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Dickson Manufacturing Company

From Alfawiki
Dickson Manufacturing Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryManufacturing
Founded1856 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States
FounderThomas Dickson
Defunct1901
FateAcquired by American Locomotive Company (locomotive division) and Allis-Chalmers (other parts)
Headquarters
Scranton
,
United States
Area served
United States
ProductsBoilers, blast furnaces, steam engines, railway steam locomotives, steam-driven mine cable hoists, railroad cars, mining equipment
Number of employees
Over 1,200 (1890)

Dickson Manufacturing Company was a United States-based producer specializing in boilers, blast furnaces, and steam engines, with a particular reputation for its railway steam locomotives. The firm also manufactured steam-driven mine cable hoists. Established in 1856 in Scranton, Pennsylvania by Thomas Dickson, the company constructed 1,334 steam locomotives before its 1901 acquisition by ALCO.

Early enterprise

In 1855, Thomas Dickson along with his siblings John and George founded Dickson & Company in Carbondale, Pennsylvania. A year later, responding to George Scranton’s invitation, they moved operations to the newly formed city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Their first significant contract involved supplying locomotives for the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's expanding railroad network. By 1862, reflecting rapid expansion, the business was reorganized as the Dickson Manufacturing Company.

Establishment and growth

The principal facilities and administrative offices were situated on Penn Avenue in Scranton. In 1862, the company took over the Cliff Works locomotive manufacturer located on Cliff Street. Expansion continued with the addition of a foundry in Wilkes-Barre in 1866 and an office in New York City. Initial locomotive production averaged five to six units annually but surged to approximately five per month by the early 1870s. The company diversified its output to include railroad cars and mining equipment. In 1882, the Penn Avenue plant was reconstructed, encompassing 29,000 square feet; by 1890, the complex covered six acres staffed by over 1,200 workers.

Corporate consolidation

On June 24, 1901, Dickson’s locomotive division merged with seven other companies to create the American Locomotive Company (ALCO), while other parts of Dickson Manufacturing were absorbed into Allis-Chalmers. ALCO discontinued locomotive production at the former Dickson facility in 1909.

Modern legacy

The original Dickson manufacturing buildings still stand and are featured in the opening scenes of the television series The Office, which is set in Scranton.

Surviving Dickson locomotives

A number of locomotives produced by Dickson have been preserved:

Serial number Wheel arrangement
(Whyte notation) 		Manufacture date Operators Current status/location
1005 0-6-2T August 1898 J. B. Levert #5 Enterprise Plantation, Patoutville, Louisiana
1280 0-4-4T October 1901 M.A. Patout & Sons / Six Flags Over Texas (active) Enterprise Plantation, Patoutville, Louisiana
30196 0-4-0t September 1904 Acosta Brothers Homenaje A Goldmine, Costa Rica

Locomotive number 1280, initially named Mary Ann and purchased by Patout sugar mill in 1901, was leased to Six Flags Over Texas where it operates as The General Sam Houston. Another unit, Serial #30196, restored and exhibited at "Monumento al minero en Las Juntas de Abangare" in Costa Rica, follows ALCO’s serial numbering rather than Dickson’s original system.

A locomotive called "Stephanie" was restored to working condition in 1979 by Winson George from Brookhaven, MS; he operated it privately until his passing in 1993 before it was returned to M.A. Patout & Sons. This particular engine was distinguished by a larger water tank mounted on an extended frame.

See also

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