
Pullman-Standard was the largest builder of rail cars in the world.
P-S started as the Standard Steel Car Co. in 1902. The company purchased 224 acres in the Lyndora section of
Butler, PA. for their location. The main plant was ½ mile long, all under one roof and had 15 miles of tracks on
the grounds.
In 1929, Standard merged with the Pullman Car Co. to form Pullman-Standard. In 1952, their 50th anniversary,
the 350,000th car built rolled out of the plant. Production was strong until the mid-70's. In 1982, the P-S Butler
plant closed with 2,500 people still employed.
Over their 80 year history they averaged 2,000 to 3,000 employees at a time.
The plant was demolished in 2005 and the only remnants are the abandoned office building and a water tower.
The site is now a shopping center, office complexes and the Butler Transit Authority.
In 2011, the Butler Transit Authority and other interested parties, wanted to pay tribute to Pullman-Standard and it's
employees. They started to search for a rail car built at the P-S Butler plant. A suitable car was found in
Saskatchewan and was donated by GATX. The car is a PS 2 CD covered hopper built at Butler in June,1974.
The car was made for the Milwaukee Road and was used as a grain hauler.
It was sent to the Kasgro car shops in New Castle, PA, was rebuilt and re-painted with the original Milw. Rd. color
and lettering. Then moved to Butler at a location that would have been under the roof of the old P-S building. It sits on original 1902 rails from the Standard Car Co.
Below are photos of the plant and the tribute car. The PS 2 photos were taken by me a few days ago. That's
not me in the 3rd photo.
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