Illinois Terminal Office Cars
All photos from the Krambles-Peterson Archive
Thanks to Art Peterson, who has sent a fascinating collection of IT photos. This page covers photos of cars 233 and 234, which in later years comprised the railroad's office cars, and are preserved at IRM as such.
Car 233 - Built 1905 by St. Louis Car Company
The oldest preserved IT interurban car, 233 was built in 1905 as a Corn Belt Route car named "Missouri." In 1909 it was sent to AC&F, which rebuilt it for use as an office car. The builder's photo above was taken that year following its conversion.
This photo shows the inside of the car looking forward as of its 1909 rebuilding. The motorman's cab is visible through the partition doorway at the front left corner of the car. Compare this with a photo taken in 2024 here, the second image under "main compartment." Many details have changed but the car's overall layout is largely identical to what it is today.
The office car is pictured at Emery on October 12, 1910. Check out that headlight!
Car 233's moment of fame was when it and 234 transported President Taft from St. Louis to Springfield on February 19, 1911, for a speech to the Lincoln Centennial Association. This photo was taken in downtown Springfield. I believe Taft is seated in the center window here, though he's hard to see due to the reflection.
When George Krambles took this photo in Urbana on October 13, 1934, the ITS had been gone for six years but the office car still wore its earlier owner's name complete with later-style oval herald. Behind the motorman's door it also has "I.T.INC." lettering.
This shot was taken the same day by George.
This photo was also taken by George that same day and shows motorman Tim Brusk in the motorman's cab doorway.
What a great shot! One year later, on October 26, 1935, George Krambles caught car 233 in fresh IT Traction Orange eastbound on University Avenue at Chester. It's towing parlor-observation car 511, the Urbana, and office-observation car Sangamon, which the following year would gain a number: 234.
William C. Janssen snapped this photo of 233 at Springfield on October 29, 1936.
Sometime around the late 1930s, car 233 was heavily rebuilt. It acquired "hips" that converted its railroad roof into an arched roof; had its arched stained glass windows plated over; and had air conditioning added, which meant installation of truck-mounted brake cylinders since the extra under-floor equipment meant there wasn't space for normal brake rigging. This undated photo was taken at Springfield and shows the car with storm windows installed.
Like most of the main-line IT fleet, car 233 ended its days in blue. But it and car 234, which by this time was paired almost permanently with 233 to form the "office train," acquired a unique variation of the blue livery. Both cars were blue with a silver letterboard, blue IT lettering, and a dark grey or black roof. This photo of 233 and 234 at the St. Louis terminal was taken on April 26, 1953, by Tom Desnoyers.
Car 234 - Built 1910 by Danville Car Company
Car 234 was built as an unnumbered parlor-observation and named Champaign. In 1927, it was renamed Sangamon. This photo is undated, but it shows combine 284 and the Sangamon in "Illinois Traction System" lettering and Traction Orange paint, a rare combination that suggests the 1927-1928 time period. Note the roof boards towards the rear of the Sangamon; I recall Bob Bruneau telling me that for a brief period in its earlier history, this car had actually been motorized.
The above photo was taken by George Krambles on October 13, 1934, and shows the Sangamon trailing another parlor-observation and a combine on Bash Court, on the line into downtown Champaign from Urbana and Danville. By this time, the car has been relettered for Illinois Terminal.
This interior photo by George Krambles is dated to the same October 1934 date. It was taken looking out the rear of the car onto the observation platform. Today, the door onto the platform is centered, but during this period it was offset to the left side of the car.
Taken one year later, on October 5, 1935, this beautiful shot shows the attractive original lines of the Sangamon, with arched stained-glass windows and a railroad roof. Note that the car lacks a front stepwell and only has a stirrup at that location. The lamp under the platform appears to have been added within the previous year.
This shot was taken the same day. In front of the Sangamon is car 513, the Clinton, with "Reserve Seat Coach" lettering; coach trailer 528; and an unidentified combine. The arched windows on this car were apparently single-pane, in contrast with the leaded stained glass windows on the combines.
This evocative shot shows combine 278 pulling 234, just given a number in place of the name Sangamon within the previous few months, at East Peoria on April 8, 1936. Photo by Robert V. Mehlenbeck.
Car 234 only looked like this for about two years, between when it acquired its number and went through a major rebuilding. It's shown at Springfield in an October 29, 1936, photo by William C. Janssen.
It's fall 1938 and car 234 looks like it's fresh out of its major rebuilding at Decatur Shops. It lost its arched stained-glass windows and had "hips" added to its roof to make an arch roof. It also acquired ice-bunker air conditioning, though unlike the motor cars, there wasn't so much equipment under the floor so as to necessitate conversion to truck-mounted brake cylinders.
This side view was taken at the same time. Note that although the car had acquired steel sheathing over the windows, the window posts and sides were still tongue-and-groove siding. I recall that Bob Bruneau, who was certainly a fan of this car, bemoaned that after it lost its railroad roof it "looked like a loaf of bread."
This William C. Janssen photo is undated but shows car 234 at Decatur in a fresh coat of blue with a silver letterboard and black or dark grey roof.
The "office train" of 233 and 234 is shown at the St. Louis terminal on April 26, 1953, in this Tom Desnoyers shot. After these cars were retired, they were purchased by the Illini Railroad Club and eventually made their way to IRM.
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