Dave's Depots -Illinois Central Depot - Belleville, Illinois

This edition of Dave's Depots takes us literally down the street from my office. The Illinois Central depot in Belleville is a large structure. that sits just south of the square and St. Clair County Courthouse. I did not know this building still existed until I passed by it one day on my way to a local BBQ eatery.

This depot is typical of the "county seat" depots the IC and other railroads built in county seats. The L&N depot in Belleville, now long-gone was equally large and impressive. This structure only handled passengers and their baggage. The freight depot was and still is across the street. Now painted, and with an addition, the former freight depot serves a local moving company.

While snapping these photos, the owner came by and opened up the station for me. As you can see, there has been some modification to the inside, mainly the removal of the wall separating the ticket office from the rest of the building. Otherwise, the station had an open floor plan, with wooden benches for passengers.

If you are interested, the station is for sale. It comes with a 1.1 acre lot, with parking space for 220 cars. I can put you in touch with the owner.

A Tale of Two Trucks

For those interested in "the rest of the story" on the truck swap, below is something of a photo essay. I managed to take quite a few pictures during the process (at the expense of the work I was supposed to be doing!) and these are just some highlights.

Friday's activities for the IRM group commenced when we arrived at Warehouse Point at about 2pm, followed shortly by Jim Lillie's truck bearing the Pullman MCB truck destined for the 303 and a crate that held the body-bolster center bearing, some center bearing shims, and some abrasive brake shoes to take care of flat spots on the wheels of this truck. Unloading took place in the Connecticut Trolley Museum (CTM) parking lot.

At right, some of the crew goes over the game plan in the CTM parking lot. L-R: Jeff Brady (IRM), Norm Krentel (IRM), and Chris Chestnut (CTM), who was the de facto project manager for the entire operation.

At left, the beginning of the truck unloading project. The nose of the trailer has been detached and a front-end loader is being used to lift one end of the Pullman truck off of the flatbed.

At right, Jeff Hakner (Branford Electric Railway Association/IRM) on the left guides a CTM volunteer running a gigantic backhoe in picking up the other end of the Pullman truck to lift it off of the flatbed.

Following this, the Pullman MCB truck was towed over to the CTM shop where we packed the motor armature bearings with waste and oiled them. The motors in the Pullman truck were rebuilt 4-5 years ago in Cleveland but had not been run except in brief tests, so had not had their armature bearings packed. I don't have any photos of this phase because my forearms were covered in oil for most of the time. This work lasted until maybe 7pm, when we quite and headed for a terrific dinner at a local restaurant suggested by Chris.

The next morning, Randy Hicks (IRM) stands in front of the 303 before the commencement of activities. This photo was taken at 8am; little did we know we'd still be here 14 hours later!

The 303 was towed to a road crossing near the CTM shop where jacking commenced. Since we were using dissimilar jacks, a plumb bob was used to keep the car level. At left a coworker of Jim Lillie (both truckers were from the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton) watches the plumb bob as jacking commences.

At right, the car starts to go up. Chris Chestnut (back to camera) watches the plumb bob with a CTM volunteer inside the 303 while two more CTM volunteers (left) and Randy Hicks (right) work the jacks.

At left, Chris Chestnut (L) and Norm Krentel keep a close eye on the 303 as it is jacked clear of the Baldwin truck. In the left foreground is the car's center bearing, which had been unbolted from the car's body bolster before jacking commenced.

Following a lunch at the CTM food stand, the crew got back to work. With the car jacked up clear of the Baldwin truck, the truck was rolled partway out from under the car and the new center bearing (the one brought from IRM in the crate) was installed. At right, L-R, Norm Krentel, Randy Hicks and Chris Chestnut, with Jeff Hakner behind Chris, use a jack to hold the center bearing tentatively in place while it is bolted to the 303's bolster.

And with that, the truck was rolled free of the car!

CTM had a variety of heavy equipment on hand to do a variety of tasks. A combination front-end loader/backhoe was used for switching the trucks through the shop yard. At right, the Baldwin MCB truck destined for IRM and the 36 (left) is pulled away from the 303 while the Pullman MCB truck brought from Illinois (right) stands ready to be rolled underneath the 303.

Lowering the 303 onto the original Pullman truck it had been paired with for most of its service career went faster than jacking the car up but was not boring; at one point the carbody had to be steadied by a hand winch or come-along chained to a Caterpillar bulldozer. At left, Chris Chestnut (R) and another CTM volunteer work the jacks with the bulldozer blade in the foreground.

But finally, at about 5:30pm, the 303 was set down on the Pullman MCB truck and the jacks were pulled away. Seeing a car body weighing perhaps 50,000 lbs up on jacks is always a slightly unnerving site and it's always nice to see it back on trucks where it belongs!

Below, part of the group takes a breather and enjoys some of the cupcakes brought by Ray Bellock's daughter in honor of the 749 dedication being held back in Illinois that day. L-R in foreground: Jeff Brady, Norm Krentel, Randy Hicks and Chris Chestnut.

After this phase of the project was done, the 303 was towed over to the CTM pit where work started on making it operational - understandably a requirement of the truck swap, since it had been operational at CTM prior to the truck swap. Meanwhile the Baldwin MCB truck headed for IRM was towed to a spot near the CTM entrance where Jim Lillie's trailer could be lined up with the track, and the truck was towed up onto the trailer.

At right, Randy Hicks, Jeff Brady and Jim Lillie (back to camera) work on tying down the Baldwin truck before it heads to IRM.

Shortly after this work was done, the 303 was ready to test. The brake rods were reattached by Jeff Brady and Norm Krentel and Jeff Hakner reattached the motor leads. However after moving a few feet, the 303 wouldn't move any more. The motors worked but the car wouldn't budge. It took quite a bit of time but the problem was diagnosed to be one of the axle cap bearings, which had not seated properly and had become jammed in between the motor case and the axle.

This necessitated removal of the axle cap (not an easy job) and realignment of the bearing, which in turn meant jacking up the motor itself to free up the bearing. At left, Norm Krentel, Jeff

Hakner, Chris Chestnut and a CTM volunteer work on removing the bearing following removal of the axle cap.

After a lot of hard work on the part of Norm, Jeff and Chris, the axle cap bearing was correctly seated, the axle cap replaced and power put to the car once again. This time it rolled! After a couple of brief test trips, Chris ran it back into the CTM shop building under power at about 10:45pm as seen below.

The successful completion of this project means that both the 36 and the 303 will have the trucks correct to those cars. We can't thank Chris Chestnut and all of the CTM volunteers who helped on the project enough; they did nearly all of the heavy lifting and Chris himself coordinated every stage of the project, as well as having a hand in some of the toughest parts of the job. People from four museums - IRM, CTM, Branford and Electric City - had a part in this job and it was a tremendous example of the benefits of cooperation. Thanks to CTM and to everyone who worked on this project!

More New Paint

The most pressing concern today was to check on the 321's tarp. I was very afraid that with the recent storms it would have blown off altogether. I was very relieved to find that it had been secured by Joel Ahrendt and was still doing its job. He has some ideas for attaching it more reliably. We can't thank you enough, Joel!

Frank Sirinek helped me move the spare windows out to the 321 on the golf cart; I put them in the car and removed some parts I needed for the 319: a coupler pin and a dummy coupling for the brake pipe hose.



Meanwhile, the 409 has been painted, as seen here in Barn 2. It looks great! And we spent some time discussing paint colors again.

It was too hot and humid to do a lot of heavy lifting, but I put all of the seat cushions into the main compartment of the 319, so it's ready for service. There are still a few I'm unable to restore, so I hope to find four good ones from the 318 in storage and install them.

The 36's motor truck arrived just as I was about to leave; Nick said he would be able to unload it.

Truck Swaps and Other Pieces of Cake

Phew! After a long 14-hour day in what was admittedly beautiful weather, the truck swap is complete! The Pullman MCB truck that was brought from Illinois is now under the 303 and the motors have been successfully tested (following a bit of unanticipated bearing work), and the Baldwin MCB truck that has been in Connecticut the past few months is on the truck headed for IRM. Both 36 and 303 will now have their correct trucks.

A huge *thank you* to everyone from Connecticut Trolley Museum who helped out; Chris and a large crew of helpers from CTM literally did the heavy lifting on this project, while Jeff Hakner, Jim Lillie and IRM travelers Randy Hicks, Jeff Brady and Norm Krentel were indispensable to the success of the project. More photos and a full account will follow soon, so stay tuned!

Oh, and those "other" pieces of cake? Ray Bellock's daughter and her family stopped by with green and yellow cupcakes labeled "749" for 749 Dedication Day! It was a great taste of home on the distant shores of Connecticut; we all wished we could have been in Union for the festivities and are grateful to everyone who set up this special delivery!

Postcard from Connecticut

At Warehouse Point - wish you were here!

All four of us (Frank and Randy Hicks, Norm Krentel and Jeff Brady) arrived in Hartford at lunchtime and headed over to Warehouse Point (Connecticut Trolley Museum), where we met up with Chris Chestnut and his gang and got to work on the 303. We unloaded the Pullman truck formerly under the 36 with the help of driver Jim Lillie and his assistant and packed the motor armature bearings in the truck as well. A big "thank you" to Jim, Chris and the gang from CTM, and Jeff Hakner, an IRM volunteer from Branford who drove up to help out. More to come later!

Cruisin' Illinois Visits IRM

Here's a link to the TV segment that was just shown on WGN. You won't want to miss seeing noted TV personalities Frank Sirinek, Joe Stupar, and Stan Wdowikowski as they explain how the Museum works! This is actually a much longer clip than the one that was shown on the broadcast.

Our Trip To Connecticut

Everything seems to be set for our trip to the Connecticut Trolley Museum at Warehouse Point to swap motor trucks for our CA&E car 36. The 303's motor truck (R) has been carefully prepared, and is now on its way to Connecticut. Norm Krentel, Jeff Brady, Frank Hicks, and I will be flying to Hartford tomorrow morning (Friday), and we'll start work Friday afternoon. The job should be finished the next day, and we'll fly back Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately we'll have to miss the 749 dedication, but such are the grim personal sacrifices one occasionally has to make on behalf of a noble cause. I'll send you a postcard or two once we get there. And thanks to Chris Chestnut and the others at CTM for their cooperation in this project.

North Shore 749 Celebration This Saturday!

On June 19, 2010, the Illinois Railway Museum in Union (McHenry County), Illinois will celebrate the return to service of Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railway Car No. 749, following completion of a 23 year restoration. Eighty-two years young and looking as good as the day it was new, Car No. 749 beckons to riders who want a taste of classic electric rail transportation—and beginning June 19, you can take a ride on it into the past. This historic interurban car served the Chicago to Milwaukee route—downtown to downtown—for more than 30 years. The car will be open for public viewing at noon; a ceremony and ribbon cutting will follow at 1 pm. After the ceremony, the car will make its first trips for invited guests boarding from the restored CTA 50th Avenue Station. It will continue in service for the afternoon. Additional Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railway equipment will be on display, including the historic 1941 Electroliner, which will be open for tours.

Built in 1928 at the Pullman Company's south side Chicago factory, Car No. 749 was acquired by the Illinois Railway Museum from scrappers after the abandonment of Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railway service in 1963. The 749 restoration is the first complete restoration of an interurban car attempted by the museum. Executive Director Nick Kallas describes the restoration as an excellent example of the quality and thoroughness of this all-volunteer museum, stating “While there was a core group of volunteers led by the late Roger Hewett who worked constantly on the car, we have identified almost 30 volunteers who at one time or another applied a special skill or just an extra pair of hands to a large project. Whether it was locating a mill in England that could still replicate the upholstery fabric, or fabricating a mold for an obsolete part, our volunteers applied their talents to overcome every obstacle.” Among those 30 volunteers are several youthful workers who were not even born when the railway line quit operation in 1963. Volunteer Scott Greig pointed out that new and unfamiliar skills were learned for the project—everything from metalworking to carpentry and wiring.

Executive Director Kallas also commented that without the financial support of friends and members of the museum, this restoration could not have taken place. The project volunteers also drew on their own financial resources to see the project through.

Museum Librarian Barbara Lanphier, who grew up riding the North Shore Line on an almost daily basis, reminds us that each year finds that fewer and fewer former riders and employees remain. The museum has contacted surviving employees of the long-defunct railroad, and has confirmed that they will be on board to relive a long-past part of their lives.

The Illinois Railway Museum is the nation’s premier museum dedicated to transportation history, featuring steam, diesel and electric rail transportation, motor buses, plus trolley buses from the United States and Canada. For more information on museum operations, visit the museum’s website at www.irm.org or call 1-800-BIG-RAIL (800-244-7245)—recorded information only.

Photo by Gwyn Stupar

Preparation Takes Many Forms

Today involved preparation for swapping trucks for the 36, operating the 319, painting the 409, and lettering the cars.The first thing to do was to make sure everything we needed had been loaded and was on its way to Connecticut. More about that later.

On the roof of the 319, I bolted down the second trolley base and made the connections to the cables, so it's ready to install poles when we get a chance. I did some cleaning inside the car. I talked to Nick about lettering and gave him the stencils we have used for the blue cars. More about that later, too. Finally, I sanded down another window and painted two of them.

Over at Barn 2, work is nearly complete on preparing the 409 for painting. It looks to me like they're doing a very thorough and careful job.





At some point while it was in Cleveland, all of the brass lift tabs for the 319's windows disappeared. I've taken a sample to a foundry to have new ones made, but they don't seem to take us too seriously. In the meantime, if the car is going to operate, we need some way to raise the windows. So I bought a few bags of these little wooden knobs at a hobby store for $3. They're not meant to look like anything, but they will be useful until the correct fittings can be installed.



And if you're interested, here are the trucks we got from East Troy. These are the two I mentioned last time, with wooden bolsters. They have GE 74 motors. The bolster on the left has pretty much rotted away, but it could be replaced easily.



I forgot to mention that in order to load these trucks, our guys had to bring their own locomotive, since there's no trolley wire where the trucks were stored. So the Joy 2 was loaded onto a flatbed and taken up to East Troy. It's now safely back at IRM. And many thanks to Norm Carlson and our friends at East Troy for the trucks and electrical equipment!


And here's a truck that was under the L5. The L5 is of interest because the TM created a steeplecab on top of a Hicks-built flat car. Unfortunately, it was scrapped many years ago. These trucks are also a TM design. This one lost its motors, and also its brasses. So it now has wooden bearings. Wood -- what can't it do?

Unloading the Rio Open Car

Chris Buck sent me a collection of photos he took on Saturday of unloading the Rio open car we just bought from Scranton. Thanks, Chris!

There's about a dozen more; I'll post them when I have more time if there's enough popular demand.

319 Runs

Today Frank and I got the 319 running under its own power for the first time since it arrived at IRM. The blue cars were scheduled to operate today but didn't, due to the intermittent rain.

First, though, we went out to the 321 to get the stencils we'll need for the letterboard, a cover plate for the control system, and to work on fastening the tarp more securely.

I then taped up the motor leads and rechecked the armatures on all four traction motors. We made up the train, rechecked the brakes, and then pulled it outside to test the motors. The 319 performed well, just as expected. We are running on the trucks and motors from the 321, which were last used in 2006. Everything went well, but the rain started so the three car train ran back into the barn using all traction motors.

We also replaced a defective retriever on one end of the 319, and then started working on the roof. I had to redrill the holes for the two trolley bases; one of them is now bolted in place, and the other I can do myself. We're much closer to having the car able to operate by itself.

Just as I was about to leave, Rod arrived from East Troy with two motor trucks on a flatbed which I helped unload. They're pretty interesting: old TM electric car motor trucks with wooden bolsters, which are rather tired. Several Car Dept. people were up at East Troy today; we're getting several trucks and other parts from that group, and they need to be moved quickly. Norm got everything ready so the 303 motor truck and parts can be loaded tomorrow for shipment to Warehouse Point in Connecticut. And the new open car has arrived from Scranton. At IRM, hardly a day goes by without some significant progress!

And as a publicity note, the IRM segment on "Cruisin' Illinois" should be aired this Thursday evening on the 9PM news on Channel 9. You can probably get WGN just about anywhere on cable, so watch for it!

Frank adds...
Video of the 319's first run is here. And in addition to all of the events mentioned above, there was also progress on the electric car shop extension. The wall between the "old new" shop (the previous extension) and the new extension was knocked down, presenting the view shown below. While the new extension has HVAC it doesn't have lights - we still need to raise several thousand dollars for those. Donations to the Car Department shop fund are greatly appreciated!