The History of Iron Horse
Engineering Company
1987 | The Foundation
A Timeline of Excellence
A pioneer and visionary in the railroad industry, Moorhead founded Iron Horse Engineering Co. in 1987. At that time, the need for rail electrical isolation was becoming more important. Moorhead is the inventor of the rail boot, and it was first installed in 1995 in what is known as the Hillsboro Light Rail Extension in Portland, Oregon. It continues to function today as Moorhead envisioned.
Bill Moorhead Founds Iron Horse
1993 | Innovation
Don Hofstetter, owner of Montville Plastics and Rubber, invents the non-conductive Embedded Composite Tie that further created rail isolation.
The Invention of the Non-Conductive Embedded Composite Tie
Hofstetter purchased Iron Horse Engineering Co. since it was a major customer of his company, Montville Plastics and Rubber. He continued to grow and innovate rail industry products, improving constructability and ease of installation, while also evolving material testing processes. Design-to-concept time was greatly reduced, as Montville became the manufacturer of Iron Horse’s products. Hofstetter continued to improve efficiencies within the system to increase cost savings and pass them along to customers.
Don Hofstetter Purchases Iron Horse Engineering Co.
2000 - 2016 | Growth
In 2014, Jay Roberts joined Don Hofstetter as partner.
2015 brought our newest innovation, Rail Seal.