The Doerr Photo Collection - Electric Cars

The family of the late Ron Doerr, who volunteered at IRM for a period in the 1980s, has donated his photo collection to the Museum. These undated photos mostly appear to have been taken in the mid-1980s. Please help us by commenting with any insights into the pictures - dates, points of interest, people's names, etc. Thank you!

This page includes photos of electric cars, sorted by road number.

Click here to return to the Doerr Photo Collection index page.

 All pictures are copyrighted by the Illinois Railway Museum and may not be reproduced without permission.

#306 - Our oldest electric car is "West Chicago Street Railroad 4" which was never actually WCSR 4, but was faux-restored to that identity by the CSL in the 1930s. It's shown here in the same spot it occupies today, on track 74 near the west end of the barn.

#339 - We're standing north of Yard 4 East looking east toward Barn 2, as ComEd 4 sits in Yard 3 (still under wire), the 604 sits in Yard 2 (also still under wire), a two-car train of 4000s passes eastbound over the East Switch, and Fox River Electric 306 - all the way to the right - proceeds down the streetcar line.

#328 - The oldest piece of street railway equipment from Chicago is horsecar 8, acquired from the CTA in 1985 and claimed by them (and by predecessor CSL) to have been built in 1859, though other sources cast doubt on that. Either way, it's most likely the oldest piece of rail equipment at IRM.

#023 - A South Shore car I can't identify - maybe the 8? - outside a very new-looking barn I can't identify. Is this 7 just after it was extended?

#271 - I'm not certain of the location but this may be the pit lead. South Shore 8 was acquired sans motors (it's still missing them, though motors are on hand) but was run a handful of times with the 34 as a control trailer. Behind the 8 is Broad Street 126, which was acquired for parts for the 55 and was cut up in 1987.

#354 - Wisconsin Electric Power Company 12 is our portable substation. For years it was on display in Barn 6 but lately it's been stored in one of the south barns. It arrived at IRM in 1986, so this was probably taken pretty shortly after that.

#479 - We're looking north from what today is the throat of Yard 5 at Cornwall 14, which appears to be shoving ComEd 4 either out of Yard 3 or maybe down the streetcar line.

#146 - South Shore 34, shown here, arrived in 1984 and I believe it was given a "dip job" of orange paint prior to the 1985 ARM convention. So that narrows down the time frame of this photo, which was taken near the east end of Yard 4. I believe the South Shore cars (that's probably car 8 on the left) are on the pit lead. Check out that ramp on what I suspect is track 42! And what's that poking its nose out of the barn door on track 21? Why, it's the 309, of course! Between 1980, give or take, and about 1993, the 309 and 321 lived on track 24.

#270 - South Shore 34, which along with car 8 was one of the first two "orange cars" that arrived at IRM, approaches Depot Street on the east leg of the wye. In recent years, the 34 and 40 - our two operable South Shore cars - have usually been towed up to the depot so that they can avoid the less pantograph-friendly wire over the yards and streetcar line.

#209 - It's 1986 and CTA 52 has arrived at IRM, flanked by 6461 and 6462.

#212 - I recall that for a number of years CTA 52 sat on display at 50th Avenue, I suppose until Barns 6 and 8 were built around 1994-1995.

#217 - It appears that Cornwall 14 is towing the flatcars with CTA 52 and the two 6400s west out of Station Track 1. This must be 1986, when those cars arrived.

#291 - A nice photo of CTA 52 on the flatcar in the station when it first arrived in 1986.

#247 - Oops.

#275 - Indiana Railroad 65 is stopped at Central Avenue on the streetcar line, with 50th Avenue visible at far right. In the old days, seeing the 65 out on the railroad was pretty unusual, and the car always attracted plenty of attention.

#309 - West Towns 141 is on display in Barn 7 with Milwaukee 972 on the right

#304 - CSL 144 is shown in front of Barn 4 on track 41 west with Fox River Electric 306, prior to being repainted, behind it.

#276 - North Shore 160 is on the streetcar line at the south wye switch, possibly during the Trolley Parade. 

#300 - IT Birney 170 is shown on display in Barn 7. It's still there, though not, I think, in exactly the same spot.

#083 - I'm guessing this is in Barn 7, looking west down Track 73, probably when the barn was brand new. On the left that would be CSL 460 and 9020, which sat there for years (the 460 has since been relocated). In the middle can only be North Shore 213, still tarped, with one of the Met cars on the right.

#332 - It looks like we're looking at a pair of MD cars stored on track 42 east. This is the same location that CSL 4001 later ended up at. The car on the left may be the 237, which we scrapped in 1996, while on the right I'm guessing that may be the 218 under the tarp.

#398 - My best guess is that this MD car is North Shore 218; I don't think it's the 237, which we scrapped in 1996, though I could be wrong.

#253 - Next in line on track 81 (today 91) is the 229, and then in the foreground we get a peek at the Electroliner, still in Red Arrow colors but with some scorch marks from welding work visible.

#329 - North Shore 229 is at the south wye switch with onlookers in the foreground, so this is likely the Trolley Parade. Anyone know who the motorman is?

#079 - Anyone know what the story here is?

#265 - North Shore 251 is in Yard 4 West just a few years after it was repainted in "Silverliner" colors.

#177 - This is not a great photo, but appears to show North Shore 253 on display in Barn 7 before it was cosmetically restored to the two-tone green livery it wears today.

#264 - North Shore 253 is on display, likely in Barn 7, before it was repainted in 1940s two-tone green.

#478 - I believe we're at the southeast corner of Barn 7 (though this may be before the barn was extended eastward) and this is Charles City Western 300, of course. It looked like this for many years until Pete Galayda took it on as a restoration project, and the rest is history. For a little while in the early 1990s it was stored right in front of the 309 on the south track of Barn 2.

#058 - Here's a neat one. We're standing about where the UP turbine is today. Fox River Electric 306, which arrived in 1985 and is today in Barn 4 under restoration, is in Yard 4 West before it was cosmetically restored. Over near the south end of the wye you can see SWPC 409 (UP 1369), with the Allis-Chalmers Safety Shoe Store - today better known as the Pullman troop sleeper - mostly hidden behind it. Then to the left of the 803 is C&WI 1917, a locomotive crane that was later scrapped.

#255 - Here's a curious one! I knew that Fox River Electric 306 had been cosmetically restored at IRM in the mid-1980s, and I knew that it had briefly run in Union, but I couldn't have told you that those two things didn't happen in that order. Here we have a shot taken from across the C&NW showing the 306 apparently traversing Car Line Junction, still in overall Brookins orange and with some windows missing. Moreover, it doesn't appear to have a front pole. So this must have really been a quickie effort to get it running. Off to the left, in Yard 3, appears to be C&NW baggage car 1236 before it got stuffed and mounted next to the depot to serve as the gift shop storeroom.

#263 - A beauty shot of Fox River Electric 306 during the brief period after it had been made operational, and cosmetically restored, but before it went into Barn 4 for full frame-up restoration. That effort, suspended for a quarter century, has now resumed, and this sight may again be seen in the coming years!

#019 - Our hero, CA&E 309, eastbound at Johnson Siding, which would have been pretty new at this point. The car was very much a work in progress at the time.

#020 - ...and, back westbound she goes.

#070 - It's the 309! I'm pretty sure that's not my father running it, so my best guess is that it's Bob Rayunec. (Bob Bruneau, who used to josh Rayunec because in photos he often happened to be looking at the ground, would surely concur.) Location uncertain, maybe the east wye just north of the south wye switch?

#174 - And here's the 309 while still mid-restoration. It looks kind of like there are seats in the smoker and at the end of the main compartment, but not in the middle half of the car.

From Randall Hicks: I can date this to Member's Day 1986. Interior restoration was still very much in progress, and most of the seats were still missing. We operated to 50th Avenue for the first time, and usually had passengers in all of the available seats. Guests included Ed Frank, Jr. And Frank himself (age 4) helped by collecting tickets on the car.

#244 - We're up at the depot and the 309 is in service, albeit with only a partial complement of seats. For a number of years the car ran with canvas only down the center section of the roof.

#302 - It appears that the 354 is pulling out of Barn 4 on track 42 west. Is it me, or does it look like the doors are missing?

#067 - IT 415 crosses Central Avenue on the car line. This was obviously taken before 50th Avenue was put in, and the Zephyr is in its longtime storage/display location in the now-gone Yard 1.

#274 - Another view of IT 415 up at the depot

#173 - The 431 at Johnson Siding in a field of corn. Nice barn.

#182 - The 431 is passing the south wye switch, presumably during the Trolley Pageant.

#299 - CSL (actually CTA) 460, one of our two "Big Pullman" streetcars, is shown in its longtime home on track 73, one berth from the west end right behind the 4021. It was acquired from the CTA in 1985 in the condition shown, but IRM volunteers cosmetically restored it. In 2016 it was moved from this spot for the first time in 30+ years and relocated to Barn 13.

#279 - South Shore 504 is on display in Barn 3. This car was beautifully painted c1979, so given that this photo was taken just six or eight years later, the paint obviously went bad awfully quickly. The car still looks basically like this today.

#272 - IT 504, the "Peoria," is on display in Barn 3

#277 - I believe this is the 518 and that it's on track 33, back before Barn 7 got wire put into it and much of Barn 3 was filled with electric cars.

#357 - North Shore line car 604 appears to be on the streetcar line just north of Central Avenue, most likely during the annual Trolley Parade.

#154 - North Shore 714 and 251 are westbound at the west switch, passing the future site of Spaulding Tower.

#273 - North Shore 714 and IT 415 are seen up at the depot. Anyone know who the two gentlemen on the platform are?

#327 - This is Kansas City Public Service 755, in its c1970s Philadelphia Bicentennial livery as SEPTA 2267, the "South Carolina." This car arrived in 1985, so this picture was probably taken shortly thereafter, because before too long the car was tarped. It was painted in KCPS colors about 2001 and is currently the subject of major restoration work. To the right is probably Cleveland 4223, at the time painted as TTC 4648.

#266 - And here we go with an Electroliner flipbook! First up is car "A," one of the end cars. The train is still in (rather sad-looking) Red Arrow colors, but you can tell that quite a bit of steel has already gone into it. Basically the entire side of the car has been cut out and replaced at floor level, and of course that step well is new, having been removed during the train's time in Pennsylvania. That looks like Jim Meindl leaning out the cab door.

#267 - Next up is the bar car, again with all new steel along the floor. And what's that off to the left? Why, it's the "C" coach car, of course. That big hole is a former door - the Red Arrow cut an extra door into the train at this point because their platforms weren't long enough to span the doors in the end cars. This mid-train door allowed them to get the center door and one of the end car doors onto the platform. IRM removed the doors (one on each side, of course) and welded them up to backdate the train.

#268 - Here's a better view of the "C" car with its Red Arrow-era door visible. It looks kind of like the door has been removed but the steel patch, complete with window, hasn't yet been welded in. For some reason the rear pole isn't up, but I don't know whether or not that means the train is just running on four motors.

#269 - And here's end car "A1," again with a lot of new steel along the floor and a new step well. It also looks like it still has its Red Arrow third rail beams, but I think the square marker housings that were added in Pennsylvania have been removed. This is at the south end of the wye, and the 4000 in the background is in 50th Avenue.

#060 - The west wye as viewed from just west of Barn 4, with the 803, MILW 37A, and DM&IR 84 on the wye. I'm not sure what that passenger car on the left is. Richard Schauer suggests this may be the "Floyd River," which arrived in 1986.

#066 - Pretty much the same view as photo #060

#240 - Here's an intriguing shot of the 803 while it was being repainted. Apparently its pantographs were taken off to do this work, or maybe they were removed to transport it to IRM?

#477 - Yikes, the 803 is on fire! That's probably the 101, judging by that big headlight atop the cab at the left edge of the photo. This photo was probably taken pretty soon after the 803 was painted, and it still looks this good.

#282 - Milwaukee 972 ran during the 1970s, but by the mid-1980s it was out of use, shown here on display in Barn 7 before that barn had wire put into it. On the right is "West Chicago Street Railroad 4."

#178 - And here's Milwaukee Electric 1129, with CSL E223 on the left and North Shore  749 on the right. If I had to guess, I'd guess that the E223 may be in the same place it is today, meaning this is track 71.

#278 - And here's TM 1129, facetiously lettered 1111 by Bill Nedden, on display on the north track of Barn 7 with CSL E223 and F305 visible beyond it.

From Bill Wulfert: TM 1129 is numbered as 1111, the "4 Aces" as Bill Nedden used to call it.

#129 - Sic transit gloria Muni. Muni 1183 was an ex-Kansas City PCC that had gone to Toronto and then to San Francisco before coming to IRM in the early 1980s. But it was in wretched, rusted-out condition, and when we were able to obtain an identical car in far better shape from Philadelphia, 1183's days were numbered. It was disposed of in 1987 - apparently in Yard 7 using the ComEd crane.

#130 - Another photo of the KCPS/Muni PCC going into a scrap gon. The AT&SF stock car is on the left, while the trolley bus barn is off in the distance on the right.

#361 - This isn't the best photo, but it shows IRM's first ex-Kansas City PCC, KCPS 767. The car later went to Toronto, where it ate road salt for many years, before being sold for a few final years of service in San Francisco as Muni 1183. Car 1183 came to IRM in the early 1980s, but it was in poor condition, so after we acquired an ex-KCPS car in far better shape from Philadelphia, 1183 was scrapped in 1987.

#298 - We're at the northwest corner of Barn 4 and the Matchbox looks like it's in the home stretch of a multi-year restoration. It's on shop trucks, though, so the work isn't quite done yet.

#094 - Here we are in what I believe is Barn 8, today Barn 9. If I'm right, we're looking north along track 81, which had wire over it for many years. The IC MU cars are sitting about where the Zephyr lives today; at the right is probably GN&A 26.

#283 - IC 1380, the trailer half of our IC MU car set, is shown in Barn 8 (today Barn 9). Four or five heavyweight IC MU trailers are preserved in other museums, plus there are a couple in a mall in Barrington, but IRM has the only extant motor car.

#137 - I believe this is probably in Barn 8 (today's Barn 9) on the easternmost track, which for many years was the only track in that barn with trolley wire over it. The IC MU cars on the right are pretty obvious, and on the left is the Zephyr with just the corner of the Ingersoll-Rand boxcab visible. Beyond the MU cars, it looks kind of like that's the Electroliner - anyone recall?

#341 - I'm not sure of the location (any guesses?) but this is obviously the "skeleton," CSL 1467, on the ground and tarped. At some point after this photo, I'm not sure when, it was provided with makeshift bolsters and put back onto its trucks.

#476 - IT Class B 1565 passes in review as it heads up the east leg of the wye, presumably during the Trolley Parade. It looks like there are even spectators watching out the windows of the 50th Avenue station house!

#360 - IT line car 1702 is pictured, probably in Barn 7. It is currently (as of 2022) undergoing intensive restoration work after many years of benign neglect.

#292 - For many years, from the 1980s into the 2000s, the 1754 came out once a year for the annual Trolley Parade. That may be why it's out for this photo, taken just north of Central Avenue.

#149 - The 1808, which as of this writing is undergoing a major restoration effort in Barn 4, probably headed up the west wye just north of the Central Avenue streetcar stop.

#252 - We've got to be on the east track of Barn 8 (today Barn 9), which for many years had wire over it. The E5 is at the door and here's CRT 1808, today under heavy restoration in Barn 4.

#294 - Here's the 1808 on the car line just north of the Central Avenue streetcar stop. During the 1970s this car often ran in revenue service towing the 1024, but by the 1980s I believe it only came out occasionally.

#303 - We're in Barn 7 and this is CSL 2843, one of the two "green cars."

#307 - This is CSL 2846 on the right with Charles City Western 300 beyond, looking east-southeast at the east end of track 74 before Barn 7 had wire put into it.

#281 - And here's Met car 2872, as evidenced by the nice number glass that's been put in place. It looks like cosmetic restoration may have started with the car's end.

From Bill Wulfert: Both Met Cars were painted on one side only with both ends painted. This was done on the blind side. Later on the cars were wyed and the other sides were painted, except for the area that was missing siding.

#280 - Here we are in Barn 7, at the east end (though I believe the barn was extended a few years after this, so this isn't the current east end of the barn), looking at the two Met cars. This is the 2888, judging from the spray paint on the door.

#308 - For some 15 years, give or take, CSL (er, CTA) 3142 was a major restoration project in Barn 4. Here it's shown in the opening stages of work, apparently on track 42 in the middle of the barn. For many years in the 1990s, I remember it was on 42 at the east end of the barn.

#305 - CSL 4021, the last "Blue Goose" prewar PCC from Chicago, was pretty sad looking when it first arrived in 1985. Before long it had been beautifully restored (cosmetically) to as-delivered appearance.

#297 - CSL 4001 was stored on the north side of Central Avenue from the time it arrived at IRM, around 1970, until that area was cleared to build Yard 5. From then until 1994 it was stored here, near the east end of track 42, under a tarp and on a pair of CSL trailer trucks that were later traded to Seashore for a Cleveland streetcar trailer that eventually made its way to Northern Ohio.

#296 - CTA 4146, the "Baldy," has been undergoing restoration work of one sort or another for quite a while. It's shown here in the mid-1980s in Barn 4.

#069 - This is Cleveland PCC 4223, which today is undergoing a frame-up restoration in Barn 4. At the time it was still in Toronto colors as 4648, though it had ended its career in Shaker Heights in this livery. I believe this photo is in Yard 3. Anyone know what that car on the left is? It may be the same one that's in photo #003.

#080 - For a while, TTC 4648 - originally Cleveland 4223, and currently undergoing restoration in Barn 4 - spent much of its time on display in Yard 4 west.

#331 - Cleveland Transit System 4223 arrived at IRM in 1982, and here it's sitting in front of Barn 2 (which at the time was filled with electric cars) being repainted. It arrived in Toronto colors and with a Toronto number, 4648, although it had spent a few years on the Shaker Heights line just before retirement.

#359 - Cleveland Transit System 4223 is today undergoing heavy overhaul in Barn 4, but in the mid-1980s it was shot sitting in Yard 3 after being given a fresh coat of Toronto maroon and cream along with Toronto lettering. When it arrived at IRM, it wore these colors but had Cleveland RTA lettering, as it finished out its service life on the Shaker Heights line.

#290 - CTA 4253, the infamous open-platform 4000. I don't recall the story behind one end of this car being removed, but for a little while there was a gate from a long-gone gate car installed at that end, and I think the car may have actually run itself under power in that condition. It was scrapped in 1985, probably not too long after this photo was taken.

From Bill Wulfert: Yes the 4253 did still run from the complete end, until it was scrapped at IRM. The missing end was grafted onto the Baldy (4146), as noted in a previous post.

#021 - CTA 4290 and another car in operation. I think (?) this is by the west switch, about where Spaulding Tower is now.

#193 - The 4290 is on the left, so that's either the 4410 or 4412 on the right, coming into the west switch near where Spaulding Tower is today. Check out the International Harvester Scout!

From Bill Wulfert: The 4290 on the left with its faded CTA paint is coupled with 4410 which we had since 1975. Its paint was looking pretty bad, and it received a quickie paint job on July 26, 1998.

#284 - CTA 4290 is shown at 50th Avenue. I believe its motorman's door has since acquired a second window.

From Bill Wulfert: CTA 4290 still has only one window in that door. Only the motorman's door on the #1 end of each pair had the second window.

#481 - CTA 4290 passes the future site of Spaulding Tower on its way into the depot from the old west switch.

#022 - A three-car train of 4000s, with 4321 sandwiched in the middle, passes the depot in this shot taken across the throats to Yards 2, 3, and 4 East. ComEd 4 is in Yard 3, which still has wire over it, while at the very right edge you can see the corner of the 604, which at this time lived on track 24.

#197 - That's 6125-6126 on the left, and the distinctive "bald plushie" 4321 on the right, but I'm not sure which 4000 is in the middle in this shot that appears to be taken of Yard 3 facing northeast. I'm also not sure what's going on - maybe the 4000s are being used to move the 6000s?

From Bill Wulfert: That is CTA 4412 next to the "Bald" 4321 which was in the process of getting a new roof. You can tell that it is 4412, by multiple flat roof vents installed by the CTA. It now has the correct roof vents after it received a new roof.

#293 - CTA 4321 was re-roofed at IRM but never had the roof completed, and has stayed a "Baldy" of sorts to this day.

From Bill Wulfert: The 4321 isn't exactly a Baldy. It has a complete set of roof vents. The roof boards and poles were never restored.

#301 - CTA 4391 sits in front of Barn 4. I think that's the 144 barely visible behind it.

#176 - So here's an unusual one. First, I didn't know we'd ever dubbed 50th Avenue "Cicero" (though this could have been a very short-term thing). Second, on the right you can see the edge of the canopy section - the entire 50th Avenue platform is only about two cars long! I don't know how long this lasted before the platform was extended to its current length.

From Bill Wulfert: All of the blue enamel signs from 50th Avenue were gone by the time we had permission to remove the station. Cicero was being dismantled, and we received some signs from that station. The Cicero sign was installed until we had new 50th Avenue signs made. The station was extended a bit at a time.

#295 - CTA 4410 appears to be coming into the west end of Station Track 1 in a photo taken from the old entrance walkway.

#288 - Here you go, roughly the middle two-thirds of CTA 4412.

#435 - It's sometime around 1990 and Penn Central S-Motor 4715 is on the turntable leads in the company of BN 6244. The S-motor hasn't yet acquired its unsightly South Shore pantograph.

#475 - The smoter, er, the S-motor, is pictured in the company of MN&S 21, location unknown. This is one of three locomotives of this type preserved, and it was originally acquired by the Branford trolley museum in Connecticut. Once they realized it would collapse their bridge on its way in, they cast about for an alternative home and IRM ended up the winner. This photo was taken before its appearance was disfigured by a South Shore pantograph, which it still wears. It did, however, run for a brief period in the early 1990s, the only S-motor ever to operate outside the state of New York.

#474 - We're looking north at the turntable leads, of course, with IT 1605 on the left; GG-1 4927 (at this time still Amtrak 4939) in the center; and GTW 6323 on the right. In the foreground, it looks like the tender tank to B&LE 154 - the 2-8-0 traded to the Ford Museum in the mid-1980s - is sitting on our ex-NYC flatcar, which itself is sitting (I guess) on the ground.

#018 - CTA 6125 with a North Shore MD car in the background.

#289 - CTA 6125 is shown at 50th Avenue as seen from under the hot dog stand canopy across the streetcar line. Whoever was running the spam cans didn't let any track go to waste!

#017 - CTA 6126, possibly on the pit lead?

#286 - CTA 6126, one of our "flat door sixes," is at 50th Avenue with its pole up, ready for service.

#082 - It looks like the CTA 6100s are on the pit lead. This was before we backdated them with the dash-level headlights. The car in the right background may be CTA S-373 but I'm not certain.

#115 - This photo was obviously taken a few years later than #113 because Yard 1 has been removed and replaced by 50th Avenue. You'll note that the west track is missing. The 6100s are on the east track.

#250 - CTA 6461 is shown atop the flatcar it arrived on in 1986

#287 - CTA 6461 is somewhat the worse for wear just after arriving at IRM, being towed out of Station Track 1 on its flatcar by Cornwall 14.

#285 - CTA 6462 is on a flatcar just after arrival at the museum. Note that this is the "inner" end of the car, as evidenced by the vent over the door and lack of ornamentation like headlights and chains.

#356 - Behind the F305, CSL snow sweeper E223 has resided on track 71 since the mid-1980s.

#188 - That's CSL F305, likely while cosmetic restoration work was underway, with the E223 at far right. This must be the northwest corner of Barn 7, where both pieces of equipment still reside. I'd speculate that with the extraction of the equipment from Yard 4 East, CSL F305, E223, and 4021 may hold the honor of having sat for the longest time in the same place without moving. Any thoughts?

#355 - Chicago Surface Lines snow plow F305 is pictured at the northwest corner of Barn 7, its home since the mid-1980s.

#330 - And here's the M15, or as Bob Bruneau used to call it, the "M-Ugly," at the south wye switch. Any guesses as to who the motorman is?

#358 - On the left, CTA S368 was one of the 4000 work motor that IRM acquired in the late 1970s as parts sources. It appears to have lost one entire vestibule, while next to it, 4253 (still in green and cream) has lost its end wall. Both cars were cut up at IRM in 1985.

#138 - Someone is loading stuff into a pickup truck, likely around 1990, in this photo looking east from about the northeast corner of Barn 4. Visible over in Yard 3, which still had wire over it, is TM container car M37, a Soo Line boxcar, ComEd 4, and TM F208. The Broad Street car is sitting in front of Barn 2, which at this time was also an electric car barn.