Trolley Pageant 2015

Our staff photographer was otherwise occupied, so we're asking for photos from this year's Trolley Pageant.  I was too busy to do very much, so this will have to suffice until your submissions arrive.

This year we followed the same basic format as last year: each train made one (or two) mainline trips in passenger service, so that people would have an opportunity to ride a variety of equipment.

 

The first train out was the "Brookins Express", cars 36 and 319.  Both cars were packed with passengers, and although the 36 is temporarily unable to motor, as described before, everything went well. 

This was followed later by the old reliables, 308 and 309, with Frank as the motorman.  I came along as a trainman, and it was nice to meet the 409-431 on our trip, and imagine we were at Eola.   There were many other trains running I didn't get a chance to snap.

We seemed to have a very good crowd of visitors, and I spoke to members of at least five other trolley museums: Branford, Arden, McKinney, Rio Vista, and Orange Empire.  

Here's a unique train: Differential dump motor D-13 pulling three cabooses.  Of course, this run sold out quickly.

Our first car, Indiana Railroad 65, operated for a couple of trips.

As time goes on, passenger service gets less and less profitable.  So we're trying to get into the freight business.  If we can't get more traffic than this, though, the future looks bleak.

Here we have in one place nearly an entire history of Chicago rapid transit equipment.  The few missing links are elsewhere in our barns.

Speaking of missing links, Andy brought out the South Shore line car for a trip.  It's not designed for passenger service, of course, but a dozen or so people can sit and others can stand for a ride on a unique piece of history.

 Before they boarded, I had a chance to get some pictures of the interior in daylight. 

 These markings in the cab (R) always kill me.  Because the South Shore has never had any convenient way to turn equipment around, "east" and "west" were permanent features of the car.

 There was lots of streetcar service, too.

Yeow!  The steam train was running all day, and I didn't even bother to take a picture of it!  How obtuse can I be?  The other thing I should take a picture of is the mainline right-of-way.  It's beautiful.  Yesterday I was talking to a man who's in charge of maintaining a ten-mile industrial railroad in Kentucky, and we talked about track and so on.  He said:  "This is amazing!  I wish our railroad looked anything like this!"

 Some people just aren't caught up in the pageantry.  It was a perfect day for applying varnish, so here is Tim working on the ceiling of the 24.  In the near future, it too will be part of the pageant.

And as the markers disappear in the distance, we say farewell until next year....





Update: David Sadowski has posted some great pictures of the pageant.