The first day of IRM's Showcase Weekend this year was an unqualified success, with good crowds, good weather, lots of equipment in operation, and so on. What more could you ask?
The star of the show was undoubtedly the Leviathan, a privately-owned locomotive recently built to 1860's type designs and visiting IRM.
It attracted lots of attention, and pulled a train of two Boonton cars for several trips full of passengers.
It's certainly great to see operating steam at IRM again. I was too busy to take pictures of everything, but the Zephyr, the silver train, a caboose train, and several electric cars were operating.
The three of us spent most of the day operating the Veracruz open car. This, of course, is very popular with the public and we had lots of enthusiastic passengers.
And there was lots more. Here's just a random sample: the Matchbox made a rare appearance. Here it is with Frank Sirinek as the conductor.
Tim Peters has a broken arm as a result of a traffic accident, but he keeps working on the 1797 anyway. I can't explain how, it's astounding. Here he is, smiling in front of the paint job on one side of the car he completed this week.
A new paint job was recently applied to CTA car 30, and it came out of the barn for the first time today. Here we see the experts discussing what needs to happen next.
And we got to see and ride the world's oldest surviving trolley bus!
CTA cars 2153 and 2154 were open for visitors, and had the lights on.
For supper, we all enjoyed Fay's Barbeque and the West End Jazz Band, as usual. We got to talk to several old friends, meet a couple of new ones, and a good time was had by all.
Operations then continued late into the night, but I don't have any pictures of them (yet). If you have some good ones, send them in!
Frank adds...
I managed to snap a photo of David with the sign that we surreptitiously placed on the back of the open car during periods when my father was running.
And here's an "only at IRM" scene heavily laden with Chicago transit. CTA 2153 and 30 are stopped at the 50th Avenue "L" station while CTA 3142 is stopped at the car stop and CSL trolley bus 84 pauses at Depot Street.
And finally, Dan Fenlaciki took Indiana Railroad 65 out for a couple of night trips around the streetcar line. The car is seen here boarding passengers at Central Avenue.
Operations then continued late into the night, but I don't have any pictures of them (yet). If you have some good ones, send them in!
Frank adds...
I managed to snap a photo of David with the sign that we surreptitiously placed on the back of the open car during periods when my father was running.
And here's an "only at IRM" scene heavily laden with Chicago transit. CTA 2153 and 30 are stopped at the 50th Avenue "L" station while CTA 3142 is stopped at the car stop and CSL trolley bus 84 pauses at Depot Street.
And finally, Dan Fenlaciki took Indiana Railroad 65 out for a couple of night trips around the streetcar line. The car is seen here boarding passengers at Central Avenue.
4 comments:
Wish I could have been there but as but I did get to see an old friend, the City of NO tail car in operation on the Rio Grand scenic with the ex LS&I 2-8-0 on the point. A good 2nd option.
Randy left out the best part of the day. Frank and I managed to sneek a "Danger-Student Operator" sign on the back of the Vera Cruz car each time Randy ran it. I believe Frank has footage.
That "only at IRM" scene is outstanding. It should bring a smile to the face of everyone involved at IRM. And for those who go back through the years, thinking of what that intersection looked like before should bring pride and joy to everyone's heart. A great accomplishment.
Art Belanger
Addison
I thought the best part of the day was enjoying two trips on the IT cars (or watching them go around the S curve).
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