Today was the 54th anniversary of the sudden end of passenger service on the CA&E, and we commemorated the day in bigger and better fashion than ever.
We operated a three-car wood train all day, and here's our crew:
(L to R) Frank, myself, Joel Ahrendt (motorman), and Ron Seevers.
At noon, we had the abandonment re-enactment: passengers were told that service had been suspended and they had to get off. Of course, they quickly found other means to get back to the station!After abandonment, all five cars were lined up at the west end, as seen here. (L to R) 319, 308, 309, 431, and 409.
Two steel cars, 409 and 431, were running all day. The 460 will be added for the pageant tomorrow.I should also mention that we have the Dallas crew helping out this weekend. Several members from Dallas who are associated with the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority come up to IRM each year to operate. Thanks, guys!
Everybody seemed to have a good time, and we got several compliments from people who enjoyed being part of the re-enactment.
In other news, the paving seems to have been completed and looks great, but I never got around to photographing it. Come on out and see it for yourself!
In other news, the paving seems to have been completed and looks great, but I never got around to photographing it. Come on out and see it for yourself!
3 comments:
As always, I enjoyed the report and it led to a question when I saw that fantastic line up of CA&E equipment.
What was the maximum amount of cars in a consist used in regularly scheduled service?
I know growing up In Mundelein, during rush hour.. it was not uncommon to see four-five car consists rumbling in from Chicago to it's terminus.
I assume any westbound was split at Wheaton, so these would be arrivals at Wheaton prior to a split. Thanks for any consideration of this question.
We lined up almost according to height.. and it was all accidental.
Bruce:
Eight-car trains were common during rush hours. Westbound at Wheaton, they would typically be split into two or three cars for each of the branches, with the rest sent to the shop. Eastbound the same procedure in reverse.
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