For Miner Enterprises, 120 years

Miner Enterprises received its first customer order on June 7, 1894, “to supply the rapidly growing railroad industry with high quality engineered railcar components, said President and General Manager Ric Biehl. “The industry has changed dramatically in 120 years. However, our commitment to innovative design, customer needs, high quality service, and building trust remain the hallmark of the Miner brand.”

“Originally founded in 1894 as W.H. Miner, our company provided spring draft rigging and then friction gears for railroads transitioning from wooden frames,” explained Executive Director Global Sales Bill O’Donnell. “It continued to grow rapidly with the standardization of draft gear pockets, automatic couplers, and braking systems.”

Today, Miner Enterprises products include draft gears, unloading systems, hatch covers, side bearings, brake beams, buffer springs, and drawgear springs. Customers include all Class I and Class II railroads worldwide, freight car builders, shippers, leasing companies, and contract freight car repair shops.

“Miner products are purchased in 56 countries, and the Miner name is well known around the world,” said O’Donnell. “We are exceptionally gratified by the trust our customers place in our company. We work hard to continue to deserve that trust. Miner’s experienced staff of engineers and technicians works closely with sales and marketing to provide superior products and services that always meet or exceed our customers’ needs and the changing needs of the marketplace.”

Miner’s editorial and advertising relationship with the Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corp. Railway Division and Railway Age dates back to the early 20th century (1928 cover ad pictured). “We’ve always valued our relationship with Miner,” said Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. “Miner has always been a valuable source of information for our publications, and we of course appreciate their business. Now, in the age of digital publishing, it’s gratifying—and in a very real sense, almost extraordinary—that long-standing, iconic railway supply companies such as Miner continue to participate in what we do.”