Railways are the first example of a modern business that States have regulated and which, in many cases, has contributed significantly to the economic success of industries connected to it but also of the State. The "Società anonima italiana per la costruzione di automobili terrestri e marittimi San Giorgio" has a hundred years history, began in Genoa in 1905. From the earliest years, it produced wagons and carriages for the Italian State Railways. The article, by an archive documental analysis, explores the contribution of the enlargement of the Italian railways to the development of San Giorgio, also highlighting the link between the trend of State orders at the national level and the strategies adopted by San Giorgio and its results. The result is a complex alliance with lights and darks.
Keywords: Italian railways, business history, entrepreneurial history, government orders.