History of Illinois Terminal #277

Car 277 stops in the middle of the street at Girard while the conductor waits to board passengers. This is a classic view of Illinois Terminal interurban service.
All photos from the Robert E. Bruneau collection.

Note: These photographs are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.

The Illinois Terminal Railroad was perhaps best known for its distinctive main-line interurban cars with their flat-top arched roofs, three-window fronts, massive radial couplers and other features designed by the road’s master mechanic, J. M. Bosenbury. These cars were all built between about 1907 and 1915, and held down most long-distance passenger service until the end in 1956. Seven of these cars survive, five of them at IRM.

Car 277 was built as part of an order for a total of thirteen cars built by the St. Louis Car Company; eleven of them, including the 277, were built in 1913, one more in 1914, and one more in 1917. Thus this car is two years newer than the 518, but by the same builder. It is a heavy interurban combine (meaning it has a baggage section as well as a coach section) and was designed to pull several unpowered trailers. It is of composite steel and wood construction, and was built with the sheet metal sides it now has. Originally it had arched upper stained glass windows, and they are still there, but they were covered over by more sheet metal during the 1930's. Like all Illinois Terminal combines, it has a baggage door only on the right side of the car. This picture from the Volkmer collection is the best I have seen of its as-built appearance.

The Illinois Terminal did not run interurban trains of M.U. cars, such as the North Shore or CA&E trains that we are familiar with at IRM. These combines served as locomotives for the fleet, and most of them were geared for pulling power. The top speed is about 50 MPH, and they have heavy duty grids to allow them to start a train of several trailers without trouble. Some trailers were equipped with two motors but no motorman's controls, and they would be controlled from the leading combine. The 277 has a control jumper for this purpose.

Several modifications were made during the 277's service life of more than forty years. Perhaps the most noticeable was the installation of an early air-conditioning system. This is the huge box behind the front truck on the right side, as seen below. Installing the air conditioning also meant that the brake system had to be changed to truck-mounted brake cylinders, since the A/C blocked the path of standard brake rigging.

The interior was changed by installing a new metal ceiling with bulls-eye lighting below the original ceiling. The original ceiling is still there, although it's badly deteriorated. And in the main compartment, the original walkover seats were replaced by more modern tubular frame seats. The seats are all equipped for antimacassars, just like on railroad parlor cars.

This photo is taken from a large print which was folded, and finally broke, hence the seam. The train is leaving the Peoria station, heading for the drawbridge over the river. The level of detail is excellent -- notice the antimacassars on the seats, for instance.

(L) The 277 on the hill out of Peoria.

(R) At Springfield, Oct. 28, 1947

(L) A three-car Illmo Limited powered by the 277 rolls past freight trailer 606 and other work equipment.

The only other IT combine preserved is the 241 at the Museum of Transport in Kirkwood, Mo. Car 241 is of great interest for several reasons. Built by ACF in 1908, it represents an earlier stage of IT combine design. It is of wood construction with sheet-metal sides, but the arched windows were never covered over, and it still has the original railroad roof. Thus its appearance antedates the IT standard with arched roofs, etc. It was originally equipped for AC operation on the line from Peoria to Springfield, but this did not last long. It was also the first IT car to be preserved; when it was withdrawn from service on June 1, 1950, it was acquired by MOT and moved to the site in Kirkwood, just west of St. Louis. Here it is now stored inside, but is not on public display and is in need of serious restoration.

In 1952 the 277 was repainted in the Illinois Terminal's final paint scheme of dark blue with silver windows. Photo from the Ray Buhrmaster collection.

Here is a color slide of the 277 in the blue paint scheme, from the Scalzo collection.

The 277 was the last car to leave East Peoria, on June 11, 1955, when service to Peoria ended. It was also used on several fan trips in later years. The Illinois Terminal finally abandoned its last long-distance interurban route on March 3, 1956, and the surviving interurban cars were surplus. Nearly all were scrapped.

Fortunately, the young Robert Bruneau borrowed enough money from his parents to purchase two cars and have them shipped on their own wheels to the Illinois Electric Railway Museum, then located at the foundry site in North Chicago. The cars selected were the 277 and the center-door car 101. Here they were repainted and maintained, awaiting the time when the Museum would be able to acquire its own site and right-of-way, so the cars could be operated. For a while, the Museum's book store/gift shop was located in the baggage section of the 277. In 1964, the 277 moved with the rest of the collection to Union. Again, it moved on its own wheels over the railroads.

Here the roof was patched up and the car was made operational in late 1969, after it was joined by the 518. However, operation of heavy electric cars was limited until the substation was completed in November 1970. Thereafter, the 277 operated regularly for several years. It has been stored inside since about 1975. The highlight of its career at IRM came in September 1978, when the 277 pulled a four-car train including the 518, Peoria, and 234. Since that time the interior of the car has been partly disassembled for needed restoration work, but the overall condition is basically good.