I've been researching the history of the Hicks Locomotive and Car Works of Chicago Heights, Ill. (It was also known as F.M.Hicks & Co. or the Central Locomotive and Car Works.) I know of seven preserved cars built by this firm:

CA&E #309 at IRM
Two cars at North Freedom
Two cars at Green Bay
V&T #20 at Orange Empire
YVRR #330 at San Jose

Can anyone add to this list? I'd be most grateful!

As an example of a heroic privately-funded restoration project, the Yosemite Valley car has an excellent website: http://www.yv330.com/index.html

I have written up what I have found on the history of the company, with a description of all of the preserved cars, and I will be glad to email it to you. Just send me your e-address.

Randall.Hicks at eacemr.com

I thought YV #330 was still up at Yreka, California (near Mt. Shasta).

At this time, I cannot think of any other Hicks cars. If I do I'll post.

Brian Norden

bnorden@gateway.net

Randall,

I found 6 of the 7 cars on the web within about 1 1/2 hours. I got one at North Freedom and did not try to identify the second; the text indicates the second, however. Thus I can't help on this end. However, at the risk of continuing to carry coal to Newcastle, here are a few websites that report on Hicks cars, probably all gone:

http://infoweb.magi.com/~lamontc/legend.html
How to read tables
(listings of Canadian freight and passenger cars,
there is an abbreviation for the builder Hicks)
=============================
http://www.kvrr.rrdepot.com/frame.html?rosterrs.html
In 1906, Hicks Car Works built coaches Nos.133 and 139 for the Bessemer and Lake Erie RR. They were sold to the KV for $850. This one (No.133), was cut up and used in a house built in the engine shed in 1940.
=============================
http://nn.railfan.net/pass/passroster/passrost.html
mentions two Hicks cars built in 1880s, one positively reported dead.
=============================

The Canadian reference has tables that are very hard to scan for what you want as they are sorted by railroad company, one page per company ... Maybe this helps anyway a little in your project.

Cheers, Jochen

JochenTrost@cs.com