Sunday was an eventful day, to say the least. It was the first time in probably close to 25 years that I'd seen the Electroliner run.
I spent the afternoon helping Nick work on the train; more on that later. But first, the fun stuff! As the sun started to set, work on the train ended for the day and it was time to take it for a trip around the streetcar loop to check clearances, hoses, etc on the ruling curve. This provided the chance to go for a short ride on the train and to get some pretty decent photos. The bottom shot shows Zach in the cab.
It was a warm day and some bands of rain passed through early in the afternoon, but by dusk the sky was clear and the train was present for a very nice sunset. It's really exciting to see the train back in operation for the first time in more than 20 years. There are plenty of minor issues that will need attention over time, and of course there's a lot of interior work still underway, but the train definitely runs.
Rewinding a bit, when I arrived in the early afternoon, Nick was working on checking some items off of the Electroliner's to-do list. First I assisted a bit in draining and refilling the #1 air compressor, then it was on to installing a cut-out switch on the battery box.
The switch can be seen here on the right side of the box with the long cable hanging out of it. While not original, this allows the batteries to be isolated with a single switch when the train isn't running. The alternatives to that are either 1) draining the batteries with the various battery-powered circuits on the train, or 2) manually opening the battery box and pulling out the fuse every time the train is put away. On the North Shore, the train would very seldom have been "dead" so this wasn't much of an issue. Anyway, this job was accomplished in time for the evening test trip. In the meantime Zach was repairing some minor air leaks. And that was pretty much it; Joel was doing various department chores, including switching cars, while Doodlebug Bob was working on machining more components for the journal wedge fixture. The 309-319 were scheduled for service; Larry brought them out and got one main line trip in but had to put them away because of the approaching rain.
As a final note, when I was last out (over a month ago!) I had a plywood ceiling panel for Shaker Heights 18 on hand, painted with a fresh coat of white paint and ready to cut down to size. It seems to have been misplaced, though this similar-but-unpainted piece of plywood is still present in the corner of the shop. I suspect that it got moved to somewhere that it wasn't out of the way, I'm just not sure where. Has anybody seen my ceiling panel?
The last time I was onboard the the Electroliner was trolley pageant 1996. One of the motors flashed and the Electroliner limped through the pageant back to the barn.
Looking forward to sitting in the railfan seat again in the near future.
IF you like what you see, you can help by sending a tax-deductible donation to the Illinois Railway Museum. See the "fundraising" box at the top of this column. Thanks! And if you're a member, we can always use more hands-on help, too!
The "Hicks Locomotive and Car Works" banner at the top is taken from original artwork of the company, which was in business from 1897 to 1911. The picture behind it shows the four restored CA&E wood cars at the Museum, starting with #309, which was built by the Hicks Locomotive and Car Works in 1907.
This is not an official website for the Illinois Railway Museum. It represents only the personal views of the authors.
It has been developed and tested using Chrome, Firefox, and IE7 with the screen set at 768x1024. If any other browser gives you a problem, please let me know.
Any reproduction or other use of the material posted here for personal or commercial profit or financial gain would be a miracle. So don't try it.
Our Current Projects
CA&E 36, 308, 309, and 319
For 2024, the 309 and 319 should be available for revenue service. The 308 has a bad motor and the 36 has a broken leaf spring, but work to make them operational again is underway.
CA&E 451, 453, and 460
We are working on reupholstering the seats in these cars.
Shaker Heights 18
The 18 is operational; repairs and repainting are now underway.
3 comments:
Can’t wait to see the Liner run in person.
Will, you are not alone.
The last time I was onboard the the Electroliner was trolley pageant 1996. One of the motors flashed and the Electroliner limped through the pageant back to the barn.
Looking forward to sitting in the railfan seat again in the near future.
Ken MacLeod
Post a Comment