Formed in 1891, this St. Louis-based company became a subsidiary of J. G. Brill in 1902. It is notable for originating the Birney safety car, the small single-truck workhorse of many streetcar systems, including Portland, as well as Portland’s famous “Council Crest” cars.
Portland’s quintessential pay-as-you-enter cars were also manufactured by this company, with hundreds ordered between 1908 and 1911. National demand for new streetcars outstripped manufacturing capacity in 1909, and delivery of some cars was delayed by months. The Portland Railway, Light & Power Company even resorted to accepting delivery of just the car bodies and performing final assembly of the trucks and electrical equipment themselves just to get new cars out on the lines in a somewhat timely manner.
The later “Yakima” master unit cars were also made by the American Car Company, and differ slightly to their Brill-made cousins, the “Broadway” cars.
On the interurban side, the company also provided handsome cars for the Oregon Electric Railway in 1912 and 1913 and the United Railways in 1909.