North Shore in Pictures, Part III

We have a number of pictures from North Shore Day by our friend Matt Gustafson.  He knows how to choose subjects we will want to see!  (Captions added by yours truly)

All images are copyright by the photographer and may not be reproduced without permission.

Collector Wulfert, Motorman R. Hicks, Motorman F. Hicks

Answering questions from the public

Reading the order back to the Dispatcher.

Waiting for the signal from the trainmen

Norm Krentel at the controls of the 229

Clear track ahead!

North Shore Line Day, Part II

Frank writes...

As mentioned in the previous post, North Shore Line Day went great. The weather cooperated, operations generally hewed extremely closely to the timetable, and the place was buzzing with activity for the entire day - especially the depot, where there were enough train departures (in both directions!) thanks to Zach's intricate planning to keep things hopping.

Following a quick orientation talk in the depot for the operating crews, emcee Zach gave a short speech to assembled visitors at 10:30 to kick off the festivities. In the background you can see one of the surprises for the day: the 354, which hasn't carried passengers in over 20 years. Zach mentioned several NSL employees who were also IRM members, including most notably the museum's founder, Howard Odinius, an NSL motorman.

My first scheduled train wasn't until 11:30, I went over to 50th Avenue to check out the crew working on getting the station heated with its good old coal-burning stove. Here we see an unidentified person, Tim, blog reader John (who flew in from Montana for this event!), and David working on getting a decent fire going outside the building.

A few minutes later I stopped by again; here Tim and David eye the stove, which was not cooperating. It just wasn't drafting properly, so a lot of smoke was getting into the station. After fighting with it for awhile they decided to extinguish the fire and leave the station unheated. The most likely cause was some animal getting into the stove pipe during the last couple of weeks since it was hooked up, but without a good way to get in there and clean it out on short notice, there wasn't much to be done.

Up at the depot, Harold spent the day as the Highwood dispatcher. The Speed Trophy was displayed in the window for visitors to admire.

I went for a ride on the 354, which was nice. The heat even works! Father-and-son team Jon and Dan, with help from Norm, are the ones to thank for championing and accomplishing the return of this car to public service for the event. Hopefully it will be seen more on the streetcar line this year.

There were a few hours when I didn't take any photos because I was in train service. By the time I took this photo at 4:15 or so, we'd lit the (CA&E) marker lanterns on the 229 as it was starting to get a little dim.

It's about 4:30 and extra 229 east is ready to leave East Union while extra 749 west passes it on Station track 2. The green cars were on a repositioning move to get everything in the correct order.

Shortly afterward, train #425, the Milwaukee Limited, showed up. Cars 251 and 757 make for a pretty striking appearance!

And then all five NSL passenger cars were assembled on Station Track 1 for a departure a bit after 5pm as train #428, the Chicago Limited. This was the last scheduled train of the day.

Most of us went for a ride on the five-car train, though Richard agreed to stay behind as the "designated survivor" to reset the substation should we trip it out! Fortunately, there were no such issues. The 749 was nice and toasty.

And that's about it for North Shore Line Day. Then on Sunday, the museum ran Cabin Fever Day, which was the Diesel Department's answer to the Saturday festivities. Three trains ran: the Zephyr, the bi-levels, and a short train consisting of C&NW SD50 7009 in its IRM operating debut (it was only made serviceable by our volunteers within the past week) pulling the dynamometer and the ICG caboose.

I stopped out for a brief visit with my daughter and we went for a very enjoyable ride on the Zephyr. It snowed overnight and it was really nice to ride the Zephyr through the snow-covered fields. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the trains themselves, just this photo of my daughter. But the good news is that we were just running diesels, and you can go down to your local grade crossing and see those whenever you like! (Just kidding, of course - but there are some very good photographers in the Diesel Department, and I’m sure photos will be showing up online!)

North Shore Extravaganza

Our 60th anniversary observance of the abandonment of the North Shore went very well, with constant operation throughout the day and an excellent crowd of visitors and fans.  Since I was operating, I didn't get much chance to take pictures, but I'm sure many will be posted, and we welcome submissions!

There were, of course, lots of photographers all over the place.  They were camped out at Olson Rd, Seemann Rd, alongside Barn 2, at the creek, you name it.  So as I say, we will be glad to post any images you would like to send us.

The Electroliner was not operating, but was on display at 50th Avenue.  The train was open for visitors, with several of the restoration crew on hand to explain what's happening.

Another North Shore jewel you don't often see outside is the line car, 604:

And another is the MD car 229, which ran throughout the day, although its passenger-carrying capacity is very limited.

All I can say is...

We have never given up!  You can always send a check to IRM (not the Bank of Highland Park!)

(And don't bother writing to Otto Kerner!)

An unadvertised special was the operation of the only surviving North Shore streetcar, 354.  It was in service all day around the car line.  It hasn't operated for many years, and requires special care and handling, but for this special occasion it was carrying passengers, just like the old days.

One of the most important parts of any special day like this is the people.  I met several whom I haven't seen for a long time, and I won't try to list them all.  But one of them was Tom Jervan, whom I knew back in the seventies, and who hadn't been out to IRM for about 40 years.  He was an employee of the North Shore Line, and was very active back in the old days.  Here we see him running the 354:

(L to R: Jon Fenlaciki, Tom, Dan Fenlaciki, John Nicholson)

And while I'm at it, I must say a big word of thanks to all the people who made this operation possible.  Those of us on the operating crews had a much easier time of it because of all the help provided by the shop guys and helpers, who did most of the hard work of changing ends and switching cars in and out of the consists.  Many of the newer and younger members, who can only come out on weekends, I hardly recognize, but they all seemed to know what they're doing, and that made a big difference.  And we even had guys who volunteered to throw switches out in the cold, bleak wilderness of places like Johnson Siding.  (Because of the cold, the spring switch dashpots cannot be used, so the switches all had to be hand-thrown.  Ugh!)   So again, a huge THANK YOU!

Doerr Photo Collection additions

More classic 1980s photos of IRM have been added to the Doerr Photo Collection. Today's batch, photos #380 through #409, mostly depict freight cars and passenger cars, including (of course) some classic scenes around the property that you can't see today. Enjoy!

M-35 Update

In case you've been worrying that Gregg has been neglecting the UP doodlebug due to his work on the IT line car, evidently you can relax.  He sends us another photo update on the M-35!

The last two windows were put back into place in the smoker compartment. We're missing some latch hardware, so I hope to get some duplicate castings made in the near future. Also, the lower wall was finally painted, as can be seen with the masking tape separating the colors.

  Jane Blackburn helped install the cast guides on the wall for the conductor's cord.

Several pieces of plywood have been cut and primed. Three are seen here next to the doodlebug. Stay tuned for their installation!

Wednesday Workshop

 Time for another report on activities in the car shop, with our usual haphazard array of pictures.

I started by cleaning up parts for the #1 end of the roof, the pole guard, horn baffle, and trolley hook, and painting them with primer.

Tim spent most of the day working on windows.  Here he is staining one of the many frames, and he also cut out a large number of glass pieces, including the circular corner.  That's quite a challenge.

Pete continued working on the 757 doors.  Without reliable doors, the 757 won't fly.

Here's what one of the new ones looks like on the car.  It will get the Silverliner striping later.

I spent some time attaching one of the 460's roof cables, and finding the parts I'll need for the others.

Here Pete is adjusting a door latch.

Paul came by to work on triple valves for the passenger cars.  Buzz was also around but I didn't get any pictures of what he was doing.

As you can see here, the old doors on the 757 are some deteriorated.  They are all being replaced.

Finally, I installed the remaining two drip rails on the #1 end of the 460.

And finally, I didn't take a picture, but it looks like all three tracks for Barn 12 have been completed.  I'm told that the barn will have only three tracks to allow wider spacing.

And as usual, I missed what other departments were doing.  You just had to be there.

All Boarded Up

The 460 is now all boarded up, so to speak.  I spent the day getting the final two trolley boards into alignment, nailing them down, then installing all the screws needed to hold them in place.  The process doesn't lend itself to photography, but the final result looks like this.  Everything is as straight and sturdy as I can make it.

But don't worry -- during breaks I was able to get several pictures of other people at work.  And, as usual, it was a busy day.  John was working on the windows for the 306, fitting molding pieces, and checking the fit of the brass latches in the window frames.

He also wants to show off one of the reupholstered seat backs, which are being done by a professional in Walworth.  They look beautiful!

Tim continued to work on window frames, and helped with other projects.  For instance, he carefully cut the glass pieces needed by the North Shore guys.

Speaking of whom, here we see Pete painting one of the new doors.  I believe this is the outside of the motorman's side door.

And Fritz was working on adjusting the other side door.

And here they are checking the fit on the car.

This is the inside of the motorman's door:

And finally, Gregg was painting more wood for the 1702:

Line Car Progress

Gregg continues his rebuilding of the IT line car, and here are the latest pictures to prove it.

An update from several weeks ago. The #1 motorman's windshield was installed. This was a reproduction, as the original was in quite bad shape.

The new slider window on the #2 end.

And, of course, more siding being prepared for the line car. Only a few more boards to go!