History

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Harsco Rail, a division of Harsco Corporation, was formed in October 1999 by the merger of two worldwide leaders in the manufacture of railway track construction and maintenance equipment, Fairmont Tamper and Pandrol Jackson, Inc.

Fairmont Railway Motors was founded in Fairmont, Minnesota in 1909. Originally a supplier of railway track motor cars, Fairmont became a pioneer in the development of mechanized track maintenance equipment and introduced hydraulic power to the difficult tasks of pulling and driving track spikes and replacing ties. In the 1940's Fairmont developed road/rail guide wheel attachments, and its HY-RAIL® guide wheel units revolutionized track inspection transportation. Fairmont was acquired by Harsco Corporation in 1979 and became a major supplier of tie replacement and spike driving equipment, rail grinders, and road/rail equipment.

Tamper Corporation, originally founded in Canada in 1934, had been headquartered in West Columbia, South Carolina since 1966. Tamper's strength was in a complete line of automated tamping equipment for lifting, leveling, lining, and tamping track. A pioneer in the development of high-speed, computer-controlled tamping equipment, Tamper became the leader in user-friendly leveling and lining software. Ballast undercutters and regulators, tie replacement equipment, track inspection and utility vehicles, as well as new track construction and track renewal trains, were a part of the Tamper equipment line. A Contract Services Unit handled maintenance-of-way projects on railways throughout the world.

Electric Tamper and Equipment Company (Pandrol Jackson) was founded in 1922 by Corwill Jackson in Ludington, Michigan. The company manufactured electric vibratory hand tampers. Incorporated as Jackson Vibrators in 1937, the company later acquired the O.F. Jordan Company and became Jackson Jordan. The product line later expanded to include production and switch tampers as well as tie gang equipment.

Pandrol International Ltd., a subsidiary of Charter plc., acquired Jackson Jordan in 1990, along with Speno Rail Services and Dapco, and formed the Track Maintenance Division. The division was known as Pandrol Jackson and was comprised of the main offices and manufacturing facility in Ludington, Michigan; the grinder re-manufacturing and operations facility in Syracuse, New York; and the rail flaw detection research and manufacturing facility in Danbury, Connecticut. The rail flaw detection division was sold to Sperry Rail Services in 2002.

Today, Harsco Rail is the largest railroad maintenance equipment company in the western hemisphere and a single international source for over 130 types and models of railway track construction and maintenance machines, road/rail vehicles, and contract services.