July 3rd Abandonment Post-Mortem

In spite of some rather unpleasant weather, the annual CA&E abandonment festival went off pretty well.

The first train out was the wood car train, with 319, 308, and 309.  On each trip we actually needed three cars to handle the crowd of passengers.

And then the steel cars 460 and 431.

To reduce expenses, since we're on the brink of insolvency, we have here two crews in one picture:

(L to R)  Steven Jamrog, Aaron Sucharewski, Drew Beveridge, Will Knogl, and me.  The younger generation all did a great job of running the trains.

At noon, the wood cars unloaded our passengers at Seemann, as we usually do, and then ran extra back to Wheaton.  The passengers were soon picked up by the North Western bilevels, who did an efficient job of rescuing them. 

And since heavy rain was approaching, the wood cars had to rush to get back into the barn before the deluge.  It's not easy changing ends, throwing switches, and doing it all in a hurry!  And it was so hot, I really didn't mind being thrown out of work.

Besides the CA&E cars, of course, there were several other trains operating all day.

If you missed the first day of Independence Day Weekend, there are still two more coming up with different consists each day.  Don't miss it!

Help Wanted

CA&E Abandonment Day is coming up soon, (like tomorrow!!) and we need help.  We will be running a two-car steel train and a three-car wood train, and we need at least one more trainman to help on the wood cars.  Now I know it's been pretty hot the past few days, and if the weather gets too brutal we may decide to abandon the abandonment, rather than risk having people suffer from the heat.  But the trains will still be running in any case.  So we could use one or two trainmen.  You do not need to be rules-qualified.

Simms Collection -- Piedmont & Northern Passenger Cars

As before, numbers in parentheses have been added for reference.  Other captions are taken verbatim from the prints.

(2051)

P&N #2100
Gastonia NC   11/13/43
DO NOT COPY
Vic Wagner

(2100)
Greenville, S.C.
6-17-47
John F. Humiston

(2100)
P&N Tr. 6
Honea Path, S.C.
6-19-47
John F. Humiston

(2101)
Greenwood, S.C.
6-19-47
John F. Humiston

(2101)

(2102 - 5103)

(2104)

(2104)

(2104)

Granville shops
Aug. 8, 1947

P&N #2103-2051
leaving Charlotte N.C. station
May 18, 1950

P&N #2103
Mt. Holly N.C. station
May 18, 1950

#2104
Spartanburg, S.C.

P&N #2101
Greenwood S.C. term.
July 16, 1934

Coming into Charlotte Station
Nov 1941 when on Carolina
maneuvers

S.C. Div.   P&N
194-

Simms Collection -- Piedmont & Northern Locomotives

The Simms collection has a large number of pictures of the Piedmont & Northern, about which I know little and will have to learn.  We'll start with some of their many large electric locomotives, since the line had a substantial freight business.  Most of these prints have little or no information on the back.  Numbers in parentheses have been added for convenience.

River Jct., S.C.
6-16-47
(351 - a freight motor rebuilt from ex-PRR MPB-54 combine 350 following a wreck)

River Jct., S.C.
6-16-47

(351)

(5005 - Baldwin/Westinghouse, 1911)

#5006 ex SL&U
Greenville S.C. Shops
Aug. 3, 1947

(5102 - GE, 1913)

(5104 - 5100 - both GE, 1913)

(5105 - GE, 1913)

(5601 - homebuilt, 1924)

(5601)

(5601)

#5601   now on Northern Division
Greenwood S.C.
Jan. 1941

Lyman, S.C.
6-18-47
(5610 - homebuilt, 1938)

Spartanburg, S.C.
6-17-47
(5611 - GE, 1941)

(5611)

(5611)

5612 Built Nov. 17th 1949
8 568 Westinghouse motors
Motors Ball-Bearing Journals
Weight 252800
Horse Power 3200
Clasp Brakes
16 Brooke Cylinders
This Engine was built at GN [Greenville, SC] Shops

Spartanburg, S.C.
6-18-47

Trolley Weekend Sunday

Many thanks to Zach Ehlers, freelance blog reporter as well as IRM president (we'll let you make the call as to which of those is the more prestigious title), who sent along some photos taken on Sunday of Trolley Weekend, which my father and I both had to miss.

Saturday evening, Zach and the other guys switched around the CA&E wood cars to add the 308 to the middle of the train. Many thanks to all! Here's the three-car train on the ladder track, ready to go into service, with West Towns 141 in Yard 6 poised to go out on the streetcar line.

The 319, 308, and 309 are seen on Station 1 with ComEd 4 and the coach train on track 2.

That's a snappy-looking crew! Zach is in the cab as motorman, with Drew and Aaron as trainman and conductor, respectively.

And here's a motorman's-eye view of the D13 cutting off the caboose train; it pulled the caboose train for the first half of the day and was then swapped out for Charles City Western 300.

A Beautiful Day Along Van Aken Boulevard

Frank writes...

Saturday of Trolley Weekend saw spectacular weather in the mid-70s and what seemed like a pretty big crowd. Various unusual consists and pieces of equipment were in operation.

My job for the day was an enjoyable one: running the 18 during its first foray into revenue operation in nearly two years. The track adjustments at South Junction that were made a few weeks ago had their intended effect, and the car ran all day without a hitch. I took the above photo while my conductor, Charlie Voyda, was giving a car talk at Electric Park. We even had some riders from Shaker Heights itself, who live within sight of the rapid transit line and were quite surprised to see a car signed for Van Aken Boulevard.

I really didn't get a chance to take any photos because we didn't stop all day. There were just two cars on the streetcar line, us and the D13, and they were boarding at Central Avenue - using some very tall metal stairs - and then running "express" around the car line to unload back at Central. As such, for all the other streetcar stops, we were the only car all day. This worked out pretty well, as it turned out - we had fairly heavy loads on most trips, including a couple where we were really packed. The D13 would load at Central and start moving when we got to Barn 9, then we'd depart Central by the time they returned.

The D13 was very popular, no doubt - it's not often you get a "fully open-air" ride around the streetcar line! Nathan, Mikey, and their crew put picnic tables in the dump section for people to sit at, and this seems like it worked great. Hey, you know, Hops Aboard is coming up in August...

In addition to the 18 and D13 on the car line, CTA 2243-2244 - which also haven't seen much revenue operation recently - were in shuttle service running out of the 50th Avenue west track. I didn't get any photos, but on the main line, there was a three-car North Shore train consisting of the 251, 714, and 749; the caboose train, hauled by Charles City Western 300, recently back in operation; the coach train, pulled by ComEd 4; and North Shore "MD car" 229, which was carrying riders in the center freight section.

Finally, apropos of nothing, but we get all kinds of interesting things donated. This fiberglass "engine" (of sorts) recently showed up, courtesy of a generous donor. Whether it makes a future appearance on the IRM playground - either with or without its current weird animal-themed livery - remains to be seen. Anyone know what that logo on the front is?

WANTED - M15 Brake Handle

Calling all collectors! IRM is looking for WABCO M15 brake handles, of the type shown above, so that we have a spare or two in case we need one. These are typically solid cast iron, and you'll note that the D-shaped hole for the stem is at a 90-degree angle compared with the more common M22/M23 handle. If you're interested in trading, selling, or donating an M15 handle, please drop us a line!