Here we have an assortment of slides collected over the years, photographers unknown. Comments are my own. Many of these happen to be cars now at IRM.
This appears to be a fantrip, with the 417 and a 450. Probably 5th Ave. Maywood.
433 and 458 on the Forest Park loop, post 1953. Another fantrip?
300 and 318 on a CERA fantrip, at Elgin.
That's our car! The earlier blue paint scheme, in the hole at Elgin.
In the middle is a WB&A sinker.
320 on the Southern Iowa at Centerville, I think. c.1962.
Note how the railfans are blocking traffic. I sure wish I could have been there.
The 172 at Noblesville, c. 1972 Open to the public, step right up!
Right behind it, the 308, being repainted.
This is the #2 end, which was later disassembled.
This is also our car: the 763 at Milwaukee.
This slide has a date: 6/62.
8 comments:
Can you define sinker? Is it the same as trailer? Can't find a definition via google.
Yes, it's a trailer. There are various slang names for unpowered cars: sinkers, sleds, etc. On the CA&E and the Met, at least, they were officially known as "coaches" which can be confusing -- you generally think of a coach as any car that is completely passenger seating, no baggage compartment.
How long did the CA&E have the WB&A cars, did any operate or were they used as trailers only?
Lee- Put a trailer- or worse yet, an unpowered motor car- in the consist of your train, and you'll quickly see why we call them sinkers! I can only imagine what the 'L was like with so many trailers in the wood car days.
R. W. Schauer
Josh: These cars were acquired in 1937 and 1938 and ran on the CA&E until the end of service in 1957. Although they were motors on the WB&A, IIRC they had 1200V motors and control which could not be converted to 600V, so they were always coaches, even the combines. :)
In earlier days on the Chicago elevated, the proliferation of trailer cars certainly slowed down the trains. But consider that there were many more stations, generally a quarter mile apart. Thus train speeds between stops were not felt to be very important.
My father, an electrical engineer with 43 years of employment with the Rapid Transit/CTA, said that the 4000's were designed to move two trailers with one motor car from a dead stop on the grades out of the State and Dearborn subways. The motors on these cars (and on the earlier wood cars) were built with excess capacity because of their need to haul trailers. This benefits our railway museum a century later because it is very difficult to overwork these motors. Newer cars like the 6000's, 2000's, 2200's, 2400's, etc., on the other hand, are designed with motors of less excess capacity; and therefore can be more easily overloaded.
Dan Buck
Did any of the CAE - WB&A cars get saved? Are there any WB&A cars somewhere?
The only preserved item from the WB&A is a box motor which was later sold to Central California Traction, and is now preserved at Rio Vista in operating condition.
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