From a small horsecar building firm established in 1868, the J. G.
Brill Company grew to be a world leader in a rapidly evolving and
growing industry that at the time of the First World War was the fifth
largest in the United States. Besides its successful line of trolleys
and other electric cars, Brill built horsecars, cable cars, narrow-gauge
and gas-propelled cars for railroads, and even buses and trolley buses.
The Brill policy was to build whatever the customer wanted. With no job
considered too small or too peculiar, some delightfully wacky cars were
produced, and Brill employees gained valuable experience in all the
varied aspects of car building.
As the transportation industry's motive power evolved from horse to
cable to electricity to gasoline, the Brill Company kept in step,
gradually expanding its business, buying out trolley car builders in
five states, and even establishing a plant in France. As it grew, the
company maintained its reputation for quality to such an extent that
when J. G. Brill went out of business in 1944, its successor took the
name for itself, becoming the ACF Brill Motors Corporation. Through a
better understanding of Brill Company management and exposure to
previously unpublished office documents concerning the later years of
the company, the reader will gain new insights into the
Brill/ERPCC/Brilliner situation.
A fascinating variety of open, closed, convertible, and
semi-convertible cars, propelled by horse, steam, cable, and
electricity, parade through the pages of this book. These old cars have a
hold on the affections of many, and hundreds of them have been
preserved in museums throughout the world. Just about every type of
Brill-built product mentioned here is represented in a railway museum
somewhere. Appendix A lists many of the world's trolley museums and
tourist trolley lines where Brill cars can be found, and gives a
breakdown of cars built by the firm. Appendix B lists the trucks and
other specialties of the Brill Company.
