Below is a listing of all unique iron and steel brands identified by HistoricBridges.org on bridges documented by HistoricBridges.org. This catalog of photos is grouped by the name appearing on the metal, and subdivided by the date of the source bridge, when available. The intent of this page is to aid in identifying unknown brands as well as providing a gallery of photos showing the different fonts and designs used by different companies, or even the same company over a period of time, which may in some cases assist researchers in dating bridges with similar brands on them. It should be noted that in some cases, bridge builders stockpiled iron/steel ahead of time and so the actual date at which the structural element was rolled may be a few years before the given bridge construction date.
The brand is applied to the iron/steel member on its last run through the rolling mill. It is cut into one of a pair of rolls, usually once on the roll. As a result, the brand appears at a spacing on the iron/steel that depends on the roll size.
Credit is due to the following photographers for these photos, which are all Copyrighted with All Rights Reserved: Nathan Holth, Rick McOmber, Luke Gordon, Marc Scotti, Jim Stewart, Dave Michaels, and Brandon Collett. Thanks to Kyle Terry for assisting with identification of modern brands. Last Updated: December 24, 2021.
Usually found in Canada. Little is known about this rare brand. It appears to be European in origin. May refer to Aachener Hutten - Actien - Verein of Aachen, Germany.
1892.
1896. An 1891 date appears on the brand. If it refers to the date it was rolled, it is several years older than the bridge it is a part of.
1907.
Unknown date.
This is the most common steel brand of Canadian origin. It is normally only found in Canada, although examples have been found in Michigan as well. Brands sometimes read simply "Algoma" or they may say "Algoma Canada." "Algoma" is stylized with a line connecting the bottom of the two "A's." Company history.
1930. Reads "Algoma Canada."
1933. Reads "Algoma Steel."
1934. Reads "Algoma Steel."
1937. Reads just "Algoma."
1946. Reads "Algoma Canada."
1953.
Unknown dates.
Modern brand. AMS USA was the brand used by the Cartersville Georgia Ameristeel plant prior to its purchase by Gerdau and while it was under the name Gerdau Ameristeel. Does not appear to be associated with Arcelor Mittal Steel.
British brand usually found in Canada. See Frodingham.
Unknown Date. On Bailey Truss (Thus, dates to WWII or later)
Little known about this brand.
Found on a bridge in Iowa.
Found on a bridge in Pennsylvania.
Stands for Atkins Brothers Pottsville Rolling Mills. History of Atkins Brothers Here. (See also Pottsville, separate entry on this page). Photo of furnace.
1886.
Little known about this brand. It has been found in Canada and likely is from Europe.
1885.
Info about this large company.
Found on a 1902 bridge, but may not be original. Unusual example on i-beam.
1905. Has a "B" at the end.
1905.
ca. 1915.
1920.
1923.
1925.
1928.
1930s.
1939, on rolled "Bethlehem Beam" aka wide flange beam.
1941.
Unknown date.
1965.
Modern brand.
Many Bethlehem brands have an "L" at the end. These appear to be only on brands from the 1940s onward. May refer to steel rolled at the Lackawanna mills after Bethlehem Steel took over their operation, similar to BSCO Lackawanna brands which were mostly to date found on 1920s steel.
1940s.
1950s.
1963.
Little is known about this company.
Found on a bridge in British Columbia.
Appears to be a generic icon used on British steel. For example, found as part of Lilleshall brands, listed separately on this page. More research is needed, but this logo may indicate a company that was part of the nationalization of steel companies in Britain. See this article.
1933. Alongside a Consett brand.
1934. Alongside a Cargo Fleet brand.
1937. Alongside a Dorman Long Brand.
On Bailey Truss, alongside a Lilleshall brand.
These brands refer to steel rolled at the Cambria mills after Bethlehem Steel took over their operation.
1920s
1930s.
These brands refer to steel rolled at the Lackawanna mills after Bethlehem Steel took over their operation in 1922.
1926.
1928.
Unknown date.
This steel mill has been found on bridges in Canada. Sometimes has additional text. This mill was located in what is today Germany.
Unknown date.
1885.
1896. Reads "Burbach 18 NP
1926.
1933.
Reads "Burbach 381"
Brand for a pipe railing. View historical book.
1910.
1925.
Became part of Bethlehem Steel along with Lackawanna by the early 1920s. More info.
1893. Unusual brand occurrence on an eyebar.
1890s.
1900-1910.
ca. 1910.
1910-1920
1955
Unknown dates.
This brand appears to be found on newer steel only. Most have a line going through the word like these examples.
These examples don't have lines going through.
This appears to be an extremely rare example of a brand that was rolled backwards! See the Carnegie section for another example.
Some steel appears to list the type of steel rather than the company. Here, Carbon appears on a piece of plate.
1903.
Cargo Fleet Iron Co, Cargo Fleet Ironworks, Middlesbrough. Formed 1879 and ran through 1953 before being bought out, although the brand was reportedly retained. Usually found on bridges in Canada.
1911.
1933.
1934.
Unknown date.
One of the most common brands. Like many companies, this one was turned into United States Steel at the start of the 20th Century, but United States Steel continued to roll steel with the old mill names for decades. More info.
1870s.
1880s. Brands from this period have a simple, bold font with no stylized details.
1886. This unusual brand included the date and a different font that was unlike the font usually used during this decade. The font with the stylized "N" was used extensively in later years.
1890s. In this decade, a combination of the older, simple font is found, as well as the newer font with the stylized "N."
1901.
1900s.
1910s. Some of the logos from this period introduced a different feature of having three little decorative dashes at each end of the text. Three of the four above brands show this.
1920s. A new feature found in this decade was the addition of "USA" to the brand. Starting in this period, some of the brands have a miniature underlined "H" after the "E" likely indicating that steel was rolled at the famous Homestead mill.
1922, Rare brand PRINTED BACKWARDS! See the Canada entry for another example.
1930s.
1940s.
Unknown dates.
Carnegie: Plate Brands
Unknown dates. Assumed to be pre-1900 based on font. These brands appear on plate, which is uncommon, but something that can occasionally be found on Carnegie steel. That said, when plate does have a brand on it, Carnegie is one of the most common to be found.
1903 dated bridge displaying older style font on plate.
Unknown dates. Assumed to be post-1890 based on font. These brands appear on plate, which is uncommon, but something that can occasionally be found on Carnegie steel. That said, when plate does have a brand on it, Carnegie is one of the most common to be found.
UK brand.
1903.
Appears to refer to CMC Steel, which started making steel in 1947 and remains today.
Found on a 1937 bridge, so this may be a modern steel example.
British brand usually found in Canada and UK. Coats Iron and Steel Company of Coatsbridge, Scotland.
1885.
1889.
1924.
1933.
1940.
Unknown date.
British brand usually found in Canada. Read more about Consett in this article and in this article.
1896.
1900.
1907.
1911.
1933.
It is assumed that these brands all stand for the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company. Most of these are found in Ohio and adjoining states.
1889.
1890. This extremely unusual brand is composed of a pattern of dots forming an outline of the letters.
1892-1895.
Unknown dates.
Modern brand. Refers to Chaparral Steel Coroporation based out of Midloathian TX until it was purchased by Gerdau in 2006.
1997-2014
CVL USA is a Gerdau Steel mark (the two Gs facing each other, the second reversed) with CVL representing the mill.
British brand.
1892. On bridge in Quebec.
1903. On bridge in UK.
Unknown Dates.
British brand usually found in Canada and UK. Information is here.
1911.
1912.
1945. On Bailey truss.
1928.
1933.
1937.
ca. 1945 (roughly estimated).
Unknown dates.
Likely a British brand. Found on a 1945 Bailey truss in Canada. Might refer to Dorman Rolling Mill (Dorman Long)?
British brand found in UK. Refers to Round Oak Steelworks.
1921.
This likely is ther company that bought out Pottsville Rolling Mills.
1905-1907
1908.
1911.
1912-1914.
1915.
1925.
Unknown Dates.
British brand usually found in Canada. Frodingham Iron and Steel Co of Scunthorpe, Lincs See this article and this article.
1911.
1945. On a Bailey truss.
Although it is assumed this brand refers to Gary, Indiana, home of United States Steel Gary Works, it is an unusual brand. Presumably other label names were more common for this enormous mill such as Illinois.
1913.
Unknown date.
Learn more about this brand here.
1950.
British brand usually found in Canada and UK. May refer to Guest Keen Iron and Steel.
Found on a 1946 Bailey.
British brand usually found in Canada and UK. Glasgow Iron and Steel Co of Wishaw.
1903.
Unknown dates.
British brand usually found in Canada and UK. Learn more here.
Found on 1903 Connel Bridge in Scotland.
1931.
1933.
Apparently rare. Little known about this historical company. Internet searches for this name reveal modern companies, some overseas. This was likely a mill in the United States, perhaps run by US Steel.
G ST N P
1892. Unknown company. Found on a bridge in Quebec that had brands from multiple European companies.
British brand usually found in Canada and UK. Refers to Hallside Steel Works, located in Scotland. More information here. and More information here.
1885.
1896.
1903.
1956
Unknown date. Assumed to be from the late 1800s.
Illinois Steel Company, which became part of United States Steel in 1904. Info here. See additional Illinois entries for brands with suffixes.
1910-1914. This unusual variation has a "2" at the end.
1913.
1933. This unusual brand has the word "Steel" under "US" and it may therefore be one of the first appearances of the US Steel company name on steel (see additional USS entries).
1933. This one includes the US Steel name on it.
1940. This one includes the US Steel name on it.
1941. This one includes the US Steel name on it.
Unknown date.
Some Illinois brands include the letter "G" in the brand. These initials often refer to the steel mill at which the item was rolled. Here, it is assumed that the "G" refers to the Gary, Indiana works. "USA" is often included in these Illinois brands as well. At this time, Illinois Steel was a subsidiary of United States Steel. While it is most common to find this on angle, it has been found on a channel too.
1915.
ca. 1920.
1926.
1929
1930s.
Unknown dates.
Many Illinois brands include the letter "S" in the brand. These initials often refer to the steel mill at which the item was rolled. Here, it is assumed that the "S" refers to the South Chicago works. "USA" is often included in these Illinois brands as well. At this time, Illinois Steel was a subsidiary of United States Steel.
1910s.
1920s.
1930s.
1944.
Unknown date.
Some Inland brands have a simple font. Many others have an unusual, logo with a narrow font and the text in a diamond shape and a stylized "L" that extends under the "A". These brands are usually quite small in size, and often are hard to read. More info here.
1899.
1902.
1906.
1909.
1913.
1920. Simple font.
1920s. Diamond shaped logo. The fourth photo above is of one on plate. Brands on plate tend to be uncommon.
ca. 1925.
1930s. Simple font.
1939, simple font.
1930s. Diamond shaped logo.
Unknown exact date, but a late example.
Unknown date.
Modern ca. 1990s brand.
Modern brand.
This may refer to Illinois Steel Company, with the M referring to a Milwaukee mill.
Little is known about this brand found on a bridge in Kansas.
Brand found on Canadian Bridge likely referring to a British company in the city of Jarrow.
1911.
This brand refers to Jones and Laughlin steel company. It is not known why a small number of their steel products used the abbreviation instead of the full name. Based on the dated examples found by HistoricBridges.org it appears to have been used for a period of years around 1908 and 1911. Some brands simply read "J & L"
1908
1909.
1910-1916
1942.
1990 Modern brands. Reads J & L Structural USA.
Modern brand.
Unknown dates.
Modern brand.
Prior to 1902, Jones and Laughlin Steel had an "s" in their name. See this article. This fact can help date the steel and iron in bridges with the Jones and Laughlins brand. Info here.
1888.
1890s.
1898.
1900-1904
Unknown date.
After 1902, Jones and Laughlins dropped the "s" from "Laughlins" and became Jones and Laughlin as seen in this article. Info here.
1908.
1909.
1910s.
1920s.
1930s.
1936.
Based out of Buffalo, New York. Became part of Bethlehem Steel along with Cambria by the early 1920s. Info here.
1905-1910.
1910-1912
1913.
1913-1919
1920s.
Unknown date.
British brand usually found in Canada and UK. Information here.
Unknown date.
1903.
1908. Unique brand stating that the angle was produced via Siemens-Martin Acid Process. Siemens Martin process is described as: The production of steel in a reverberatory furnace by oxidation of the impurities by oxides added (either the rust on scrap, mill scale, or pure ores). It may be conducted on either acid or basic lining.
1921.
1933.
1956.
British brand usually found in Canada. Includes a "British-I-Steel" logo. See this article and this article.
1940.
Found on a Bailey truss.
Presumed British brand found in Canada. This may refer to Lancashire Steel Corporation of Warrington and Irlam
Found on a Bailey truss.
1923. 10". Although marking the dimensions of rolled beams might seem sensible, it was rarely done with American steel. This is a rare example. No company name was found, but this example was found on a California bridge.
Presumed British brand found in New York State. This may refer to Cargo Fleet.
Found on bridge in New York State.
Presumed British brand.
1889. On Forth Bridge in Scotland.
1892. On bridge in Quebec.
Found on a pipe railing.
1937.
Found in Europe
Modern brand. North Star Steel Kentucky. It was located in Calvert City KY. Started as Ohio River Steel in 1984 then purchased by North Star in 1986. Gerdau bought all the North Star Plants in November of 2004. They closed the Calvert City plant in November of 2016.
This brand is assumed to refer to Northwestern Steel and Wire. The company operated from 1936-2001.
On an 1879 bridge, but may be modern.
1917.
1951.
Unknown Date.
Modern brand, 2019.
This brand is modern, referring to Nucor-Yamato steel.
This brand appears to refer to a mill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. To date
it has typically been found on angle steel, with one instance of a rolled
channel having the name. Assuming this is the Pittsburgh company, it appears
they did not do a lot of rolled steel, focusing more on smaller steel items.
Given how rare the brand is and among the few discovered with a known date,
they have only spanned a period from 1888-1891 it seems likely this company
did not roll iron/steel for many years.
Sources on the suspected company:
Biography
Biography
Advertisements
1888.
1891.
Unknown dates.
These early brands of the Passaic Rolling Mill Company have only the initials of the company.
Found on a bridge believed to date to 1872.
1883.
1884.
1886-1887. These are an unusual Passaic R. M. CO.
1887.
Unknown.
All but the earliest brands appear to simply read "Passaic"
1884.
1890.
1901-1904.
1906.
1907.
Presumably stands for Pacific Coast Steel Company.
1929
1931
Pencoyd Iron Works. Info here.
ca. 1890s.
1910s
1920s.
1930s.
Unknown dates.
This company rolled typical structural iron and steel elements, as well as the famous patented Phoenix column. Brands on Phoenix columns are specifically noted in the photos below. Many of the company's pre-1900 brands also included "Philada PA" for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This tended to be excluded from post-1900 brands.
1873.
1875. Abbreviated PHX I Co.
1878. Phoenix Column brand.
1878. Patent brand on Phoenix column.
Phoenix Column brand.
1884 patent brand on Phoenix Column.
1880s.
1890s.
1897. Phoenix Column brand.
1897. Patent brand on Phoenix column.
1897. Overview of Phoenix column showing the patent and company name brands.
1901-1902.
1904.
1909.
1914.
1926.
1927.
1934.
1936.
Unknown dates on Phoenix columns. Assumed to be pre-1900.
Unknown dates, but these appear to be earlier examples.
Unknown date, but appears to be a mid-range (not early, not late) example.
Unknown date, but appears to be a later example.
French brand.
Above brand found on bridge in Vietnam, unknown date.
See also Atkins Brothers entry on this page, as these two Pennsylvania companies are related. History of company. The company appears to have become Eastern Steel.
Simply reads Pottsville.
This brand refers to the Pennsylvania Steel Company of Steelton, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Steel Company became part of Bethlehem Steel in 1916.
Brand of unknown origin.
1929. Found on bridge in Delaware.
This rare brand was found on a plate girder bridge of unknown age.
Unknown date.
1925. On pipe.
1906. Includes date on steel.
1913.
1937.
Found in UK.
1903.
May refer to Scullin Steel Company of St. Louis, which previously was known as Scullin - Gallagher Iron and Steel Company.
1923.
1930.
1931.
1952.
1962.
Modern Brand, Assumed to be Steel Dynamics Inc of Fort Waybe, Indiana.
Japanese brand for Yawata Steel. Found on bridges in Japan.
1929.
1930.
British brand usually found in Canada. Sheffield Steel Products.
1939.
Unknown dates.
British brand usually found in Canada. Info here and more here.
Unknown date.
British brand usually found in Canada.
1911.
British brand usually found in Canada. More info here.
1912.
1933.
1934.
Brand in UK, likely referencing Stockton-on-Tees.
1899.
Likely the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, near Birmingham, Alabama originally. Most of these brands are associated with US Steel who may have bought that company.
1932.
1933.
1935.
1936.
1950s.
Unknown date.
Some of the Tennessee brands did not make a good impression on the steel and look like they read "II NNI SSFF USA" Examples of this are shown below.
1926.
1949
German.
This German brand was found on a bridge in Vietnam.
This refers to the Trenton Works of New Jersey Steel and Iron Company.
1878.
1879.
Unknown date. Assumed to be from no later than the 1880s.
This brand refers to the company from Buffalo, New York. The city and state usually appears as part of the brand.
Found on a Whipple arch, thus very old.
1875.
1880.
1883.
Unknown date.
This brand refers to the mill in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the city and state are included as part of the brand.
1871.
USS refers to United States Steel. For many decades after its creation, United States Steel brands were not used on steel, and instead the names of the absorbed companies were used (Carnegie, for example). However sometime around the 1950s (ca. 1952-1953), this practice appears to have ended, and steel was rolled with the USS name and no other fully spelled out names. (See separate entry for the transitional brand USS Carnegie). Some of these brands have letters at the end which may refer to the mill (H for Homestead, S for South Chicago, C for Carnegie, etc)
1950-1954. This brand also includes a letter "H" as part of the brand.
1954. This brand also includes a letter "S" as part of the brand.
1957-1960. These brands also include a letter "S" as part of the brand.
1964. No additional letters on this brand.
1967. This brand also includes a letter "H" as part of the brand.
Unknown date. This brand also includes a letter "C" as part of the brand.
ca. 1950s. This brand also includes a letter "C" as part of the brand.
Unknown date. This brand also includes a letter "H" as part of the brand.
ca. 1950s. This brand also includes a letter "H" as part of the brand.
Unknown date.
Rare brand, apparently representative of a period where United States Steel was transitioning the use of the old company names out to replace them with USS brands, and perhaps were a brief attempt at a generic brand to be used at more than one steel mill.
1949. Carnegie Illinois - S (South Chicago Works)
1949. Carnegie Illinois - H (Homestead Works)
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1950 Carnegie Illinois - H (Homestead Works)
1951. Carnegie Illinois - S (South Chicago Works)
1952.
Unknown Date.
The Union Iron Company apparently operated under this name for a few years around 1870.
1933.
1935.
1936.
