Art Peterson has sent in a number of photos he took on two visits to IRM in 1970, the first on July 22nd and the second on September 19th. Enjoy!
All photos are by Art Peterson and may not be reproduced without permission.
We'll start with the July photos. Here, of course, we see the E5 and the Zephyr on the east leg of the wye. But something's missing - namely, the south wye switch! The E5 had only been on the property about a year at this point. In the back left is the depot, with a Burlington coach behind it (and if you look really closely, I'm pretty sure that's the Clark "demonstrator" B2 PCC truck sitting just east of the depot on display). At far right that looks like the Santa Fe combine behind the "Juno."
Here's the E5 looking west, with Yard 1 in the background. The Santa Fe lounge and the 431 are visible. The E5, of course, is still identified as C&S 9952A with "Texas Zephyr" lettering and no name on the flank.
Today this spot is just east of the Depot Street platform. We're looking west-southwest with the 144 visible on (what today is) the west wye. Ties are laid out for one of the stub tracks east of the depot. In the left background that's probably the 160, though it could be the 253.
The "Venus" hasn't changed too much over the years, though I'm not sure how often we lower the shades.
This is the old "caboose track" near the substation that roughly followed what today is the route of the car line onto the tail track. Someone, probably Ray Neuhaus, has been hard at work giving the 1268 a coat of paint. I don't believe the 1268 was ever really used in the old days, not until Tim restored it in the 2010s; the standard CRT train in the 1970s was the 1808 pulling/pushing the demotored 1024.
I suspect this is the 1797, as the 1808 was operational at this time and would have looked better. Anyone know where this photo was taken? Is this the caboose track?
The 65 is looking sharp with a fresh coat of orange (albeit Transport Company orange, which was available and cheap, I suppose). It's in Yard 1 and Art is standing roughly where the north end of the 50th Avenue platform is today looking northwest. IT 277 is behind it.
And then, we have a batch of photos from September:
Here's an unusual shot: this is CGW 99, our business car, before it got painted red. I'll confess, I didn't realize that had happened at IRM. Beyond it is the "Ely." I'm not sure where this photo was taken but it might be in Yard 3.
This is North Shore 202, the last NSL wood interurban car. This photo was taken shortly after the car arrived in Union - it wasn't moved until mid-1970, which I guess makes it the last car moved from North Chicago. By the time it came to Union, it had spent years as an MD car (complete with extra baggage doors and wood-block flooring) and after that had spent years as a grounded body. At some point after this photo was taken the car was painted dark green, but it was judged to be too much of an eyesore and was scrapped in 1974. One of the Milwaukee Twin Coach buses, possibly the one that ended up as the infamous "terrarium," is in the left background. This is about where the northwest corner of Yard 5 is today.
A very recent arrival was Chicago Surface Lines 9020, which like the 202 arrived at Union in mid-1970. This photo shows it in the middle of being repainted. To the right is CSL 4001, which arrived at the same time and received a paint job shortly after the 9020 did. These cars were stored about where track 54 is today. In the left background can be seen Shay 5, still wearing its Klickitat Lumber lettering.
The Class B is shown pushing Soo Line 33096, a very historic 1913 single-sheathed boxcar that had just arrived at IRM about a year earlier under the guise of its work car number, X1632. I believe this is out by the west switch, near where Spaulding Tower is now.
And to finish the presentation we have Howard Odinius, the museum founder himself, at the controller of the 144.
3 comments:
These are fantastic! It brings back memories of just how primitive the entire property was back when I joined the Museum.
I think the 1797 picture must be near the end of the old caboose track; I don't remember what the story is about those shacks behind it. And I would say that the final picture is probably looking east at Karsten's, with the 415 behind the 144.
Randy, I agree with your observations. The sheds and the transformer in the 1797 picture are from a CA&E rotary substation that were stored just south of the caboose track into the 1980s. I love to see photos of the 202, even though I am saddened by them. Its location may be in front of the current Hoffman garage, with Central Avenue and the line of trees on Boot Creek in the background. These photos predate my memories from visiting about 7 years later. O. Anderson
The 1268 was also used in passenger service. The 1808 pulled both the 1024 and the 1268. Yes that is the 1797, not the 1808. The 1797 has the Remote Door Control boxes on the dash. I believe the 1797 is on the East end of what became Yard 3. You can see the Main Line in the background. The wooden 'L' cars were near yard 3 or on the West end of the Tail track along with NSL 253 MD cars and the NSL 354.
Post a Comment