In 1901, the year that Jacob Rogers died and the same year that the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) was formed through the merger of eight other locomotive manufacturers, the company reopened as the Rogers Locomotive Works. Reuben Wells was again the shop superintendent, however, the firm was at a competitive disadvantage. Not enough capital investment was made to purchase new equipment or in research and development. ALCO and Baldwin, the two companies that were at the time the largest locomotive manufacturers in North America, held too much of a lead in manufacturing and selling their own locomotives for Rogers to keep up. Compounding Rogers' troubles was the greater city of Paterson that had grown up around the shop, leaving no room for expansion. Furthermore, the firm, throughout its existence, was located a mile away from the Erie Railroad, the nearest railroad, and thus transporting the engines was difficult and time consuming, increasingly more so as the surrounding city developed and larger engines were ordered.