Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company

Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (GRC&W) was a railway manufacturer based at Gloucester, England; from 1860 until 1986. Products included goods wagons, passenger coaches, diesel multiple units, electric multiple units and various special-purpose vehicles. The company supplied the original fleet of red trains for the Toronto Subway, which were based upon similar vehicles to the London Underground. The company also produced pivoting sections for the Mulberry Harbour for the British War Office 1944.

The company was formed at a meeting of 30 January 1860 with an initial capital of £100,000 in 10,000 shares of £10 each. The first General Manager was Isaac Slater.

A works was established in 1860, producing over 300 wagons in the first year. Through the latter part of the 19th century the company manufactured wagons and carriages. In 1887 it was renamed the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company from the Gloucester Wagon Company. During the Boer War the company manufactured horse drawn ambulances, and during the First World War produced stretchers, ambulances, and shells as well as wagons.

In the 1920s underground trains for the District line were manufactured, and trains for the Piccadilly line and Hammersmith & City line were made in the 1930s. The firm began manufacturing all welded wagons in 1935, as well as manufacturing the bodyshells for GWR railcars. In 1936 the firm won the contract to build a 68 feet long air-conditioned carriage for the Maharajah of Indore to be designed by a German architect and to include a kitchen, servants quarters and a nursery. By 1937 the firm had a 28 acres (11 ha) site including a 980 kW electricity generating station, and employed 2400 people.

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