The Arms Palace Horse and Stock Car Company was organized in 1885 by Harrison Arms at Toledo, Ohio, to lease horse cars to railroads. After 1900, the firm's shops and offices were moved from Cleveland to Chicago. In 1903, the company's name was changed to the Arms Palace Horse Car Company, and its capitalization increased from 500,000 dollars to 800,000 dollars. In 1922, the name was changed again, to the Arms-Yager Railway Car Company. With increased use of the gasoline engine, business fell off rapidly, and no new cars were added after the early 1920s. By 1929, cars were used to ship Wisconsin dairy cattle to the east coast. Hard-hit by the Depression during the 1930s, the company decreased its capitalization to 500,000 dollars in 1936, and to 350,000 dollars in 1939. By the end of the decade, the company was forced to begin selling its cars. On December 20, 1940, the stockholders voted to liquidate the firm, but liquidation was deferred during World War II, as the scarcity of railroad cars brought increased demand for the company's equipment and repair facilities. The firm ceased doing business on June 30, 1944, and was dissolved December 30, 1944.
