All photos from July 1948.

Steve

Steve -

Very interesting! I was at the Chicago Railroad Fair as a kid, but remember almost nothing about it. Your Dad's photos are great. The shot of Milwaukee Road Alco DL-109 (correct model?) is priceless. I also wonder if the Timken boxcar ever was used in service as RBX #88, perhaps under a lease arrangement? That car would have been an eye-opener in its yellow paint on any 1940's freight train! If the car didn't go out that way, wonder if it was sold to a common carrier and repainted? Questions! Questions!

Finally, talking about the IC's charter line, I purchased a terrific color photo some time back of an ICRR 2-8-2 roaring through Heyworth, Illinois (south of Amboy) at the head of a long freight. One of my favorite photos.

Les

Currently, the Walt Disney Family Museum has an exhibition entitled "All Aboard! A Celebration of Walt's Trains"[url]http://www.waltdisney.org/trains[/url]

Part of the exhibit describes a visit by Walt and animator Ward Kimball to the Chicago Railroad fair, complete with film footage of Ward running various locomotives and Walt as an actor on stage in the Wheels A Rolling pageant.

Steve, I would like to pick up some of your father's slides from the 1948 fair and add them to my Railroad Fair web site, http://www.railarchive.net/rrfair/ (crediting you and your father, of course). -- Dr. Richard Leonard

Steve -

In looking again at the last 4 of your Dad's photos, I noticed a couple of interesting things. Note that the E7 on GM's "Train of Tomorrow" carries the number 765 in the number board. Made famous today by a certain, currently operable, Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4. Wonder why that particular number for the E7?

And the photo of the American Steel Foundries exhibit threw me at first. Peculiarly shaped car. Then it finally hit me; this is a single car made from a modern ASF boxcar on one end and an old wood car of some type, on the other end. Not 1865 for sure (as noted on the display) but an older car for sure. Wonder what the OTHER side of the car looked like? Perhaps there might be a surviving photo! Can hope one exists at least.

Wonderful stuff!

Les

As always, my father would be honored that anyone would have cared about his passion. You are more than welcome to use any of his photos. He is smiling from above on the notion that his photos would some day be brought out of the dark confines of his basement and be thought valuable.

Steve

Les, people like you make it all worth the effort. I have many slides to go through and share here. Maybe he took one of the backside, don't know. He did like details. I especially look forward to the ones he took around the Chicago rail yards taken about the same time as these.

Steve

Here is an example of where I learned something about what my Dad had photographed but did not explain the details of.



This is part of the page in my Dad's ledger that covers these photos.


Steve

All from July 1948.

Steve

Just a note, I copied all of the images posted in this thread to photobucket and I will begin to edit the previous posts to include the images with their photobucket addresses. Will take a while but it will again be complete. I tested the very first image in the first post and it worked.

Steve

Thanks, Steve, I will be adding some of your father's photos to my Railroad Fair site. I see he took a photo including a B&O "Cincinnatian" 4-6-2, looks like 5304 "President Monroe." Someone sent me a slide of sister 5302 displayed the same year (http://www.railarchive.net/rrfair/rrfair4813.htm) and next to it is one of the C&O steam turbine electrics. Did your father get to photograph one of those C&O turbines also?

Yes he did photograph a turbine. If you want, I can jump ahead and scan that this weekend.

Steve

From the newspaper photo, it looks like you had to drive to the event. No rail service obvious.

OK, great. I am copying most of these as they come. But maybe I need to wait till you have scanned everything before I add them to my RR Fair site.

Steve -

Quick question. Your Dad attended the Fair in 1948. Do you know if he also attended the 1949 version? I believe that C&O 2-6-6-2 #1309 was on exhibit there in 1949. Of course, the engine is now being restored to run on the WMSR. So, just wondering.

Les