Dodge Inspection Car

Want to see another antique Dodge?  I know you do!  Our friend Bill Buhrmaster sent us this photo of our Milwaukee Road inspection car from the Mid-Continent archives.  The photo was taken by Ron Jones in August 1963.  The person in the driver's seat is unknown.  In any case, the car is now safely stored in Barn 2.  Thanks, Bill!

Something seems fishy about this picture, but please don't badger me about it.

Anyway, back to the inspection car, I started to wonder: do the turn signals still work?

Milwaukee Road Inspection Car

Our friend Bill Stewart recently referred me to Brandt Rosenbusch, the manager for Historical Services at Fiat-Chrysler, which covers Dodge.  He was able to find historical information on our inspection car.  It was purchased at Tesdal Motors in Morris (which went out of business in 1960) and was originally painted black with a broadcloth interior.  He also sent me a package of material with copies of the build card, advertising material, and a complete owner's manual for the car, giving lots of useful technical information, including paint colors and so on.  The Track Dept. guys are taking care of the car now, so I'll hand this over to them for safekeeping, but it should be very useful.

What Screams May Come

 

On Friday night, I was a trainman on the Screamliner, and as always, it was a riot.  Things seemed to go well and everybody was having a good time.  There are two more weekends left if you haven't been there yet.  Phil Hehn was the engineer on the BN-1, Jim West the conductor, and Brian LaKemper and Mike Stauber were the other trainmen.  And of course there were lots of other volunteers involved, so I won't try to name them all.  It takes a lot of manpower to keep this operation going, so if you're a member, come on out and help!

On Saturday, I finished putting a third coat of black paint on the 319 roof canvas.  Rod pointed out that we now need to wait until spring to let the paint dry, and then apply another coat or two to finish the job. So I'm done with the 319 for now, and the plastic will be left in place until spring.  I meant to take a picture or two of the final application, but never got around to it.

 

The next major project will be to repaint the interior of the 36.  It makes sense to start with the ceiling, and fortunately the ceiling on the whole is in excellent condition.  I hadn't planned on starting on this project today, but Brian L. came along and wanted to help, so we started by scoping out the project. 

Due to lack of advance planning, there was not much we could do, but the paint on the center panels is in good shape except for a few small places around the edges, as seen here.  With two coats of primer and two finish coats, sanding in between, this should be pretty straightforward. 

I walked out to check on the 321.  It's a sort of time capsule.  The wall lockers still have labels written in chalk by Frank when he was seven years old or so.

And I'm very glad to say that the Dodge inspection car has been moved into the Cretney barn, so it's under cover now for the first time in who knows how long.  This is the heated section, so the Track Dept. guys can work on it over the winter, along with a tamper and a spiker, or whatever they've got there.   It looks like the North Western 1518 is chasing the car down the track, as in a cartoon.  Yikes!

Just Visiting

On Sunday, we were just visiting.  My daughter who lives in Phoenix was visiting us, and we all decided to go see the band organs.  

The 308 and 309 were running, so we went for a ride.  Jeff Obarek was the motorman, and Larry Stone the conductor again.  Everything was going well, and we had a good crowd of visitors enjoying the festivities.

It's nice to sit back and relax.

The Zephyr was operating, although I didn't get a picture of it.  But here's the 1630:

And we rode the 4391 with Paul Springer and Zach Ehlers.

 

And looked at the Dodge inspection car, which right now is on display near Barn 11.  This stub track, 110 I suppose, is used by the Track Dept.

But don't worry, we're soon going to be posting many more pictures from yesterday, courtesy of our staff photographer.




And finally, a couple more clips of band organs:

More Inspection Cars

Paul Schneble recently pointed me to a couple of interesting inspection cars not unlike our own.  The first is a Rock Island unit, #564.  I'll leave it to you to tell me what type of automobile this is.  It appears to have the same general sort of narrow treads and steel flanges as ours.

(Otto C. Perry photograph, courtesy Denver Public Library, Western History Collection)

The best part about this one are the brooms mounted to the front bumper to sweep the rails.  What sort of railroad has that much loose debris on the railheads?

And the next one is a 1940 Buick used by the Missouri and Arkansas, an Arkansas short line.

( Courtesy Witbeck Studio, Hammond, Louisiana, from

Clifton Hall, Shortline Railroads of Arkansas, c. 1969)

The interesting thing here, I think, is that it appears to have ordinary tires and no flanges.  Perhaps it's just an unmodified auto, and if you steer carefully enough you can keep it on the track?!?

Update: And Bill Buhrmaster pointed out that on Ebay there is a photo of Milwaukee Road #23, which appears to be identical to our #30, except that it has a small spotlight on the front of the roof.

Meanwhile, our inspection car still needs money to pay for track space, as well as cosmetic restoration, at least to begin with.  Please donate to the Milwaukee Rd. #30 restricted fund.   Thanks!

Rail Tires

Our friend Walt Stafa found this picture of an earlier automobile equipped with Firestone Rail Tires.  From what I can make out, they appear to have the same sort of flange, and certainly the same diagonal tread pattern.  This is just so much classier than a speeder!

Track Inspection Car

Today I had a chance to visit our Milwaukee Road track inspection car in its temporary location.  It's being stored off-site until acquisition is approved and we can arrange for proper storage at IRM.  In the meantime, YOU need to donate to the Milwaukee Road 30 fund to help pay for track space and eventual restoration.  Thanks!

First, let's look at the wheels.  Behind the tire is a steel flange, which might be easy to miss.  Of course, where the rubber meets the rail, it compresses so the flange should be more than adequate. 

We also noticed that these are Firestone "Rail Type" tires!  Who's ever heard of that?  We're sure they're  no longer made, but these particular tires are still holding air!  Perhaps we should make Firestone the official tire of Hicks Car Works.  (I'm no expert on tires, to be sure, but I would say that TV has been a vast wasteland ever since "Voice of Firestone" went off the air.  That was a wonderful program.  If I could tell you....)

Under the middle of the car is the turntable, a hydraulic foot that comes down to lift the car so it can be rotated.  The hydraulic jack is mounted on the front bumper.  

 

Under the front bumper is one of the beams to support the car if it were to come off the rails.

Here's the back seat, with the jump seats folded out. 

If my calculations are correct, this car should actually seat eight people.  But two of them must have freakishly small legs.

Here's the engine compartment, with its flat-head six.  It doesn't look like a very hefty engine for such a big car.  In the foreground is the 6V battery, or what's left of it.

And here's the horn, in front of the radiator.  I can't wait to get this operating, at least!

And in the trunk we have a spare tire, complete with steel flange.

This is going to be a wonderful display piece, and our friends in the Track Dept. will do their best to take care of it, when they're not busy with all of the essential tasks they perform on a regular basis.  But of course money will be needed to make this car presentable, so your help will be greatly appreciated.

Inspection Car Update

Our friend Bill Buhrmaster at Mid-Continent sent me some documents dealing with the group's acquisition of the Dodge inspection car back in 1960.  At that time it was out of service and stored at the South Beloit roundhouse.  The bid was revised down from $40 to $25 when they found that several motor parts were missing.  Of course, this is in 1960 dollars, but still....   However, the car has already been paid for and removed from Wisconsin, so I guess it's too late to revise our bid!  

And while we're on the subject, I'd like to know more about how the car was used when it was still running.  Where was it stored when not in use?  Was it always based out of South Beloit?  Anybody who knows anything about the Milwaukee Road is welcome to help out!

Inspection Car Update

Our Milwaukee Road inspection car has now been moved out to the parking lot at North Freedom, where it's more accessible.  So progress is being made rapidly.  That means we need the funds to pay for transportation and track space.  Please donate to the restricted fund for Milwaukee Rd. #30 today!

Thanks.

Milwaukee Road Inspection Car

This is Milwaukee Road inspection car #30, a 1947 Dodge Custom sedan.  It was modified by the railroad shops for use by company officials inspecting the line, and was used until 1961.  For the past 40 years or more it's been sitting in front of the depot at North Freedom, but MCRM decided it no longer fit in with their collection policy, and so it's been sold to us!

 Car 30 on the Milwaukee  (photo by Don Ross)

Unlike modern hi-rail equipment, the car cannot operate on the street.  Steel flanges were attached to the hubs, and the narrow rubber tires ride on the rails.  The steering was disconnected.  Also, an underframe of steel channels was installed so that if the car were to come off the rails, it couldn't drop down far enough to be damaged by landing on the rails.  Also, there is a hydraulic jack under the car so it can be raised up and rotated.  Since it hasn't been exposed to salt, it's in pretty good condition for a car that's been stored outside all this time.

(The car in 1976 at North Freedom, from the MCRM website)

The Dodge Custom sedan was the top of the line model for 1947.  It's 19' long and seats 7, using jump seats in back.   It has a three-speed column mounted manual shift.  You can see the pump for the hydraulic jack mounted on the front bumper:

Bob Olson, Nick Kallas, and I have put up the money to buy the car, but we still need to pay for transportation and track space.  So we're soliciting donations for this unique piece of railroad equipment.  Final plans for how it will be stored and displayed, and perhaps even made operational, depend on the level of enthusiasm we can generate.  Nick and Rod will be in charge of arranging the move, and we'll let you know when it arrives.

You can help by donating to the restricted fund for Milwaukee Road #30.   As always, donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law.