H.K. Porter, Inc.

[clarification needed] Porter was known for building locomotives for industrial railways, which were often small enough that they could be operated by one person.

They opened a small machine shop on 28th Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and begin repairing and building industrial equipment.

They received an order for their first locomotive on March 4, 1867, and built the Joshua Rhodes for the New Castle Railroad and Mining Company.

They went on to build 43 locomotives together, including the Minnetonka which is preserved at the Lake Superior Museum of Transportation.

They specialized in four wheeled, saddle tank locomotives for small industrial railroads.

He had established a reputation as a builder of rugged, specialized locomotives and the company could custom build a locomotive quickly and efficiently, with a system of interchangeable parts; pistons, wheels and boilers in various sizes that can be combined to suit a customer's requirements.

Coal-fired locomotives were unsuitable for use underground because they produced dangerous fumes and could start fires.

Its efficiency and low cost of maintenance led the Manila Railroad to use the Porter design for larger locomotives built by Alco and Baldwin.

Porters were a favorite choice among grading contractors, who used light, portable tracks to carry the wooden tipper-cars that were the earthmoving equipment of the day.

The parts business and all the required patterns were sold to the Davenport Locomotive Works in Iowa.