Showing Off Showcase

Saturday of Showcase Weekend (the festival previously known as Member's Day) went off spectacularly, as usual.  The weather was just about perfect.  Frank and I spent the morning and early afternoon running the Veracruz open car, and that's the one thing I didn't get any pictures of.  But for most of the rest, here's a brief selection of views.  As always, there's no substitute for being there in person.

In the morning, the 1630 was pulling a demonstration freight train, a fairly rare sight:

And in the trolley bus department, Richard Schauer brought out the 9631 for a dedication ceremony.  You'll remember for a couple of months we were posting frequent updates on its repainting.  The wait was worth it:

North Shore 160 was showing off its newly-restored interior.  Here it is parked at 50th Avenue.

Pete Galayda is justly proud of his accomplishments.

Two CTA singles were in shuttle service, but switched off with the North Shore cars so that Greg Ceurvorst could get a main-line trip.  The Skokie Swift 30 operates relatively seldom.

And here comes the Shay, pulling the caboose train.

The Zephyr was running all day, and into the night.

The 1808 shows off its newly repainted end at Barn 4.

And friendly Mike Hudoc takes a well-deserved break from his labors to talk to passers-by about the project and explain the joys of volunteering!

Meanwhile, back behind Barn 4, the Track Dept. were hard at work removing track 42 east.  The rails were salvaged, but here the tie crane is picking the splinters of what was left of the ties.  Those guys really work hard and efficiently.

Next, we see the 1630 again, now pulling the heavyweight train:

The Milwaukee Road dynamometer:

The Burlington RPO was busy with mail drops and pickups all day.   Watch out for flying mailbags!

And at the end of the train, three special cars either newly or nearly restored: the Dover Strait:

the Villa Real:

and the private car Pawnee:

All of which, of course, were open for the public to go through and admire.

I got a chance to meet some old friends who were visiting, such as Randy and Betty Anderson, Larry Goerges, Ken Jamin, and several others, and met some blog readers.  And caught up on the news.  That's always one of the most enjoyable parts of the day.

I was unable to stay around for very long after dark, but some new equipment was brought out:

And there were several other things I didn't get a chance to photograph.  For instance, the Electroliner was open for tours in Barn 7.  We hope to be able to feature it soon.  So don't go away!

Frank adds...

I had to leave mid-afternoon, just after we put the open car back in the barn, but I did snap a handful of photos.

Here's the 19 in the barn, looking pretty much the same as it has for a while. It was pointed out to me that this was an appropriate car to have out, given that Saturday was only one day after Mexican Independence Day.

The rebuilt truck for the 1754 was on the pit; I didn't get a chance to chat with any of the car shop regulars so I'm not certain what the latest on this project might be.

And here's a shot of Mark, Marcus, and one other Track Department volunteer working on track 42 cleanup. As always, a huge THANK YOU to the unsung volunteers who do the behind-the-scenes work like this to help keep the trains running!