Wednesday Report

Back at IRM, my major priority is finishing the roof mats on the 714, but it was too cold in the barn for painting.  Just two more relatively warm days should finish that project.

In the meantime, the next goal is painting the rebuilt compressor for CA&E 36.  It's nice and warm in the shop, so let's get started.

This compressor came from the CTA, so it had painted messages on top.  It also had a brass tag from Skokie attached, which I removed and gave to Tim for safekeeping.

And I moved the cradle in from the barn to warm it up a little.

After a couple of hours of wire-wheeling, the compressor was ready for primer.

To be sure, there are several places on this complicated design that you can't reach with either the grinder or a brush, so someone could perhaps try hitting them with a rattle can.  You will notice the unpainted plug in the output port, which I inserted to keep debris from getting into the valves.

The cradle got the same treatment.  I couldn't find a good way to do the whole thing at once, so only half of it has been painted so far.

And the other regulars were hard at work.  Buzz is seen here using the big mortiser to make more window frames.

Tim continues to refinish doors for the 1808.

And on the 160, (L to R) Pete, Lorne, and Fritz were working on doors and other parts.

Here we see Fritz carefully polishing a brass grab iron.

Then I had some time to work on one of the windows for the 18.  I also removed one that I had made a year or so ago from the car, and took it home to work on, as it was slightly too wide.

Finally, let's look at the North Western building under construction.  Some of the walls are now in place.

And if you look up, you can see some material for the roof placed on the rafters.

And there were also several people working in the model railroad department, but I decided not to bother them.  They may prefer to do their own publicity, thus avoiding the mistakes that I often make when reporting on other departments' projects.  But I'm sure progress is being made.

At the movies

Zach Ehlers sent along this link to a movie posted online by the University of South Carolina that we think you'll enjoy. It shows our horsecar, North Chicago Street Railroad 8, and CSL 7001 being operated for some sort of promotional event in the spring of 1934. They're shown running along the trackage east of the IC that was built for the World's Fair. Pretty fascinating! USC also has a bunch of other movies from the 1930s available online, many of them with sound.

Back from Florida

I'm back from a two-week road trip to Florida, and it was quite enjoyable.  As usual, there wasn't a lot of railfanning to do, but I will have a report on our visit to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in a day or two.  Meanwhile, a couple of miscellaneous things from the Keys:

Five years ago, we last visited the Keys, and there was a Pullman on display near the highway, as seen in this post.  The car has since been moved several miles and put in a better location, and nicely repainted.

It doesn't seem to be open to the public, but is used as office space.

And on Long Key, a severe hurricane a couple of years ago uncovered some relics from a siding there.  And the park district has made an interesting display.

This handcar uses several metal parts they found nearby; the wood is all new, of course.

This is (or was) a Sheffield handcar, the same manufacturer as Buzz's velocipede.

Look closely at these rails.  I've seen examples of the base being somewhat worn out, but never anything like this.  That's the result of salt water constantly washing over the islands.

And then look closer at these wheels.  Only slightly out-of-round!

One of these days I should get myself a book about the construction of the Overseas Railroad.

And also, back in the good old days:

Finally, in Florida when they say "No Swimming" they're not joking:

Sunday Update

Frank writes...

I didn't make it out to IRM on Valentines Day Weekend, and was only able to make it out for a couple of hours on Sunday, but I tried to make the best of the time. The first job, of course, was to install the beautiful new seat that Tim finished for us. I'll give you, oh, I don't know, how about two tries to figure out which seat is the new one in this photo.

Anyway, it fits perfectly! I can't thank my father, who built the frame, and Tim, who did the canvas and rattan work to make it into an actual seat, enough for their work on this.

So the two biggest holes that were in the car's interior when it arrived - the missing seat, and the dropped ceiling panel - are now both repaired. Of course the interior is still rather "unrestored" and we have some more window work to do, along with an eventual need for some rattan repair, refinishing the walls, and replacing the huge ceiling panels that have warped, but at this point I think the interior is quite usable.

After that it was back to the car shop, where I sanded down the wood filler epoxy we had applied a couple of weeks ago to the latest two windows for the car. That was followed up by a coat of white primer on both windows, as shown here. And I also cut a new piece of glass for one of the windows, a job which went off pretty much without a hitch, thankfully. The glass cutting machine we have in the lean-three is really a nice asset.

You're probably getting tired of photos of the 36's air compressor, and I'll admit that it looks exactly the same, but Dan finished up his work on the pistons so it is now approved and ready to go back onto the car. Thanks, Dan! First, though, I will need to wire-wheel and repaint it and its cradle, which at the moment is out in Barn 4. But this is definitely exciting progress and should return the 36 to fully operational status, hopefully this spring.

UP M-35 and PSC 7 update

Many thanks to Gregg Wolfersheim for sending along this update of his progress on our doodlebug, UP M-35, and PSC 7, our 0-6-0T.

Last week the two window sash got put together with their new bottom pieces. Next they each got primed.

Here is the other one in primer.

While the can of primer was out, the divider wall got covered too.

The tan went on the wall, as well as the two sash.

Here are a few shots of what is happening to the Public Service #7 inside of its cab. The floor was nonexistent a few months ago. The new windows can be seen in this view.

The floor was nonexistent on the engineers side for years. I found a few pieces of diamond tread plate and installed those. The cylinder cock actuating lever was welded to the floor. That's the lever near the top of this photo about 2 feet tall. The rack type gear is the reverser.

Last week I was able to wire wheel the ceiling and apply a coat of black paint. You can almost see where the ribs will attach to it in the paint outline.

Here are the new ribs, or are they carlines? There are two long ones in the middle with two short curved pieces at the outer ends. The short ones are still in primer in the background. Once these are installed, tongue and groove siding is applied to the ribs for the final ceiling and painted the customary green.

CTA 9631 update

Many thanks to Richard Schauer for sending along another update of progress on CTA trolley bus 9631:

Although not much has changed in the appearance of the 9631 since last week, the whole lower section is now sanded smooth, ready for primer.

Work is now concentrating on getting the upper section to the same state; it doesn't need any heavy body work, but there are a number of small areas that need this or that.  The shop was again busy and wasn't able to spend a ton of time on it- I noted a surfeit of banged-up trucks in the parking lot from one of their corporate customers again.

Freeport Railway & Light

Freeport Railway & Light

by Stephen M. Scalzo

Ed. note: For those not familiar with Freeport, IL, it is a city in northwest Illinois located about 30 miles west of Rockford. In 1910 its population was 17,600 people and it was the westernmost terminus of an interurban railway network that stretched, virtually unbroken but in a roundabout manner, 750 miles to the east to Little Falls, NY.

Headline image: A 1903 St. Louis-built single-trucker is headed east on Stephenson Street in Freeport, probably sometime in the 1900s or 1910s. All photos from the Stephen Scalzo Collection of the Illinois Railway Museum except where noted.

The Freeport Street Railway Company was organized on October 10, 1886 with $45,000 of capital. Shortly thereafter, four miles of horsecar trackage was constructed and service began on two lines on November 29, 1886 with eight horsecars and 48 horses. One line operated on Carroll, Williams, Chicago, Oak, and North Galena, and the second line operated on Stephenson and Taylor.

It's not a great photo, but it's the only available picture showing a Freeport horsecar in operation.

In 1892, the company was sold to local concerns, and on April 26, 1894, the R.S. Brown eastern syndicate purchased the company and the electric light company to form the Freeport Electric Company (FEC). C.E. Loss of Chicago was hired to convert the horsecars lines to electric operations, and construction began in August. Six miles of single trackage with turnouts was constructed; six electric streetcars, two 90 kW generators, and a 220 HP engine were ordered. The first electric car began operating 15 minute service on November 29, 1894. On December 1, the Freeport Electric Light & Power Company was purchased and consolidated with the FEC into the Freeport General Electric Company, which was incorporated on May 3, 1895.

Brill-built car 5, shown here likely around 1894 or 1895, was one of Freeport's first six electric streetcars.

The original Brill cars were supplemented in 1896 by four open cars built by Wells & French. These were delivered sans running gear, and in the summer four of the Brill closed cars had their running gear transferred to the open cars. The open cars were numbered 7-10 but were renumbered 21-24 in 1903. This photo dates to the 1903-1910 era.

The 1893 Depression took its toll on the city, and the Freeport Gas & Electric Company took over the operations on April 22, 1895. By 1897, the company had six miles of trackage, over which operated 10 streetcars and six trailers. However, the new company could not stem the tide of red ink, and on March 13, 1899, W.O. Johnson was appointed receiver.

Brill car 3 is shown in 1895 in front of the car house on Liberty Avenue. Early in the following decade this building was expanded and roughly doubled in size.

Downtown Freeport is shown, likely midway through the first decade of the century, with a 1903 St. Louis-built car headed east on Stephenson. Automobiles are nowhere to be seen.

The Freeport Railway Light & Power Company (FRL&P) was organized on January 12, 1903 by the Goddard family to acquire the property. After receiving a 20-year franchise, the new company built a loop track into the east and south section of Freeport, and by 1905 had 7.5 miles of trackage and 17 streetcars. There were numerous battles with steam railroads over grade crossings on the streetcar line that had steep grades. In July of 1905, the power plant was partially destroyed by fire, and power for the overhead was temporarily purchased from the Rockford & Interurban Railway until the plant was rebuilt. In 1907, the company received a 30-year franchise.

It's September 8, 1910, and President Theodore Roosevelt is in town to speak at a Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen picnic. Open car 9 (soon to be renumbered 23) is hauling a trailer, probably one of the cars bought in 1901 from Chicago Union Traction. This is taken looking east on Stephenson at Liberty; the building on the left still stands.

Car 8, shown in this regrettably distorted wintertime photo from sometime before 1910, was one of two built in 1903 by St. Louis

Earnings rose from $48,000 in 1903 to nearly $94,000 in 1909. The FRL&P and the Stephenson County Lighting & Power Company were merged into the Freeport Railway & Light Company (FR&L), which was organized on October 20, 1910. Four new single-truck streetcars were ordered and placed into service in 1911. By the beginning of 1912, Freeport was a thriving city with a population of 20,000. About 10 miles of lines were operated with 20 streetcars, and the company also operated the Highland Amusement Park.

Between 1903 and 1911, cars 7 and 8 were the most modern streetcars in Freeport and were frequently photographed. Here, one is shown on bustling Stephenson Street wearing a dash-mounted ad thoughtfully cut out around the headlight.

Four new turtleback-roof single-truck cars were ordered from Danville in 1911. Between these cars and a handful of similar cars subsequently ordered from McGuire-Cummings, the old 1895 Brill cars could be retired. Car 11, shown here, burned around 1914.

However, with the death of A.P. Goddard, the company was sold to Samuel Insull on August 7, 1912. In September, the company removed the several controversial steam railroad crossings after abandoning trackage on a portion of the southeast loop line. In May of 1915, a one-mile extension was built to the southwest part of the city, and in June an extension of the Galena Street line was built.

Open car 24, which began life in 1896 as car 10, appears to have come to grief over an under-construction sewer. This car was retired sometime prior to World War I.

Only two double-truck cars ever ran on the Freeport streetcar system, both 1904 St. Louis-built cars purchased secondhand from the Sterling Dixon & Eastern. One is shown here on an undated Fourth of July sometime after 1914.

In the spring of 1916, an application was made to the State Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for permission to merge the Tri-County Light & Power Company of Aledo and the FR&L with the Illinois Norther Utilities Company (INU) of Dixon. Permission was granted, and on August 1, the FR&L became a subsidiary of INU. Increased use of automobiles and concrete highways began to draw away passengers, forcing the company to institute numerous changes so that the streetcars could continue operating at a profit.

Birney car 25 was one of three identical cars purchased from Cincinnati in 1919.

Car 12, one of the 1911 Danville-built cars, is shown at an unknown location and date. Note that it has been converted for one-man operation and lacks rear steps. This car remained in use until the end of streetcar service in Freeport in 1933.

In February of 1919, the company applied to the PUC for increasing streetcar fares from five to seven cents. Three new four-wheel Birney streetcars were ordered and placed into service in 1919, and two additional used Birney streetcars were purchased from the abandoned Sterling system in 1925. However, between 1920 and 1932, earnings feel from almost $98,000 to a little over $34,000, with ridership dropping from 1,687,864 to 629,585. Outlying lines were converted to bus during 1927. The Depression soon brought operating losses, and the last streetcar operated on October 21, 1933.

This article was edited and laid out by Frank Hicks. Thanks to Ray and Julie Piesciuk and Richard Schauer for making these materials from the Stephen Scalzo Collection available.

Freeport Streetcar Roster

Number	Description	Builder	Truck Motors	Notes
1-6	ST DE DR wood	Brill 1894 (#5942)	Brill 21B	Retired 1912, two cars rebuilt as utility cars c1912
7-10	ST DE DR 9-bench open	Wells & French 1896		Re# 21-24 c1903, retired c1917
?	four open trailers			Bought 1901, ex-CUT
7-8	ST DE DR wood	St. Louis 1903 (#425A)	Curtis	Scrapped 1919
9	ST DE TR wood	Danville 1911 (#564)	Taylor	Burned 1919
10	ST DE TR wood	Danville 1911 (#564)	Taylor 2 x GE 70A	Scrapped 1933
11	ST DE TR wood	Danville 1911 (#564)	Taylor 2 x GE 70A	Burned c1914
11 (II)	ST DE TR wood/steel	McG-C 1914	Columbian 2 x GE 247D	Scrapped 1933
12	ST DE TR wood	Danville 1911 (#564)	Taylor 2 x GE 247D	Scrapped 1933
14-15	ST DE TR wood	McG-C 1912	Columbian 2 x WH 12A	Scrapped 1933
16	ST DE TR wood/steel	McG-C 1916	Columbian 2 x GE 247D	Scrapped 1933
22	DT DE DR wood	St. Louis 1904 (#418)	4 x AC 501	Bought 1914, ex-SD&E 22, scrapped 1933
23-25	ST DE AR Birney	Cincinnati 1919 (#2395)	Cinc. 139 2 x GE 258C	Scrapped 1933
25-29	ST DE DR 9-bench open	St. Louis?		Bought second hand c1903, retired c1917
27	DT DE DR wood	St. Louis 1904 (#418)	4 x GE 70A	Bought 1922, ex-SD&E 23, then SD&E 102, scrapped 1933
28-29	ST DE AR Birney	Cincinnati 1921 (#2480)	Cinc. 139 2 x GE 264	Bought 1925, ex-SD&E 32-33, scrapped 1933
20	ST DE AR sweeper	McG-C 1912	2 x AC 501	Scrapped 1933

Abbreviations:

AR = arch roof

CUT = Chicago Union Traction

DE = double-end

DR = deck roof

DT = double-truck

FGE = Freeport General Electric

GE = General Electric

McG-C = McGuire-Cummings

SD&E = Sterling Dixon & Eastern Railway

ST = single-truck

TR = turtleback roof

WH = Westinghouse

This photo of car 22 was filed in the Scalzo Collection under Sterling Dixon & Eastern, but it was actually taken in Freeport. Car 22 was purchased from the SD&E in 1914 and in this view it's festooned with flags, banners, extraneous light bulbs, and portraits of Thomas Edison for "Light's Golden Jubilee" in 1929.

Route Map

Click here for a map of the Freeport streetcar system

The carbarn used by the first electric cars, shown in earlier in this article, was located on the southeast corner of Liberty and Spring. It is shown in this 1897 Sanborn Fire Insurance map.

By 1904 the barn had roughly doubled in size, as shown in this more highly detailed 1918 Sanborn illustration. A capacity of 14 cars, with a repair shop in the northeast corner, is noted, as is the fact that there are no outside storage tracks. Every streetcar in Freeport had a parking spot indoors.

Click to return to the Scalzo History Collection index