To go along with our recent post with CA&E wood car photos sent by Art Peterson, we now have a collection of great steel car photos. Thanks, Art!
Hey, I know that car. This shot of the 409 dates to around 1930 or the early 1930s; the car is in overall red, but it wears the later version with the Sunset Lines herald rather than its as-delivered scheme with no herald and horizontal pinstripes along the side sheets. Behind it is 435, which was built in 1906 (as part of the same order as cars 300-308) as the parlor car Florence, later became parlor-buffet 601, and was rebuilt in 1929 as coach 435.
It's August 29, 1947, and 410 is outside the shop at Wheaton while car 300 is inside. It looks like the 410 has had a rough day - sharp-eyed viewers will notice something pretty important missing.
Around 1928-1929, two cars - 412 and 418 - were painted orange as part of an experiment to paint Aurora cars and Elgin cars different colors. This trial didn't last long. Here, the 412 is westbound at Laramie in 1932 still in orange paint.
By 1934, when this photo was taken at Lockwood Yard by Robert V. Mehlenbeck, the 412 was back in overall red with the Sunset Lines herald. That seems like kind of an unusual destination sign! I don't think the sign curtains included those (or at least not "theatre") in later years.
This picture was taken on October 30, 1937, and shows 412 westbound at Main and 2nd at the St. Charles terminus of the Geneva branch. The next day, the branch was abandoned.
Here's car 416 on March 31, 1957, in a George Krambles photo. I'm not sure of the location - anyone willing to hazard a guess?
This George Krambles photo of the 416 was taken the same day at Clintonville.
The first three 450-series cars arrived at Wheaton on October 3, 1957. Four days later, on the 7th, Tom Desnoyers snapped this photo of car 451 in the shop awaiting its poles and retrievers.
Cars 451 and 453 are pictured near Wayne on December 16, 1945, on a CERA trip. Give us a few years and maybe we can recreate this shot with the same two cars! Photo by Tom Desnoyers.
On June 19, 1957, just a couple of weeks before abandonment, the 451 is on the loop at Des Plaines Avenue with the 434 and another curve-sider ahead of it.
The 460 and Pullman 417 are at Fifth Avenue in Maywood on March 6, 1958, operating as the "Mass Transit Special." This was an effort by supporters of the railroad to raise interest in restarting service, though you can probably guess how well that ended up going.
2 comments:
I think the car 416 mystery photo is likely to be at Prince Crossing Station. It has that strange siding configuration, has the metal cable tower to the right, and what is likely prince crossing road just behind the station platform/flag stop. The house in the background can also still be seen in google street view.
You may already be a winner. That's what I thought too, but I'm not eligible to be a contestant.
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