IRM has just been given a most remarkable and amazing historical artifact: the Electric Traction Speed Trophy! First of all, it's amazing that this trophy is still in existence, and in perfect condition, and secondly, that it has finally found a permanent home where it will be preserved and eventually displayed.
The trophy itself is a large silver-plated cup with engravings as seen here. I'd estimate it's about 30" tall, and it is quite impressive.
Quoting from Middleton's The Interurban Era:
In 1924 Electric Traction magazine began the award of an annual Speed Trophy to America's fastest interurban railways. Texas' Galveston-Houston Electric Railway received top honors for the first two years, but thereafter, as the benefits of the Insull improvements were realized, the three Chicago lines dominated the competition. After 1929 the Insull lines regularly held the first three places, and in 1933, after winning first place for three consecutive years, the North Shore gained permanent possession of the trophy.
Thereafter the trophy was displayed at the line's headquarters at Highwood. The trophy itself passed into possession of the last president of the line, Harold G. Mason. His son David Mason has now donated it to IRM.
We are very grateful to Mr. Mason for this very generous donation. IRM was obviously the most appropriate choice for this unique artifact, firstly because we are the premier North Shore museum with the only comprehensive collection of preserved North Shore equipment.
And secondly, because if there were a speed trophy for present-day trolley museums, we'd win that one too, hands down! We go a lot faster than anybody else in this business!
We should be able to add some more details to the history of the speed trophy, after some research is completed, but for now we thought you'd like to know about it.
A museum most worthy of the trophy!
ReplyDeleteIt was not for nothing that they called the Insull Interurbans Super Interurbans!
ReplyDeleteTM, IRM Member