The Lake Shore car

Traction preservation aficionados are surely familiar with South Shore cars, the ubiquitous (in the Midwest, anyway) heavyweight steel interurban cars retired in the 1980s and now scattered hither and yon, mostly in disrepair outside a couple of outposts in Illinois and Wisconsin where they operate. But what about Lake Shore cars? There's only one of those: Chicago Lake Shore & South Bend 73, later Chicago South Shore & South Bend 1126, a wood car built by Niles in 1908 and only survivor of the predecessor to the South Shore.

Car 73 is privately owned by Bob Harris, who back in 2004 had it moved to a workshop in southern Illinois and started funding a complete restoration of what started out as a rather decrepit car body. The photo above was taken in 2009, by which point the car's frame and exterior had been totally rebuilt. But with the arrival of the recession work stopped and the car was left stored mid-restoration - until now. Bob recently contacted me to state that restoration work has restarted on the car, and he also sent some very interesting information on car 73's history which has informed changes to its PNAERC listing. The below data comes from a spreadsheet Bob forwarded to me with information on car 73's history and equipment.

Car as built in 1908 by Niles
Seats: 54
Trucks: Baldwin MCB 90-35
Motors: 4 x WH 143D (6600vAC single-phase, 125hp)
Control: WH AB-189 C-Y single-end
Weight: 110,000 lbs
Length: 57'2"
Width: 10'0"
Height: 13'8"

Car as rebuilt to CSS&SB 1126 in 1925
Seats: 46
Trucks: Baldwin MCB 90-35
Motors: WH 567C9 (600vDC, 210hp)
Control: WH HBF
Weight: 108,000
Length: 58'4"
Width: 10'0"
Height: 13'8"

Bob notes that the car, already known to have been rebuilt c1909 following a wreck, was assigned the number 1126 when the CLS&SB became the CSS&SB on July 14, 1925 and was shortly thereafter rebuilt for 1500vDC operation as a combine with somewhat reduced seating capacity. He says it was typically assigned to the 12:05am local from Kensington to Hegewisch and return, a role it filled until May 27, 1927, after which it is not thought to have been used in passenger service. It did continue running in work service until December 30, 1938 when it was removed from operation and assigned to be a yard office at Randolph Street. It was permanently retired in December 1940 and the body sold.

As I understand it, the car as restored will be something of a hybrid. From the floor up, it will be as close as possible a restoration to as-built condition. Mechanically, though, as far as I know it will basically be the 1126, including WH 567 motors and 1500-volt electrical equipment. Its original AC equipment is probably extinct and it would be impossible to find anywhere for the car to run, but with 1500vDC equipment there are a few options for it to motor again someday plus the equipment - the same as was used on the South Shore steel cars - is readily available from scrapped steel cars.