Dave's Depots - Rock Island Depot, Gerald, Missouri

Recently my travels took me through Franklin County, Missouri. U.S. 50 through most of Franklin County parallels the old Rock Island St. Louis-Kansas City mainline. The line is still in place, but "rail banked" and owned by the State of Missouri. A portion of the line from the old Rock Island Page Avenue Yard in St. Louis to the town of Union, Missouri is operated by the Central Midland Railway.

The town of Gerald is just west of Union. Just west of downtown, in a park, sits the old Rock Island Depot. The depot is in excellent shape, maintained by the local Chamber of Commerce. Signage at the depot indicates that it was moved from downtown to the park in the mid 1980s and is the only remaining depot on the line. While not on the old Rock Island anymore, the depot remains just across U.S. 50 from the old mainline.

As for the Rock Island line, there has been on and off talk the past several years about reopening the entire line. It is unclear if and when this would ever happen.

Demolishing a Railroad Car Made Easy

If you had a plan for saving the Camp Grant, sorry, it's too late.

The job is always easier if you have the right tools. Here half of one side plus the roof has been removed in maybe 20 minutes.

Then they do the other side. These guys are professionals at demolition, although they didn't have much experience with railroad equipment. The supervisor I talked to marveled at how strong the structure was. And I even got to help by setting the hand brake to keep the flatcar from rolling back and forth as the shovel worked on the load.

The carbody was basically a wooden car with steel sides, as seen here. I hadn't realized how much of it was wood.

By the end of the day, we are down to a flatcar sandwich.


But wait, there's lots more interesting stuff to report today!




First of all, we need another trainman for both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Sign up if you can. Thanks!!

Apart from watching the scrappers, I was working on the 277 again. Here's my new workbench in the front compartment. Bruneau had removed some parts in the front compartment and stripped them; I finished painting them with a first finish coat. Later, after the paint was dry, I installed them as seen here. (R) I'll get around to restoring the front compartment eventually, but for now it's best to store the parts in place, I think.

In the main compartment, the paint has flaked badly on the sheet metal air conditioning duct along the center of the ceiling. I'm hoping that just scraping it thoroughly will be sufficient, and I'm going to try repainting the first few feet as a test.

Then I spent some time stripping a door post where the paint was likewise in bad shape. Notice the inlay which will, alas, have to be painted over again.

And I installed a repainted coat hook on one of the new wall sections. The rest of the hooks that have been removed need to be sandblasted and repainted. Joel Ahrendt has been doing a great job on the baggage racks, and Gerry Detloff has finished repairing one which was bent.

And then I brought the 277's "lobster trap" over from Barn 4, where it had been stored for who knows how many years, and measured it for replacing a few broken slats. That shouldn't be too hard; once it's done, I'll need some help to install it at the rear end of the roof. Again, it's safer stored in place, I think. These lobster traps were carried on the cars so the trainmen could let them down into Lake Decatur and catch dinner. Or so I was told by somebody who was actually there....

And I went to Woodstock to drop off the engineering drawing for new parts for the IRR 205 at R&B Metals, one of IRM's certified suppliers.

Finally, I visited with Fred Ash, who is fixing up one of the "Art Train" cars for displays. Here we see him removing the shrink wrap that been applied; underneath, this car is in remarkably good shape, I think. (R) The lights were off, but the inside is in excellent condition. The larger room has glass-panelled display cases, and once the car is repositioned and wired, this should be a professional-looking display car for rotating displays of various sorts.

Train Time at Wheaton

A westbound local has pulled into the north track at Wheaton in a light rain and the crew trades jibes with the shop men who will shortly run the cars into the CA&E's coach storage yard just to the west.
Actually it's Fourth of July 2009 at the Illinois Railway Museum; Mark Paulson captured this view of Les Ascher, myself, Randy Hicks and Nick Kallas with the 308-309 in the background prior to the start of the Trolley Parade. Photo is copyright Mr. Paulson and may not be reproduced without permission.

Mid-Continent Railway Museum

The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is located in North Freedom, Wisc. just south-west of the Dells. It suffered severe flooding last year when the Baraboo River overflowed; the river runs right alongside the property. However, the museum appears to have recovered pretty well, and the grounds generally look great. You probably wouldn't notice any evidence of flooding if you weren't looking for it.

Mid-Continent has always been expert at passenger car restorations, particularly their fine collection of wooden cars. Most of the restored cars are effectively displayed in the coach shed, as seen here.

We didn't have time to ride the train this time, but it's scenic and enjoyable.

Like IRM, MCRM has been unable to operate steam for a few years, but work is progressing. Meanwhile, some of them are nicely displayed outside near the depot.

A visit to Mid-Continent is highly recommended if you're ever in the Dells area. And the website has lots of useful information.

277 Update

The 308 and 309 operated both days last weekend, and everything went well, I believe. While inspecting the cars today, I noticed a couple of minor problems to fix. One door on the 309 didn't lock properly, so I adjusted it. And the whistle cord had come loose, so that was re-attached. Then, since the 3007 was outside, I took some pictures to update the steam page.

After that, it was back to the 277. I started disassembling some parts of the wall on the left-hand side that will have to be replaced, as seen here. I'll need to make new molding pieces.





The paint on the smoker bulkhead is alligatored, as seen to the left. I used the heat gun to remove it on the right-hand part, being careful not to use too much heat to damage the wood. It was then sanded down and given a first coat of primer, as seen to the right. It will require another couple of coats of paint and sanding.

And then I stored some more parts, took a seat arm home, etc. But it's nice out, so let's go for a walk and see some scenery.

CTA S-329 started life as a Metropolitan wooden coach. After many years of service, it was demoted by the CTA to a flat car. Its frame then became a foot bridge across Boot Creek, until the floor rotted out, making it unsafe.

Across the creek and through the woods, we come across more of the Museum's farm land. Here the corn is doing well. Eventually the plan is to build a connecting line from the new south yards to the main line right through this area. The main is just beyond the tree line in the distance.

Running Around in Circles

For a change of pace, I spent the day operating Illinois Terminal 415 on the museum's streetcar loop. The 308 and 309 were operating on the mainline throughout the afternoon with Jeff Obarek as motorman; the recently adjusted brakes on the 308 were said to operate just fine. Public attendance seemed decent and the weather was gorgeous. My conductor for the day was Bevin Brouillet (above right). The 415 is actually designed with a conductor's position directly behind the motorman though it can be (and usually is, at IRM) operated as a normal one-man car.

At the end of the day, just when I was leaving, I happened upon a switch move involving the museum's attractive CB&Q S-4 Hudson, 3007. I was able to take a rare photo of the engine in the sunlight, out of its usual habitat in Barn 9.

Brake Cylinder Fixed

Today I managed to replace the return spring in the 308's brake cylinder. To do this, I had to put the car over the pit, so first we moved the locomotive out of the way. Then I disconnected the brake rigging and removed the end casting, as seen here. That was the last opportunity to take a picture.

Henry Vincent helped me put the cylinder back together with the new spring -- thanks!!! Sam Polonetzky and John Nelligan helped with switching. Gerry Detloff and George Clark provided useful guidance. The brakes now appear to be working OK after some brief tests, so the two cars should be in service again this weekend if it doesn't rain. By the way, we still need a trainman for Saturday!



After that, I didn't have the time or energy to start another project. So here, by way of scenery, is the Museum's corn on the south 40. This hasn't been a good year for corn, of course, so it's at least two or three weeks late.

North Shore Mementos

While cleaning up the 277, I came across a couple of interesting items. (L) A tag for a "Prepaid Emergency Shipment" on the North Shore. This one is somehow stamped for IRM on Sep. 23, 1973. Perhaps this was for some sort of observance of the tenth anniversary of abandonment, but that's a little before my time.

(R) A fragment of a CERA bulletin from 1948. Mopst of the news is about the North Shore. It is still a going concern and has just purchased new freight locomotives, although streetcar service is rapidly being phased out.

Cleaning Up the 277

I had never been satisfied with the work setup in the 277. Several boards were laid across the tops of the seats on the left side, as seen here, and used to store paints, screws, etc., and to provide a work surface. This just isn't good for the upholstery. I decided the thing to do was to clear out the baggage compartment so I could set up a bench there. To do that, I had to remove all the seats.

This turned out not to be too hard; I moved some spare parts around in the 253 and opened up plenty of space to store the 277's seats temporarily. That took a while, but I ate too much over the weekend and needed the exercise.

Here is what the front compartment looks like when it's empty. Along the front wall (R), there's a bench that folds down for extra seating, or folds up for more baggage space.

The seat cushions are still stacked on a couple of the seats, but they're easy to move and don't damage anything.

After straightening up, I finished putting a first finish coat on the new wall sections in the main compartment (L). And I installed the restored bell cord hangers.

Del Toro's Tex Mex Grill

Our restaurant review feature continues with Del Toro's Tex Mex Grill in Huntley, a favorite of the Car Shop Sunday gang since it's open on Sunday evenings. The food is mainly Mexican and is quite good, though a bit pricier than some of the other local joints at about $10-15 for most of the entrees. The fajitas and enchiladas are highly recommended, as is the salsa served with tortilla chips before the meal. We'll usually go through several baskets of chips and a couple of bowls of salsa before the meal arrives even though the service is reasonably fast! The servers tend to be quite good at keeping everyone well stocked with salsa, drinks, etc. There's also a bar area next to the dining room.

Del Toro's is located on Route 47 on the north side of Huntley in the Huntley Center shopping mall; visible in the above photo is the Huntley water tower right behind the mall. But beware when you go: the parking lot in the mall has a large light pole in the center of it that has a reputation for having jumped out in front of a particular member's truck, giving Del Toro's its IRM nickname: Andy's Truck Stop.

Anticlimber Interlude

Due to supply issues (i.e. I need to buy more Bondo and Rustoleum primer) I didn't get as much done on the 205 today as I had hoped, but I did get about a third of the anticlimber at the west end of the car wire-wheeled clean and ready for primer. The car will need to be moved from its current location about 1" from the coupler knuckle of South Shore 504 before I can do the center part of the anticlimber, but that will happen in good time. In the meantime, before and after views:



Later I had a lengthy conversation with regular blog reader Dan Fenlaciki and a friend of his who wishes to remain anonymous regarding the mechanical condition of the 205. Arguably the most interesting part of this conversation was opening up the switch group boxes on the car for the first time, which confirmed that the unit switches appear to be intact.

During a break from wire-wheeling I spent about an hour working as ground man for US Army 8537, the museum's 44-tonner which only recently was restored to working two-engine configuration. Joe Stupar (left) was engineer on the 8537 for the Parade of Power during the annual Diesel Days celebration. The highlight of this year's parade was undoubtedly Burlington SD24 504, shown below, which was just repainted and is 99% done following a seven-year restoration. This is truly top-notch restoration work and the project included backdating details such as steps, markers and headlight arrangements. Kudos to the Diesel Department on a fantastic job!

Finally, a quick photo of progress around the grounds. While negotiations continue to obtain ballast for finishing the fourth track in Barn 11, work on the structure continues. The east end of the barn is pictured; the aircraft hangar-style door for tracks 112 and 113 has been added within the past few weeks.

277 Progress

Today I applied filler and then put a second coat of primer on the next section of wall paneling, as seen earlier. After it was dry to the touch, I was able to install it as seen here. I also filled in all the nail holes. The right side wall of the main compartment is now complete. Of course, some more painting is required.

I helped Joe with a switch move for a little while, stored some spare parts, and showed some friends through the 309. There was a good crowd of visitors out today!

Here's what's left of the interior of the Camp Grant. It's almost down to bare steel. I risked life and limb to take these views so you don't have to!

I left somewhat early to catch the 4449 on its way into Chicago. I'll add this to the steam page when I get a chance. Here it is travelling at track speed through Sugar Grove. Wooeeee!

Veneer Repair Made Easy

Today, let's have a lesson in replacing the veneer on wall panels. This is how I did massive repairs on the 308 and 309, but that was before this blog started. For the 277, there was one corner of one of the panels that needed replacement. And since the walls are painted, matching is no problem.

First, I use a heat gun to lift the old veneer. Then the core is sanded smooth.







Next, cut out a piece of new veneer to fit exactly. I like this -- wood you can cut with a pair of scissors. This modern veneer has a paper backing so it doesn't split and can be worked easily.

Contact cement is used as an adhesive. This is not the contact cement you might have used in grade school, but an industrial-grade adhesive used for laminating counter tops and things like that. Not for use by children.





An even layer of cement is applied to both surfaces. Then it is left to dry for 20 to 30 minutes. While drying, it gives off noxious fumes, so this seems like a good time to go have lunch. We're lucky there's a fine Greek restaurant nearby.

Mmm, that was delicious. Now comes the only tricky part: aligning the work correctly. The glue makes an immovable bond as soon as the two parts come into contact, so you only get one chance to put the veneer in the right place. This is a pretty small piece, so it's not too hard. Then press it down hard, and it's set. No clamping required. On the can it says it only acquires maximum adhesive strength after seven days, which was news to me. But since I only want to paint it, maximum strength isn't needed.

There were also some areas on the panel where the veneer had come loose, but was still good. These I attached with epoxy and clamps, in the obvious fashion. Then a first coat of white primer on the whole panel. After the first coat dries, I'll need to apply some filler in a few places, sand, and repaint. And the right side wall in the main compartment will be complete.

I also removed the rest of my tools from the roof, and tightened up some bolts and connections. And more sorting of parts and straightening.

In other good news, this eyesore (the Camp Grant) is being put out of our misery. Three workmen from a demolition firm were demolishing the interior.

And finally, some campus scenery from the material yard. Nature does her kindly best to camouflage our mistakes.

Trip Report - Museum of Transportation

Over the weekend I drove down to St. Louis for a visit to David's home turf, the Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, MO. Formerly the National Museum of Transport, MOT has an unrivaled collection of steam locomotives including several from the mid-1800's as well as the only surviving 0-4-4T "Forney" off the Lake Street Elevated in Chicago. At right is a line-up of steam on display in the Robertson building: Lake Street 8, DL&W "Camelback" 952, and Boston & Providence 17 "Daniel Nason," a 4-4-0 dating to 1863.

MOT isn't just steam engines, though - they also have a sizable collection of diesels and historic passenger and freight cars, plus a variety of other transportation modes. There is a hall with antique autos on display, a Mississippi River towboat plinthed in the parking lot and a couple of airplanes, as well as steam rollers and other assorted oddities. I was particularly interested, though, in the traction collection. The museum has a large collection of St. Louis street railway equipment as well as some very historic items from around the country, including the very first GE steeplecab ever built and the only surviving P5 boxcab off the PRR. One of their shop projects at the moment is a St. Louis Public Service PCC car, 1743, shown at left. This car has been stripped down to the frame and is having a significant amount of welding done to repair corrosion; other work including wiring replacement and backdating to SLPS condition (it ran in San Francisco for decades after its days in St. Louis were through) is also being performed.

Much of the electric collection is in storage and is not accessible to the public; some of the equipment was stored outside for years during the 1960's and 1970's and deteriorated. Much of the electric collection is in decent shape and at least a few pieces are likely to be put on public display within the next few years. Already accessible to the public is one of the museum's restored and operational electric cars, St. Louis Waterworks 10. This car was built for a line that ran out to the Waterworks Department's facility north of St. Louis and was eventually acquired by MOT, which restored it to operation during the 1990's.

If you're ever in St. Louis, MOT is a must-see for any railfans - a tremendous collection of historic equipment in good repair, and even an operating streetcar line! What more could you want?

Dave's Depots - Barrett's Station, Missouri

Today's installment of "Dave's Depots" takes us close to my home. When the Pacific Railroad of Missouri constructed its line west from St. Louis in the 1850s, just west of present day Kirkwood, the construction engineers encountered two hills too large to go around and too steep to go over. The solution was to construct a pair of tunnels. The tunnels were carved out of the hills using hand tools and black powder-based explosives. (This was before Mr. Nobel invented Dynamite). The tunnels became the first railroad tunnels west of the Mississippi River.

In the 1940s, the Missouri Pacific moved the mainline several hundred feet to the south, in order to lay double track through the area. The railroad simply picked up and moved the depot to its present site as well. Later, after World War II, the Museum of Transportation located at the site, and the depot was the museum’s first office, gift shop, and shop area.

The depot remained an active stop until the 1950s, as the area was a stop on the MOPAC's commuter service from Pacific, MO to St. Louis.

The original mainline grade was later used by MOT for the present day demonstration streetcar line. The tunnels remain off-limits, largely due to some past stability issues.
The present pattern of development at MOT has made the depot inaccessible to the public. It sits in the middle of the shop materials yard. The depot is in good shape, and is presently used as the museum's wood shop. (Photo Credit: Frank Hicks)

Trolley Base Installed

Stan Wdowikowski, Charlie Strong, and Frank Sirinek helped me raise the 277's trolley base onto the roof of the car. After a couple of false starts, we used block and tackle to lift the (about 100 lb.) base to the rafter, then pull it over onto the car. It might have been easier if any of us were sailors. After all of our fumbling around with ropes, Charlie complained of being seasick. Hoo ray, and up she rises!

After that, I could do the rest on my own. The base is now bolted down and wired in, as seen here. That took most of the day, but I had some time to do some straightening inside the car and mount another baggage rack. Once the trolley pole has been repaired, we'll have to pull the 277 outside to insert it into the base, and then we'll be ready for operation!

Roof Work Nearly Complete

We had planned to do some more brake adjustments on the 308 today, but it rained without letup all day, so that didn't get done. We sure know how to pick 'em. The brakes are sometimes dragging, and I know that at least we need to install a replacement return spring in the brake cylinder. So I'm afraid I have to red-tag the cars for this weekend.

But the weather was just fine for working on the roof of the 277. I finished installing screws in the saddles and running boards, then installed and connected the fuse box (yellow arrow) and brace for the leads from the trolley base (red arrow). Now all that needs to be done is to install the trolley base. Joel has finished overhauling and repainting it as seen here. (R) Thanks, Joel, it looks great. Now I just need a couple of other guys to help me get it from the floor of the barn onto the roof. Then the pole can be installed when it's finished.

I also started removing all of the tools and parts I probably won't need from the roof. One of the harder parts of this job is getting the tools up and down.

So I ran out of things to do on the roof. Whew! I put a first coat of finish paint on the bulkhead, as seen here.

In the smoker, there are two bell cord hangers as seen here, which use a leather strap. One of them had broken, so I removed it. After taking this picture, I removed this one also and took them home. Bruneau had already acquired replacement leather, so this seems like a good project to do in the basement.

I also took some pictures of the cab, which I have added to the IT album here.

And John Almond, a CA&E fan and IRM member from Tucson, was visiting, so I let him into the 309 to take pictures.

RPO Days at IRM

As promised, here are views of our RPO Days from Charles Amstein. This material is copyrighted by Mr. Amstein and may not be reproduced without permission.The CD contains 275 stills and 12 videos, so it will take me a while to go through it all.

Here are some links to Chuck Amstein's videos:
From inside the car
From trackside
I then noticed there are some other YouTube videos on the same subject.
308/309 runby
There are also some nice cab ride videos taken in the 309 that day here. Enjoy!

Now for the stills:

Chuck may have to help me with identifying some of these pictures, but I believe this must be the group of retired mail clerks who participated that day. They're posed in front of Burlington RPO #1923, which has complete interior arrangements.

Look out below!
A clerk prepares to throw out one mail bag
while picking up another one.

Another clerk prepares to make a catch.

Now we just have to sort it all out:

Inside the car, talking over the good old days.

Update: Jon Habegger writes:
The former RPO clerks in your blog are as follows from left to right:
Bill Killen
Don Bliss
Darrell Mack
Al Horne
Cortie Rolison
Don Lauder
Bob Burkman

I know that five of the gentlemen worked the Chicago & Council Bluffs RPO on the CB&Q (Bliss, Mack, Rolison, Lauder, and Burkman). Al Horne worked the Chicago & KC route on the CB&Q and on the Chicago, Fort Madison, and Kansas City Route on the AT&SF. I am not sure which route Bill Killen worked.

This was a great weekend with these men. While I was pleased to have been able to arrange for them to visit IRM and make another catch, they were thrilled with the fine treatment that they received by all at the Museum. They were very happy to be able to ride in the RPO and remember their days in the RPO, but the five gentlemen from Iowa (the Chicago & Council Bluffs men) were extremely excited to be able to enter the Nebraska Zephyr again since many times they returned home from being on the road via the NZ. When we entered the NZ and were walking to the back, one saw them looking everywhere and remarking that the train looks the same as when they rode it. IRM brought many great memories back to these men. I am most thankful and excited about that.

Hopefully, we will be able to have another RPO weekend in 2010 and have many of these men back along with a few more former RPO Clerks. To these Iowa men (and the other clerks), this was their "Field of Dreams."

277 Update

It was hot again today up on the roof, but it's supposed to be worse by Wednesday. One just has to take frequent breaks and drink plenty of fluids. Today I nearly managed to finish installing all screws in the saddles and running boards. I just need a few more.

I then drilled the holes and installed the trolley hook. This whole project started because, among other things, the hook was pulling the rotten running board into the air, and the last saddle had completely disappeared. Here are the before and after views.

I also started bolting the base pieces for the trolley base in place.

I received a CD from our friend, the photographer Charles Amstein, of pictures he took a couple of weeks ago for RPO days. I'll post some of them as soon as I get some time. Thanks, Chuck!

Trolley Pageant

The trolley pageant went well, except for the weather: it was drizzling most of the day. Just about everything that was scheduled to operate did so anyway. I'll update this post with pictures as they arrive. Here's our first submission, a picture from Kirk Warner. Thanks, and keep 'em coming!








Frank adds: On the left is another photo of our trusty motorman, this time in the 308 (note C-21 controller) westbound at Johnson Siding. And below is some brief video I took with my point-and-shoot Kodak of a meet at Johnson immediately following the parade. Only at IRM!

On the right we see the lineup at Schmidt Siding prior to the start of the pageant. From left to right we see the back end of the L4's tank car train; ComEd SW1 15 towing the dead New York subway cars (does this mean we can use a steeplecab to pull a non-operable diesel in the Parade of Power later this month?); wood Chicago "L" cars followed by 4000's; and North Shore 714-160 directly behind us on Schmidt Siding itself.

Bleg: Pictures of the Pageant

All three of us will be busy during the new improved Trolley Pageant tomorrow, so we're blegging for pictures! If you're going to be an observer, please send either stills (jpeg) or video clips to randallhicks at wideopenwest dot com. You too can be famous!

Announcement -- CA&E Abandonment

On July 3rd, 1957, the CA&E abandoned passenger service without warning shortly after noon, stranding thousands of commuters in Chicago. As we have for more than twenty years, IRM will be holding an authentic re-enactment of this event on Friday, July 3rd, 2009. CA&E cars 308 and 309 will be operating until noon, when passenger service will be suspended, stranding passengers at Seeman Road. They will then have to take the next Diesel coach train to get home. Don't be taken in by imitations. Visit IRM this Friday! (Photo by Dave Mewhinney from 2007)

Update: I dug out a couple of slides of the re-enactment on July 3, 1987. I believe this was the first. The arrow (R) points to Frank, who's standing there with my aunt and uncle and cousin and so on.

Another Update: From the Chicago Trib, "Whatever Happened to the CA&E?"

277 Update

Today it was cloudy and unseasonably cool -- perfect weather for working on the roof of the car. All of the saddles are now in place and caulked down. Many more screws need to be installed, but assembly is progressing nicely.

After my knees and back had reached their daily quota of bending, it was time to relax inside the car. I put another coat of primer on the bulkhead, as seen here.

Joel Ahrendt has been refinishing the baggage racks for me, and two of them are done. I carried two more unfinished ones to the shop, and brought back the finished two. One of them I installed as a test on the right side of the main compartment, as seen here. Thanks, Joel, they look great!

I also decided to make a temporary test installation of one of the seats along the right side wall. Here is a picture of it after installing the seat cushion and side-wall arm rest.

Because the 277 is a combine, total seating is rather limited. There are seats for 30 passengers plus a conductor in the main compartment, and seats for 8 more passengers in the front compartment. There are also some benches which can be folded up for extra seating, maybe five or six persons. But for those 38 people, it's real luxury!

IRM Campus Scenery

The IRM campus actually has many picturesque locations if you know where to look. Here's a selection of views around the property which don't focus on railroad equipment, tracks, or buildings.

Let's start with the War Memorial, which was originally located in the Illinois Central's Twelfth Street station.








Behind it is this arrangement of tablature from the Monon Railroad, with a flower bed.

Our new billboard, south of the trolley bus barn.

The Goddess of IRM.

This windmill tower is the last remaining vestige of the old Knut Olson farm.

Along the Creek

Wetlands on the south 40.

Two views of the North Western bridge over the Kishwaukee, as seen from near the east end of our main line.