Formed in 1891, this company became a subsidiary of J. G. Brill in 1912. Notable for originating the Birney safety car, the small single-truck workhorse of many streetcar systems, including Portland, as well as all ten of Portland’s famous “Council Crest” cars. Portland’s later “Yakima” master unit cars were also made by the American Car Company, and are slightly different to their Brill-made cousins, the “Broadway” cars.
On the interurban side, the company also provided cars for the Oregon Electric Railway.