Many thanks to Dan Hodgson, who reported via Facebook that property cleanup at the Boone & Scenic Valley has continued with the scrapping of South Shore combine 109. This car had been at Boone since the mid-1980s but had never operated there, and together with
combine 102 has long been stored in a derelict state. (It should also be pointed out that the only South Shore combine currently preserved in operating condition anywhere is car 106 at Boone.) Dan posted several photos on Facebook, of which a few are presented here for posterity.
Before:
After:
The scrapping of car 109 isn't a huge loss, partly because there are other examples and partly because it was probably inevitable given its poor condition. Car 102 may follow it at some point, though that's not certain right now. Even with that, though, there will be two combines of this series preserved intact (106 at Boone and 107 at East Troy) and another two in "tunneled" but largely presentable condition in Chesterton, Indiana. It's not an awful survival rate for a series of 12 cars.
OK so it was next it line. I believe the South Shore cars acquired were used in a train (or multiple train trips) that crossed the high bridge west of Boone. This may not have lasted for long, I recall going out there in the early 1990s and things looked pretty dormant at that time for most of the electric stuff, and the South Shore high voltage rotary portable substation was being rewired for lower voltage. There was an active contingent for traction and they were hopeful. O. Anderson
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