Porter

Company History: One of the most successful builders of steam locomotives is perhaps the least known, the H.K. Porter Company, which is partly due to the fact that it typically did not market its models to the general railroad industry. After Porter began, just after the end of the Civil War, it produced more than 8,000 light duty and small steam switchers both domestically and overseas for all types of industrial applications, from mining operations to sugar plantations. Most of its designs were quite small, such as the very popular 0-4-0T "dinky". After World War I the company slowly began to lose market share, especially in the 1930s with the coming of the diesel switcher. It never, truly dedicated itself to this new form of motive power and instead sold out after World War II. Interestingly, today, the H.K. Porter name carries on under a new owner, which uses it as a means of marketing to sell various types of hand tools. Additionally, dozens of Porter steam locomotives can be found in use around the country on tourist lines and railroad museums due to their relative inexpensive nature to restore and operate.

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