Illinois Railway Museum Discussion

the WC SD45 appears to be dead on the main line in view of the spaulding tower webcam

the WC SD45 appears to be dead on the main line in view of the spaulding tower webcam

Actually it is sitting on Station Track 2. The mainline is one more track to the left. During the non-peak seasons, track 2 is regularly used for storage. and any operating trains use track 1, to the right in the webcam view. If you click on the Mainline web camera and squint hard, you will see there is a coach further down on track 2. That being said, it is a little unusual to see a unit sittng there all by itself. I don't know of any particular reason however.

For those who don't follow the blog on the IRM site.... dome coach Silver Pony is now on the property, arriving this past Friday night.

Photos are up on the IRM website. Still to arrive are CB&Q Olympus and heavyweight CB&Q 1309, both baggage cars.

eolesen wrote:For those who don't follow the blog on the IRM site.... dome coach Silver Pony is now on the property, arriving this past Friday night.

Photos are up on the IRM website. Still to arrive are CB&Q Olympus and heavyweight CB&Q 1309, both baggage cars.

so these are CB&Q cars. what train were they used on, the morning/afternoon zepher (by that i mean the dome car). i know that olympus was used with the nebraska zephyr set, although it was a seperable car.

I thought the Silver Pony had been wrecked beyond repair a while back? Who/how did it get "resurrected"?

Re: Silver Pony:

Apparently reports of structural damage were exaggerated. I understand the car did derail en route to the GCRR (?) and was de-trucked and put on a flat car as a precaution. Reports from the field are that the body structure seems to be fine. But apparently all the windows are broken, etc. GCRR kept the trucks and was using the car as a donor for spare parts, but it is still largely intact. I understand they were about to scrap it to make room, but gave it to IRM instead so it would be preserved.

Some pics here: http://www.irm.org/gallery/album266

The Silver Pony was a D&RGW car that was used on the California Zephyr.

What is the general condition, inside and out, of cars 233 and 234? Are either operable? What about the sole remaining sleeper Peoria? Same questions. Berths still intact, etc?

Re: Ilinois Terminal Interurban cars 233, 234, and 504 (Peoria)

All three cars are on trucks and exteriors are basically complete, very presentable in the same orange paint scheme applied to the other two IT heavyweights in the collection. 234 and 508 are and were non-control trailers. 233 was a motor car, but no longer has motors.

The interiors of 233 (office car) and 234 ( open-end observation car) are esssentially complete, but I do not know how old the current furnishings are. 504 (open section sleeping car) was in work train service on the IT for many years and laregely stripped by them, but I understand at least one of the berth sections remains.

234 and 508 are stored inside on display and seldom are moved. 234 has recently been operated in service in a three-car train with coach trailer 518 pulled by combine 277. All three cars are scheduled for an early annual operating inspection so they can be run for the annual meet of the Illinois Terminal Society on April 30.

There are photos of all these cars on the IRM web site. The link to photos of all the interurban cars is below, the IT cars are on page 2.
http://www.irm.org/gallery/Interurbans

234, 518, and 277 are sitting on the pit track in barn 4, and will be getting some work done for the previously mentioned ITS convention this spring. Lots of switching was done last Saturday to get them over there, and move some other pieces on that track to other locations.

Was the Peoria converted to air conditioned? Was it the type that had no baffles between sections and curtains over the berths at aisle side, or was it converted to 'roomette' type?

When in service, as the Owl, was it (and other sleepers) pulled by a combine motor, or a class B?

I am not an IT expert, but did a little research. The Peoria was always an open section sleeper. It was not one of those modernized to roomettes and air conditioning. There is a picture of the interior taken in 1987 at IRM in Paul Stringham's book ILLINOIS TERMINAL The Electric Years on page 36.

I believe all regularly scheduled IT trains were pulled by combines, not locomotives. There is a picture on page 42 of the same book showing a combine pulling four sleeping cars.

CarterB wrote:What is the general condition, inside and out, of cars 233 and 234? Are either operable? What about the sole remaining sleeper Peoria? Same questions. Berths still intact, etc?

It's been a while since I was in the Peoria, but I am 90% certain that the interior of the car is substantially intact. It was used in work service for a number of years but was employed as a bunk car and was largely unmodified; there were some changes made to one or two compartments of the car but most of it is essentially intact. It's in rough shape, though, as it was stored outside for a number of years and needs new window frames, T&G siding and some body work. The 233 and 234 are in better condition; both are essentially intact and unmodified on their interiors from their late service days. Some backdating work was done on the interior of the 234 starting at the forward (non-platform) end of the car, so part of that end of the car has been stripped, stained and varnished, but most of the car's interior is still painted white as it was in later years on the IT. Both 233 and 234 have been towed on occasion in recent years but only the former car has some roof issues among other things. The current plan is to run combine 277 towing trailer 518 and obs 234 next year.

Frank Hicks

http://www.irm.org/gallery/TMERL1129/aab

I didnt know IRM had a TMERL car! Caption says the car is wearing the wrong number and wrong paint scheme. Too bad, thats my favorite paint! What should that car look like?

Otto Vondrak wrote:http://www.irm.org/gallery/TMERL1129/aab

I didnt know IRM had a TMERL car! Caption says the car is wearing the wrong number and wrong paint scheme. Too bad, thats my favorite paint! What should that car look like?

IRM actually has two TM interurban cars, the only two to be preserved, coach 1129 (pictured above) and parlor-obs 1135 "Menominee" (see photo at http://www.irm.org/gallery/TMERL1135/aab). These two cars were retired by the TM fairly early, in 1941, and were sold to the London & Port Stanley where they remained in operation long enough to be acquired by IRM in 1955 as the museum's second and third cars. Neither ever received the yellow "speed stripe" scheme now worn by 1129, which wasn't applied to TM equipment until the 1940's IIRC. Car 1129 was painted during the 1970's to represent TM car 1111, known among fans as the "Four Aces," which was scrapped in the early 1950's. Both cars ought to be painted Pullman green with yellow letterboards, as the "Menominee" is now. Unfortunately both cars are in poor structural condition and would need a massive amount of money and work to be made operational.

Frank Hicks