Simms Collection -- Piedmont & Northern Locomotives

The Simms collection has a large number of pictures of the Piedmont & Northern, about which I know little and will have to learn.  We'll start with some of their many large electric locomotives, since the line had a substantial freight business.  Most of these prints have little or no information on the back.  Numbers in parentheses have been added for convenience.

River Jct., S.C.
6-16-47
(351 - a freight motor rebuilt from ex-PRR MPB-54 combine 350 following a wreck)

River Jct., S.C.
6-16-47

(351)

(5005 - Baldwin/Westinghouse, 1911)

#5006 ex SL&U
Greenville S.C. Shops
Aug. 3, 1947

(5102 - GE, 1913)

(5104 - 5100 - both GE, 1913)

(5105 - GE, 1913)

(5601 - homebuilt, 1924)

(5601)

(5601)

#5601   now on Northern Division
Greenwood S.C.
Jan. 1941

Lyman, S.C.
6-18-47
(5610 - homebuilt, 1938)

Spartanburg, S.C.
6-17-47
(5611 - GE, 1941)

(5611)

(5611)

5612 Built Nov. 17th 1949
8 568 Westinghouse motors
Motors Ball-Bearing Journals
Weight 252800
Horse Power 3200
Clasp Brakes
16 Brooke Cylinders
This Engine was built at GN [Greenville, SC] Shops

Spartanburg, S.C.
6-18-47

Trolley Weekend Sunday

Many thanks to Zach Ehlers, freelance blog reporter as well as IRM president (we'll let you make the call as to which of those is the more prestigious title), who sent along some photos taken on Sunday of Trolley Weekend, which my father and I both had to miss.

Saturday evening, Zach and the other guys switched around the CA&E wood cars to add the 308 to the middle of the train. Many thanks to all! Here's the three-car train on the ladder track, ready to go into service, with West Towns 141 in Yard 6 poised to go out on the streetcar line.

The 319, 308, and 309 are seen on Station 1 with ComEd 4 and the coach train on track 2.

That's a snappy-looking crew! Zach is in the cab as motorman, with Drew and Aaron as trainman and conductor, respectively.

And here's a motorman's-eye view of the D13 cutting off the caboose train; it pulled the caboose train for the first half of the day and was then swapped out for Charles City Western 300.

A Beautiful Day Along Van Aken Boulevard

Frank writes...

Saturday of Trolley Weekend saw spectacular weather in the mid-70s and what seemed like a pretty big crowd. Various unusual consists and pieces of equipment were in operation.

My job for the day was an enjoyable one: running the 18 during its first foray into revenue operation in nearly two years. The track adjustments at South Junction that were made a few weeks ago had their intended effect, and the car ran all day without a hitch. I took the above photo while my conductor, Charlie Voyda, was giving a car talk at Electric Park. We even had some riders from Shaker Heights itself, who live within sight of the rapid transit line and were quite surprised to see a car signed for Van Aken Boulevard.

I really didn't get a chance to take any photos because we didn't stop all day. There were just two cars on the streetcar line, us and the D13, and they were boarding at Central Avenue - using some very tall metal stairs - and then running "express" around the car line to unload back at Central. As such, for all the other streetcar stops, we were the only car all day. This worked out pretty well, as it turned out - we had fairly heavy loads on most trips, including a couple where we were really packed. The D13 would load at Central and start moving when we got to Barn 9, then we'd depart Central by the time they returned.

The D13 was very popular, no doubt - it's not often you get a "fully open-air" ride around the streetcar line! Nathan, Mikey, and their crew put picnic tables in the dump section for people to sit at, and this seems like it worked great. Hey, you know, Hops Aboard is coming up in August...

In addition to the 18 and D13 on the car line, CTA 2243-2244 - which also haven't seen much revenue operation recently - were in shuttle service running out of the 50th Avenue west track. I didn't get any photos, but on the main line, there was a three-car North Shore train consisting of the 251, 714, and 749; the caboose train, hauled by Charles City Western 300, recently back in operation; the coach train, pulled by ComEd 4; and North Shore "MD car" 229, which was carrying riders in the center freight section.

Finally, apropos of nothing, but we get all kinds of interesting things donated. This fiberglass "engine" (of sorts) recently showed up, courtesy of a generous donor. Whether it makes a future appearance on the IRM playground - either with or without its current weird animal-themed livery - remains to be seen. Anyone know what that logo on the front is?

WANTED - M15 Brake Handle

Calling all collectors! IRM is looking for WABCO M15 brake handles, of the type shown above, so that we have a spare or two in case we need one. These are typically solid cast iron, and you'll note that the D-shaped hole for the stem is at a 90-degree angle compared with the more common M22/M23 handle. If you're interested in trading, selling, or donating an M15 handle, please drop us a line!

Simms Collection -- Texas Electric

None of the pictures in the Texas Electric folder have any information on the back.  Almost all seem to be fan trip photos.  The last image here, though, is a postcard sent to Al Simms, so we have an exact date it was sent.  And the 360 is basically the only car which has been preserved in good condition.

And last but not least, a penny postcard:

Thursday News

Another newsworthy day in the Barn 4 carshop.  And as usual, this is only a small sample of all the activity. 

I've pretty much finished work on the current crop of third-rail beams.  These two go to the 319, on what is currently the south side.  #2 is seen here from the back; I finished attaching the various parts to hold the fuses in place, and painted everything black that still needed it.  

And this is what they look like from the front.  They are just too heavy for us old guys to transport over to Barn 8.

Meanwhile, Jack was hard at work all day making new door and window frames for the UP doodlebug.  He does excellent work.  Even when the boss isn't paying attention.  :)

On the other hand, this is what can happen when you get the IRM bigwigs angry at you.  Steve Keller is trapped in a diabolical torture chamber.  Fred tries to sneak him some food when he thinks nobody's looking.

Actually, of course, they're installing the rebuilt pilot on the 306, and making necessary adjustments to the door mechanism and brake piping under the vestibule floor.  

Finally, Tim is installing seat frames one by one, and they're all different although not labeled.

This one is located over the triple valve and brake cutout.  There's a similar arrangement in the 309.

Another ongoing project is getting new leaf springs made for the 36.  We want them to be as identical as possible to the originals, such as this one:

So I made a crate of the correct size, and the spring seen above has been shipped off to a company that specializes in this sort of thing for reproduction.  We'll let you know as the project moves along.

IRM will be very busy this weekend with lots of interesting trains operating, so don't miss it!

A New Home for the 321

We have big news about our CA&E collection. Car 321, which has been owned by IRM since it was purchased from the railroad in 1962, will be leaving for greener pastures. The car has been deaccessioned and donated to the Village of Villa Park, which will be putting it on display next to the original CA&E Ardmore station. Formal arrangements have only recently been finalized, which is why we haven't posted about this earlier. The car is scheduled to be moved soon, but the date hasn't been set.

CA&E 321 in 2009

Why is the 321 going to Villa Park? The reason is that we firmly believe it is in the best interest of the car, and of historic preservation and education overall. In Villa Park, the car will be housed under a specially build shelter and will be cosmetically restored. It will be seen by tens of thousands of people a year - and will be located on "home rails," so to speak, the only Chicago-area interurban car to be preserved where it ran every day in service. In contrast, at IRM, the car would likely just sit forever in a closed-off barn. It is a duplicate in the collection, it's incomplete, and its body is in very poor shape. It would likely take north of $1 million to restore the car, and there are dozens of other pieces in the collection that even we CA&E fans say would be better uses for funding at that level.

The Villa Park proposal includes a shelter for the 321 patterned loosely after this one.

We've also kept in mind that the 321 was originally purchased from the railroad by IRM members, not by the museum itself. It was donated to IRM for the purpose of being a parts source for other cars - chiefly the Milwaukee Electric interurban cars. The 321 already contributed its trucks and motors to the 319 back in 2010 (this also permitted us to put the 409 into service), and since it will be a static display piece in Villa Park, our volunteers have removed other electrical and mechanical components for use in the restoration and maintenance of our fleet. Besides being beneficial to our collection without impacting the 321's future use, this also aligns with the aims of the car's original donors.

The car has been in Barn 4 for the past few weeks for removal of electrical equipment and preparation for transportation off-site.

We realize not everyone will agree with sending the 321 to Villa Park, but we hope that even the skeptics will give the folks there a chance. We paid a visit to the 321's future display site, where the village has already built a short piece of track right next to the Ardmore station. It's a very nice area, with a bandshell a few feet to the west, a new condo building down the block, and a busy meadery across the street (I didn't know what that was, but it's like a winery, but for mead - you learn something new every day!). And, of course, there's the bike path on the old CA&E alignment. There are other cities, from Lynwood, Washington, to Corsicana, Texas, that have had interurban cars on display under shelters like this for decades. We hope that the 321 will prove even more popular and visible than the cars in those locales.

Tuesday Projects

Just a sample of what was happening on Tuesday:

I believe I have pretty much finished up the third-rail beam project for the time being.  The two currently on the bench can be installed on the 319, and that should take care of all our operating cars.  The 453 will eventually need a set, but that's far in the future.

I attached the scraper onto #2, nailed down the pentagons, and painted everything black.  They're both ready for service.

I also did some work on the CA&E service cars, but DC is temporarily unavailable in 8, so there were several things I was unable to do.  I'm hoping that gets resolved soon.

Meanwhile, Jack was working all day on woodwork for the doodlebug.  He made several of these parts using maple blocks left over from the third rail project!

Work continued on the 306: John was testing electrical parts, Gerry was doing body and fender work on the pilots, and Phil was working on the interior.  Tim, of course, was installing and adjusting the clerestory windows on the 268.

And then, Steve Smunt is doing a great job on the interior of the 277.  These are sort of action shots of him rolling new paint in the rear vestibule and the heater section.  It looks great!

And of course, there were several other things going on.