About Railway Specialties Corporation
Our family owned company recently marked it’s 100th anniversary, and has made the water-tight doors on every U.S. aircraft carrier built in the last five decades. The Calkins’ grandfather, Jacob Ebling, founded Railway Specialties in 1915 to serve as a middle-man between New York City’s transit authority and manufacturers making parts for the city’s budding subway system. World War I interrupted business for about two years, but Jacob Ebling picked it up again after he returned from the war. Railway Specialties survived the great depression and thrived during World War II. Not long after the war, the company began making water tight doors and hatches for ships, which is it’s primary business today.