Wonder, No. 7 of a Series

There was once a time in America, when just about every young boy wanted to be an engineer, or work for the railroad. Back then, the railroad was a more accessible and visible to the American public. From hanging out with the telegraph operator at the local depot, to the Railway Express Agency truck delivering a box of baby chicks, the railroad was an ever present force in our lives. Today, it still is, but much less visible. When I rode the Strasburg Railroad, I noticed this scene at Leehman Place Junction, while the locomotive ran around the train. Like me, the boy and his father were caught in the wonder of watching a real, live steam locomotive run around the train.

I see this look at IRM and at many other museums. While the railroad may not be as visible in our lives, it still has the ability to make young and old watch with wonder.

Opportunity, No. 6 of a Series

The piece of equipment pictured here, a Sumitomo-Built South Shore car, may just end up at IRM one of these days. These cars are important. After all, their delivery in the early 1980s allowed the South Shore to transform itself from "The Little Train that Could" into a modern commuter operation. Here, the Interurban Era lives, possibly in grander scale than even Insull could have imagined.

Those of us "youngsters" in the railway preservation movement often bemoan the fact that particular types of pieces of equipment were never preserved. Be it a New York Central Hudson, a Pennsylvania Railroad T1, a Pacific Electric 1100, or a complete TMER&L interurban car (especially one of the all steel ones built by the St. Louis Car Co.).

In making these wishes, or "complaints" we often forget the constraints that early railroad museums and preservation organizations operated under. In some ways, the "problems" are the same, time, space, money, and volunteers. With this in mind, we need to be thinking of equipment that operates today, like this NICTD South Shore car, and of it's post-service future. These cars will be retired one of these days, will we have the foresight we often accuse those who came before us of lacking?

Quality Blogging, No. 5 of a Series

Quality blogging doesn't come easily. It takes a lot of hard work to make the Hicks Car Works blog the most-read blog on the Hicks Car Works. With the Internet, there are lots of choices to get your IRM and preservation related news. We know that. We often tout the high standards that we have here at the Hicks Car Works Blog. For every post you see, three to five posts end up in the "circular file" of our ruthless editor.

Just having a computer and rudimentary web-design skills isn't enough to be a good blogger. Having a nose for news, and keeping a camera handy helps make a quality blog. Here we see Frank Hicks do just that, snapping a photo of Randy Hicks as we waited for the Trolley Pageant at IRM on July 4, 2010.

"The Great Splinter Fleet," No. 4 of a Series

Back in the 1920s, the New York Central advertised its passenger trains as being "The Great Steel Fleet." Some sand house wags called the nearly all-wood fleet of the New York, Ontario & Western "The Great Splinter Fleet."

Here is IRM's "Great Splinter Fleet" which has recently grown by two more cars. Here we see the 309, 308, and 319 at Schmidt Siding on July 4, 2010 as we awaited our orders for the IRM Trolley Pageant.

Wheaton Limited, No. 3 of a Series

How many of us thought we'd never see this sight? Here is Chicago, Aurora & Elgin car number 409, repainted in authentic colors, at IRM. Photo taken July 4, 2010, while your blogging team, the CA&E wood car train crew for the day, awaited our turn in the IRM Trolley Pageant.

7 Minutes to Loop, No. 2 of a Series

Evidently, the streetcar loop at IRM got a lot closer to downtown than it has been for the past 40+ years! Photograph taken on Sunday, July 4, 2010 while awaiting our turn in the Trolley Pageant. I find the image ironic, because the Congress Expressway and the "West Side Subway" helped kill the CA&E. Still, a great historic billboard assembled by Dave Diamond and the IRM grounds crew.

SATISFACTION, No. 1 of a Series

There are few things in life as satisfying as the feeling of accomplishment and achievement. On Sunday, while we were waiting in Schmidt Siding, I caught Randy taking a moment to admire his hard work. The image speaks for itself.