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 put into effect a few weeks ago had their intended effect, and the car ran all day without a hitch. I took the above photo while my motorman, 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?