David Writes....
Saturday was a fairly busy day for us on the CTA 3142. I was operating and Al was doing some more line training. Throughout the day, we had very good passenger loadings, operating the car fully loaded at times. The weather was very nice, a bit chilly at times, but sunny and bright. Art Schwartz from the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum rode with us several times throughout the day. The day also provided a good chance to try out my new CSL/CTA streetcar uniform. Frank pointed out that with the 8-point hat and Ike jacket, I look like Ralph Kramden. One of these days Frank, Pow! Right in the Kisser!
Saturday was a fairly busy day for us on the CTA 3142. I was operating and Al was doing some more line training. Throughout the day, we had very good passenger loadings, operating the car fully loaded at times. The weather was very nice, a bit chilly at times, but sunny and bright. Art Schwartz from the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum rode with us several times throughout the day. The day also provided a good chance to try out my new CSL/CTA streetcar uniform. Frank pointed out that with the 8-point hat and Ike jacket, I look like Ralph Kramden. One of these days Frank, Pow! Right in the Kisser!
In addition to our normal trips, we ran a "Charter" trip for a birthday party that was being held at the museum. The group had their cookout and gift opening ceremony under the Central Avenue/McCormick Place pavilion, and then rode a special trip around the streetcar loop to Depot Street, where they boarded the mainline train. Nick did an excellent job of coordinating the events for the day.
At the end of the day, I took Al shopping at the East Union outlet of Henry's Fine Clothes for Men. As you recall, Henry's is a specialized haberdashery for IRM members, providing the finest in gently used transit clothing. Al was able to find a conductor's jacket that fit him well. Another satisfied customer!
Finally, this old framed poster from the Chicago Surface Lines hangs in the office at IRM near the sign-in book. A good reminder that when you interact with the public at IRM, you are a representative of the museum.
I didn't realize that I was enough of a celebrity to rate two mentions of my visit to IRM on the Hicks Car Works blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks again to everyone for putting up with a heckler for the day. It was great meeting three of you for the first time. I can now identify all of the bloggers with real people, not just writers on the web.
Art Schwartz