Ottawa Car Company
Ottawa Car Company was a rail vehicle maker based in Ottawa, Canada. It grew out of William W. Wylie’s carriage business and started making streetcars in 1891. The factory was at Kent and Slater Streets, close to Parliament Hill. It operated as part of Ottawa Electric Railway, controlled by Ahearn & Soper.
The company was renamed Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company in 1917 and then Ottawa Car and Aircraft Limited in 1937. The Ahearn family kept control until 1948, when it was sold to the Mailman Corporation. The new owners did not continue streetcar production, as many cities across North America were abandoning streetcars. Ottawa ended its own streetcar system in 1959. In total, the company built about 1,700 vehicles.
On 19 August 1994, Canada Post issued stamps featuring an Ottawa Car Company streetcar from 1894 (Saint John Railway Co. Car #40). The company produced a range of rail equipment, including locomotives, high-speed trains, intercity and commuter trains, trams, people movers, and signalling systems.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:39 (CET).