C&LE High-Speed Runs

Branford, which of course hosts the PNAERC database, has announced a significant milestone. Cincinnati & Lake Erie 116, their 1930 Cincinnati-built high-speed interurban car, is now operational again for the first time in many years. This makes it one of only two operational ex-C&LE cars anywhere, and the only one of the two in original C&LE livery.

Car 116 ran in East Haven many years ago, but I believe it was out of service by the 1980s and possibly earlier. Branford volunteers restored its roof but for many years it sat with the body in primer. Around 2010, it received a beautiful paint job that returned it to its original deep red color scheme, and over the past couple of years it has seen a remarkable amount of mechanical and electrical work. It was flooded by the hurricanes that hit Branford nearly a decade ago now, which necessitated the rebuilding of the car's motors as well as its PC control group and the fairly complex air system.

There are 12 pieces of equipment preserved from the C&LE: six freight motors, all in various states of disrepair; two 100-series combine bodies; and four "Red Devil" high-speeds that ran on the CRANDIC after their C&LE days ended. Of these four, 111 at Rio Vista (operational but rarely used) and 118 at Seashore (stored for quite a few years now) are in CRANDIC colors, while 119 at Worthington (tarped and deteriorating) and 116 are in C&LE paint.