Yes, there are concerns from the purists that Branford is depending too much on special events and rentals for our income, and straying from our Museum Purpose. After all, we claim to be Non-profit! They also suspect that the motive for the illuminated Holiday cars is so the ordinary volunteers who decorate them can get to run those exotic cars.
Warehouse Point's Tunnel of Lights and varied operating cars are enviable.

I am curious how they will deal with where to put the Toledo parlor car...... I can't wait to see when these 3 unique pieces of rolling stock arrive at the museum.

The car movements have begun, per a message on the IRM Yahoo list, VeraCruz open car 19 is loaded on a truck, and will begin its trip to Union early tomorrow morning.

Jeff

Saturday was the day for Museums to seek out missing parts for their cars bought at the auction. Headlights and control handles were also distributed.

Car 19 was loaded but only after working on a slight height problem. To solve the problem it was requested that everyone present at the dock, with the exception of two people to tie the car down, board 19 to help compress the cars springs and lower the height of the car as it was chained down. Between pulling off the trolley boards and spring compression, it worked. So was the last "fan trip" of car 19 in Cleveland!

Steve Heister
http://www.northernohio.railway.museum

As activity is heating up, so is the rumor mill.

I've heard from several sources this weekend that FRTM is expecting to load Fox River 304 on Monday with an expected arrival/unloading on Wednesday. A historic day for South Elgin, the first time in 70+ years an AE&FRE passenger car will rest on home rails again.

Negotiations are said to be ongoing with Silk Road for transport of the bigger cars, maybe some volume pricing is in order...Bad thing is the empty/deadhead trips back to Cleveland, Silk Road (or any other transporter) needs to be paid for their time, gas, etc, with no return loads those factors have to be added into their pricing.

IRM's open car, Veracruz #19, was loaded yesterday and arrived at East Union this evening, after dark, so it will be unloaded tomorrow (Monday). Follow the link for pictures and more info.

John, keep us updated with what's happening at South Elgin. Thanks!

Saturday was a busy day at the pier. Four of us were on site from NCTM to inspect our new acquisitions. Many thanks to Scott Becker for the use of his truck to move seats, frames and stanchons from storage on one side of the pier to MBTA 3334 at the other end. A highlight of the day was the ARM window brigade of 10-12 people who assisted the PTM crew with moving window sash stored in one of their cars.

Looking at the banners on the pier that describe the plans for the Lake Shore project, and recalling the fire experience at our own museum in 2003, I think about the impact all of this has had on the Brookins family and the folks in the Lake Shore organization. Thankfully the Lake Shore collection is still with us to go to new homes. But the outcome is still sad in some ways.

Wesley

Randy Hicks:

You lucky devils! The controller cover on the K-10 can be easily replicated. I can't wait to ride No. 19 at IRM next spring. Great catch!

Wesley: I guess I am not getting the meaning of your comment about the banners on the pier and the 2003 fire at NTCM. Could you elaborate via PM for my own understanding?

Thanks!

Looking at the banners on the pier that describe the plans for the Lake Shore project, and recalling the fire experience at our own museum in 2003, I think about the impact all of this has had on the Brookins family and the folks in the Lake Shore organization. Thankfully the Lake Shore collection is still with us to go to new homes. But the outcome is still sad in some ways.

I've been thinking along those lines for much of the summer, ever since the final official word of closing and the auction were announced. It is my hope that some day the history of the Trolleyville group and the Brookins family will be published, not only in rememberance as what was always a very nice, respectable operation, but also in some ways as a cautionary tale as to the variables that forced their ultimate closure.

I seriously doubt that it would happen, but I think it would be a nice tribute to the Brookins family and Trolleyville/LSE to keep one of their former cars painted and letttered as the Columbia Park & Southwestern. I think we forget too often the work and sacrifice some of those that have gone before us have made, and the Brookins family in particular was responsible for saving and caring for, at a minimum, a large percentage of Chicago's Fox Valley interurban legacy (amongst other examples)

As is typical in the museum community, there's already discussions within the IRM family about the first car arriving, the Vera Cruz open car. Thoughts about restoring it as orginal, make the car double-ended again, removing the non-original deck roof, repaint, etc.

Anyone else think the car would be quite acceptable as is, lettered for the CP&SW, and perhaps some type of marker explaining it all ? Just a thought.

At the risk of meddling here, I did some reading in Google during the bid period. I recall reading that the Vera Cruz car was originally deck roofed, then "streamlined" with the arch roof in the 1940s. As far as single vs double end, I don't recall that detail.

Wesley

My fault there,,
Just passed along some of the online chatter without researching myself...

However, J. Johnson, a far better authority than I ever hope to be, has advised the IRM family that indeed the car was originally deck-roofed, and had controllers at both ends (although it was ultimately single-ended in Vera Cruz so both ways are "correct")

How typical of all of us,, darn thing hasn't even been on the site for 24 hours yet and we're arguing on how best to "restore" it... Got to love it !

More info, literally hot off the electronic press.

FRTM had Fox River 304 loaded in Cleveland this morning. The truck is said to have left at 9:32 AM EST and is expected overnight. Unloading in South Elgin to be done tomorrow (Tues, 11/3) at 9:00 AM. A historic day as this car returns to home rails for the first time in 70+ years. A great accomplishment for those folks.

In related news, the truck is then said to be heading north to East Troy to get CTA #45 and bring that car back to South Elgin as well.

Busy busy times !

Further note, to anyone venturing out to FRTM in the morning, please use common sense and observe all safety precautions. You can help the FRTM crew the most by NOT getting in their way for pictures :-)

Brill's Magazine dated April 15, 1908, bottom of page 81 has a short announcement on the delivery of ten (10) 10-bench, single-truck, center aisle open cars for Vera Cruz. The cars were equipped with a Brill 21-E truck. Page 82 has a photo of the exterior and interior of one of the cars and they were delivered with a deck roof. I can't tell from the poor copy that I have whether they were delivered with controllers.

Thanks!

Regarding whether Vera Cruz cars were single or double end operation: According to Interurbans Special 28, when Pacific Electric's 100-class cars were sold to Vera Cruz in the early 1950's, the group-switch control systems were removed and replaced with one K-35 controller. As far as I know, none have survived.

Not sure how long this link will be good for..
Great story and a TEXTBOOK way of getting the word out in the media.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7098663