It's an interesting photo because it shows these cars during a midpoint in their rebuilding history. Originally constructed in 1903, they ended up being rebuilt around 1910 to what at the time was quickly becoming the Chicago standard. This was when they became Pay-As-You-Enter cars and lost such quirky features as smoking compartments and coal-fired Peter Smith water heaters.
But the above photo shows car 827 after South Chicago City Railway had merged with Calumet Electric to form C&SC but before the full effects of standardization took hold. There was a gap of a few months between when C&SC was created and when it was placed under the management of the south side behemoth Chicago City Railway, and my guess is that this photo was taken during that brief period. The car appears to still be set up for single-end operation (though these cars had poles and controls at both ends from the beginning); looks to retain its Peter Smith heater and folding fender; and is still in red and cream (C&SC later adopted Pullman green, similar to what CCR used). However it's been modernized with newer trolley bases, has lost its truss rods as well as its rooftop spikes for destination boards, has had angled dasher panels added to the ends, and has had a blind door put in on the front platform to the motorman's right. It's possible that the car had been converted to electric heat at this point and only the smoke jack for the water heater remained; it's tough to tell. Notice any other modifications or changes that I'm missing? Please post a comment! Click here for the full history and more photos of these cars at various stages in their service lives.
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