Thrall Car Manufacturing Company

Thrall Car Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of railroad freight cars in Chicago Heights, Illinois from 1917 to 2001. The company was sold to Trinity Industries in 2001.

A.J. Thrall established the Union Wagon Company in 1916, selling used and reconditioned rail car components. This became the Thrall Car Manufacturing Company in 1917. By mid-century, under the leadership of Richard L. Duchossois, the company focused on building specialized freight cars, such as double-stack containers, covered hoppers, autorack cars and single-level trailer cars. In the 1980s, Thrall acquired five competing car manufacturers and became the largest such manufacturer of these cars in the United States. In 1984, Duchossois purchased the remaining shares of the company owned by the Thrall family, and the company then operated as part of Duchossois Industries. In the 1990s, Thrall had a production capacity of over 16,000 freight cars per year, with more than 3,000 employees.

From 1997, a European subsidiary Thrall Europa manufactured wagons in York, UK (Thrall Europa, York works, closed 2002). In 2000, Thrall Europa acquired the railway vehicle manufacturer ČKD Vagonka Studénka (Czech republic), renamed Thrall Vagonka Studénka, a.s.. (In 2006 Trinity Industries sold off its European operations to International Railway Systems)

The closely held company was sold to Trinity Industries, based in Dallas, Texas, in 2001. The company was subsequently renamed Trinity Rail Group, LLC.

Thrall was mainly a freight car fabrication and assembly operation. Additional car types manufactured included boxcars and gondolas. Most cars were designed for standard gauge interchange service on AAR-approved railroads within North America. Many tri-level autoracks built by Thrall exist today, identifiable by the blue Thrall rectangle logo present on either the extreme right or left end of the car side. Cast or forged parts, such as grab irons, trucks, axles, and wheels, were purchased from suppliers from the Chicago area.

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