The G. M. & J. K. Lockard Car Works was an important Bloomsburg industrial concern that manufactured railroad freight cars, mine cars, car wheels, and related equipment. It was not an entirely new enterprise when the Lockards acquired it, but one stage in the history of a car-building plant that operated under several names from the Civil War era until 1930.

The factory began in 1863 as the machine shop and foundry of Semple & Taylor. In about 1871, the facilities were enlarged, and the business began building small mine cars under the name of the Columbia County Iron Manufacturing Company. Financial difficulties during the Panic of 1873 led to a change of ownership. One county history says the property was purchased by G. M. and J. K. Lockard, who had formerly served as foremen; another says M. W. Jackson of Berwick first acquired the plant and subsequently sold an interest to the Lockards.

Both had practical experience in carpentry and railroad-car construction. A specialist history of American car builders reports that they had worked at the large Jackson & Woodin works in Berwick before becoming associated with the Bloomsburg plant.

The Lockards occupied part of their enlarged factory quarters by 1875 and became sole proprietors in 1879. That same year, a major fire destroyed much or all of the works. The loss was placed at approximately $40,000, with only $18,000 covered by insurance. Remarkably, the plant was rebuilt and operating again within about three months.

The four years following the rebuilding were reportedly the most prosperous in the company’s history: More than 4,000 railroad cars were constructed. Annual business exceeded $1 million. The works employed between 200 and 300 men, and the monthly payroll was approximately $10,000. Products included standard railroad freight cars, small mine and colliery cars, plantation and logging cars, flat and hand-operated industrial cars, car wheels and mining supplies, and rotary dump cars.

A trade-journal notice from 1890 reported that the Bloomsburg company shipped twelve steam-shovel rotary dump cars for United States Army engineering work. Later catalogs advertised plantation, logging, mining, flat, and freight cars. The company also developed a freight-car truck marketed under the name “Black Diamond.”

By the early 1890s, the enterprise had declined from the extraordinary production levels of the early 1880s, concentrating more heavily on mine cars, wheels, and mining equipment. In November 1894, the business was reorganized as the Bloomsburg Car Manufacturing Company, and its reported capitalization increased from $50,000 to $200,000.

The plant then became part of the nationwide consolidation that created the American Car & Foundry Company. Specialist histories date the acquisition to 1899, while the 1915 Columbia County history gives 1900. These probably represent the dates of the corporate agreement and its final local implementation rather than a serious contradiction.

Under American Car & Foundry ownership, the Bloomsburg plant remained substantial. By the early twentieth century, it employed more than 300 skilled workers and had an estimated annual capacity of 2,000 full-sized freight cars and 3,000 mine cars.  Its mine and industrial cars were sold throughout American coal regions and exported to South America and other foreign markets. In 1914, a 65-by-112-foot export-car building was added, and the works began an order for 400 cars for the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

The plant stood in southeastern Bloomsburg, occupying a large area: From East Street to Locust Street, between Sixth and Seventh Streets.

On August 25, 1930, a fire beginning in the electrician’s shop swept through the sprawling frame complex and completely leveled it. Sparks carried across the neighborhood, setting fire to residences and nearby commercial buildings. Approximately 80 remaining employees were thrown out of work. The plant was not rebuilt, apparently because of Depression-era business conditions and the availability of American Car & Foundry’s much larger Berwick facilities.

Taken as a whole, the evidence shows that the Lockard works was one of Bloomsburg’s major nineteenth-century industries—large enough at its peak to employ several hundred men, produce thousands of cars, serve major railroads and coal companies, and eventually attract acquisition by one of the country’s largest railroad-equipment manufacturers.