Thanks to Bob Harris, who has alerted me that both of the Fox River Trolley Museum's South Shore Line interurban cars have departed South Elgin for good. The photo above, from Bob, shows
CSS&SB 7 at its new home on private property in Michigan City, Indiana where it has just arrived.
Car 7 - shown above in a
photo taken at FRTM in 2014 - is a standard un-lengthened South Shore car built by Pullman in 1926 as part of the railroad's initial order for steel coaches. It was part of the collection of South Shore cars acquired in 1984 by the National Park Service and didn't show up at FRTM until 1988. At that point it was on "permanent loan" but in 2010 the NPS divested itself of its far-flung collection of South Shore cars and at that time it was formally conveyed to FRTM. During its entire time in South Elgin it's been a static display piece, far heavier than the museum's line was designed for, and its condition has slowly deteriorated.
So that's the first of the two South Shore cars to have left FRTM. The second is the one above, South Shore car 14, shown in another
photo from 2014. Car 14 was also built in 1926 as part of the railroad's first order for steel cars but it was one of the cars stretched in the 1940s by the railroad's shops to an overall length of 77'6" (compared with its 60' original length). This car was acquired by FRTM straight from the South Shore in 1984 so it's been a static display piece at South Elgin for more than 35 years. The years have not been kind to this car and its condition had deteriorated badly. It was scrapped, with its parts going towards car 7 and other preserved South Shore cars in Indiana. It has been removed from the PNAERC list.
By my estimation, Fox River is to be commended for getting rid of these two cars, as they had become little more than eyesores. The museum's public presentation can only benefit. There is no loss from an historic standpoint as there are still 28 extant South Shore coaches including 11 from this exact order. The new owner of car 7 is also to be commended for taking on a significant, though certainly feasible, project.
I recall that Fox River also had car 111, which was directly acquired from the SSL/NICTD. I rode the car up from the interchange and thought how great it would be to see it run again, but that was not to be. At one time there was a 3-car orange train in South Elgin. Perhaps 111 did not make it, I do not see it currently on the list. These cars had leaky roofs when retired, anything less that indoor storage or active maintenance of them results in the conditions seen. I think we are going to lose a lot of these cars in the next decade.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the outcome is more urgently building storage for the remaining fleet, and perhaps a lucky star for the private owner in Michigan City to achieve some sort of revival operation.
O. Anderson
111 was at East Troy and was scrapped several years ago after the cars from Hammond had arrived.
DeleteI though 24 also called FRTM home before becoming the Beverly Shores @ East Troy
ReplyDeleteBen Rohling