Document zoqNMvxqQNoLr4Z2J9aBnrKba

FILE NAME: GATX DATE: 0000 DOC#: GATX008 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Booklet - Services and Products-General American Transportation Corporation 2 934 GENERAI AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION CORPORATION PRINTED IN U.S.A. SERVICES AND PRODUCTS GENERAL AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION CORPORATION GENERAL OFFICES: 135 SOUTH LASALLE STREET, CHICAGO 90, ILLINOIS Designers, builders and operators of railroad freight cars, fabricators and welders of all types of metals and alloys. Manufacturers of process equipment and screw fastening devices, molders of plastics, chemical nickel platers, and operators of public tank storage terminals. U ntil the technique o f leasing railro ad ears w as developed, m any products now bought, sold and used in bulk were high in price, low in d em an d , short in su pply --because m an y types o f freight cars were not readily available Providing a comprehensive rail transportation service on a rental basis for industry is a m ajor G en eral A m e ric an con tribu tion to A m erican business. Today there are thousands of products which can n o t be sh ipped in s ta n d a rd railroad cars. This is particularly true o f liquid products shipped in hulk. Both the railroads --and government bodies regulating the railroads--have long recognized that it would not be practical for individual roads to supply each of the hundreds of types of special ized cars in the quantity required by shippers for their products. N o r would it be practical for each shipper to build, operate and maintain his own special types of cars. An individual m anufacturer attempting to own and operate his own cars might easily find that operating railroad cars took more time, effort and capital than his original business, lie would have to invest large capital sums in rolling slock. He would have to set up special departments to keep records on car movements and amortization. He would have to build or obtain repair facilities to keep his cars in service. And, at least part of the time, his expensive rolling stock would stand idle and improduelive on sidings. ( icneral A m erican's car leasing service thus enables the m an u fac tu rer to put his full efforts into his own business, and lease his cars from a company who for more than 50 years has built an d operated specialized cars in support of the railroads. General A merican designs and builds cars to exact specifications for hundreds of diverse needs. It operates the cars, keeps track of them, knows where they are and keeps them moving. Cars are repaired and maintained in General Am erican's own shops throughout the country . . . and it also has repair facilities on customers' property in many instances. Research and engineering serv ices are so closely allied with the ever-changing shipping needs of industry that the design and m anufacture of new an d better cars is a constant, integral part of our operation. R outin g its cars from one part o f tin; country to another, from one railroad to another, from the service of one shipper to another, from one sea sonal service to another, General American helps make freight transportation more efficient and more economical for all. Sim ilar principles ol business economies led to the development of the General American l ank Storage Terminals. Com panies needed to store, mix, blend and sell liquids in bulk at various ports. If they were forced to build the necessary facilities, m any would be unwilling to risk their capital. In five m ajor distributing centers of the United S tales, Ilese (ic n eral Am erican let initials func tion as warehouses for bulk liquids. They provide producers and distributors with slot age tank space, blending facilities, the use of drum m ing and barreling equipment and supervision. In this way, many firms are enabled to have marketing / flexibility without capital investment on their part. / (leneral service an d specialized lank cars In c a rry liq u id s in bulk The G A T X fleet of tank cars--over 47,000-- comprises more lli.in 7 5 % of .ill llie e m s owned l>y General American. Iluilding mid op erating (mil; em s is a highly specialized business, an d every tank car is in reality a " specialized" car, even though certain types m ay be m ass-produced in a standardized design. To illustrate how exact are the requirements for safe shipping of hundreds of kinds of bulk liquids, there are more than 200 specialized types of cars in the G A T X tank car fleet! T h e railroads have long recognized that the operation and m aintenance of tank ears is highly com plicated; that the cars must be tailored to the commodities transported, thus the shippers' needs can best be met by private ownership. General American's tank cars are each de signed to meet specific requirements for various liquids. For liquids that must be kept at rela tively constant temperatures in transit, the tanks are insulated with glass wool or cork. Some liquids must be shipped in insulated tanks heated by cither interior or exterior steam coils. Tanks are built to pressure requirements ranging from 35 pounds to 500 pounds per square inch. For many commodities, tanks of cars are built of various metals other than steel. In some cases this is done to prevent corrosive destruction of the tank by the com modity. In others, to protect products which arc contaminated by contact with steel. The (!A T X fleet-- designed, built and operated by (leneral A m erican --is serviced and m ain tained in the com pany's own, shops-- by men who are skilled, in the task of keeping the ears rolling One oj th fabrication allupi; ut th Shim/n, l'a., plant Wdilctl ve.usciti --bitl/ lo lite fusionier's (Icsit/ti--- ol deci, niln, unii itoit-fcrrous indulti l'-spn irmeli drsit;iirrs, ciii;inrrrs, and woikmrn il (encrai A n i r i i r a n s Slinion, Pennsylvania plani use ili* mosl m o d e m falli'catini' lei liniipies lo Inni oui vvclded eipiipnicnl wliicli meels ilio ( lisionici 's mosl exact ini' i i ipiii rm cnls. Tliis ( lass I sliop lias lon iplele faeilities loi slress relieviim am I rai Ii<ii' i apliiiii; I lie i nmp.iny's lai n ii al un; lai ililies allmv llie l'Iale and Weldiiu; Division lo sliip lield creiteli stili,me tanks and \\ ityi;ins sii ni luios auywlieie in die United S la le s on a com pc Ilive Imsis. I lie falli catini; plants are Incaled al l .asl ( :liieat<o, Indiana; Hi rinint'liaui, Alali.una, and Oieni, l Itali, as ut II as al S ii,no n, l'cnnsylvania. l'Iale and Heldint; laeililics are lully inleipuled lo manufacture and ereel eomplele vessels and slrueiures. I n aildilion lo l In- slruelures inenlinned aliove, diese inelude pressure vessels, annealing envers, lraelionaiini> eolunuis, slills and varions types ol proross eipiipiuenl used in die oil re lini ni; and eliemieal induslries. I he (eneral A m eriran l i e l d l'.rcctimi Division is responsilile lui i n c l i n i ' ilio lield slruelures liuill liy die Piale and Welding Divisimi. l'iclil crcws and ereel ion ecpiipinenl are slrateipcally lia sed lliruui'linut die country lo facilitale construction in die liesl workinanlike in.inner. Atrial view of Sharon, l'a., plant. OFFICES AND PLANTS General American's district olliccs, strategically located in principal cities throughout the country, are well equipped and manned to support the c o m p a n y 's operations in all phases of the jobs to I>e done, and services to be rendered, wherever and whenever called upon. This helps to make the customer s business a " local" matter; assuring him ol a Iten 11ve, de pe nda ble and com pe le nl assist a n ee. I hese olliccs also keep all (ieneral American Divisions informed ol lulurc needs and activities projected by customers. I he desire to serve industry better rem ains a constant goal ol ( Jeneral A m erican. GENERAL OFFICES: 135 South LaSalle Street, Chicago 90, Illinois EXPORT DEPARTMENT: 3S0 Mat!iron Avenue, New lint, !7, N ew Vini AFFILIATES: C EN ERA I. AMERICAN-PPAUDI.ER CORPORATION Operators o j refrigerator m ilk lank cars, with principal office at Chicago, Illinois CANADIAN CENERAI. TRANSIT COMPANY, I.II). Operatol i o f at! (lasses o f Inni, can in the Dominion o f Cannila, w ith prim put oJp,e at Montrent. Cannila. G K N K R A I. AMKRIOAN TRAN SPORTATIO N OK M KXICO, S.A. Operators o f all classes o f tank cars in the Republic o j M exico, w ith principal office at Mexico City. O K N K R A I. AM KRIO AN ( IONSTRIIOTOR A Y K K P A K A D O K A , S. Bepairers anil rrliutlrler.s of all types o f lailroait freight ears w ith plant at 7 lalnepantla, Mexico. 45 MANUFACTURING PLANTS: bast Chicago, Indiana; Sharon, Pennsylvania; Birmingham, Alabama; Orem, Utah; New York, N. Y. DISTRICT OFFICES: Buffalo Cleveland Dallas Detroit Houston Los Angeles Louisville New Orleans New York New York Pittsburgh San Francisco St. Louis Seattle Tulsa Washington, D.C. 2008 Rand Building Terminal Tower Continental Building 2842 West Grand Boulevard 1121 Walker Avenue 900 Wtlshire Boulevard ( Dryers) 139 South Fourth Street 210 Baronne Street 380 Madison Avenue ( Varker-Kalon Division) 200 Varick Street /Coppers Building Buss Building 945 Olive Street Joseph Vance Building F ust National Bank Building 1625 K Street, N . W . REPAIR PLANTS: West Colton, California Pueblo, Colorado Jacksonville, Florida Chicago, Illinois Fast St. Louis, Illinois I.awrcncoville, Illinois Fast Chicago, Indiana Elkhart, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Debutine, Iowa Sioux City, Iowa Argentine, Kansas Kansas City, Kansas ( toodhopc, Louisiana So. St. Paul, Minnesota So. St. Joseph, Missouri St. Louis, Missouri So. Omaha, Nebraska Middlesex, New Jersey Ivorydale, Ohio Okmulgee, Oklahoma Tulsa, Oklahoma Portland, Oregon Saegertown, Pennsylvania Providence, Rhode Island Borgcr, Texas Dumas, Texas Hearne, Texas North Fort Worth, Texas Port Arthur, Texas Norfolk, Virginia Edmonds, Washington Kenova, West Virginia Milwaukee, Wisconsin Casper, Wyoming 46 II / / (here is a single characteristic, that sets Am erican industry apart from (hat of other countries, it is probably the national ununllingncss to stand still RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT A business in this country today has to be alert just lo bold its position in industry. And it has to lie progressively aggressive lo improve its produels or services last enough lo meet -- or anticipate -- its customers' needs. (dcnrral American's Research and Develop ment D ep artm en t represents the e o m p a n v 's constant, critical analysis of present methods, products and services . . . no m atter how well established any of these may be in our own or our customers' regard. Problems and ideas -- the raw materials of research --come to this division from the plants, lielcl forces a n d from customers. R esearch and development projects supply the creative energy to keep (Jcneral American moving ahead in all phases of its business. The Research and Development Department draws extensively on the results of fundamental research being done in the m ajor centers of learn ing, in government and industrial laboratories. New developments are appraised for their pos sible application lo (ienetal American's products and services. Corrosion testing for lank car linings and construction of materials Development of new-type process equipment l n the general research laboratory