Well, in as little as a year, another Texas Electric Railway interurban car has made its presence known. It too is built into a house which is in danger of being demolished to make room for new development, and it too is available for the cost of demolishing the building and removing all from property.

McKinney Avenue Transit in Dallas has its hands full with streetcars, and a heavily modified freight motor already filling their carbarn as well as 6-8 other cars that are in storage in higher priority for restoration. North Texas Historic Transportation in Fort Worth has two cars in storage at my warehouse waiting to be moved into more permanent space, which will overwhelm our assets just taking care of the two we have.

This is a 1913 St. Louis Car Co. interurban passenger car originally built as a combine and later converted for use as a express Bluebonnet train. Orginally had arched windows which were squared off for modernization. Car is in excellent condition (best I have ever seen in the field) and has most of its interior hardware. There are no trucks or motors or controls.

I want to see the care preserved, but I feel it would be irresponsible for us to acquire the car when are resources are so sparse. Any takers? Any suggestions. I should have pictures back by Wednesday if anyone wants to see.

Andy Nold
North Texas Historic Transportation, Inc.



Dallas 2002 ARM Convention - October 23-26, 2002 -

tnold@bigfoot.com

Wish I could Andy. Interesting technical challenges here too. How about some more technical information such as size and weight?

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

Andy:

I'd love to see any photos you have of the car, as well as any information you have about its structural condition. Are there any doors cut into the car? Does it still have truss rods, and is the body straight? What condition is the roof in? Also, do you know what kind of trucks it had originally? I'm not sure what the best museum to take the car would be - Seashore is supposed to already have a TE car stored somewhere in Texas awaiting transportation to Maine. Also, is there a chance of finding someone to completely fund a cross-country trucking move?

Frank Hicks

frank@gats.com

No, the homebuilders were very respectful of the existing entrances and did not cut holes except for a couple of vents through the ceiling and a couple of drains in the floor. It does not have truss rods, but the entire length of the car is supported and off of the ground on a concrete foundation. Minor corrosion on the bumber skirt on the north end (no. 2 end of car). The rear end 1/2 train door is still in place and functional.

The car is about 51 feet and change long. The frame is composite wood and steel. It does have steel siding, but that may just be laminated over wood. There are many examples of it in both of the Texas Electric books and as soon as I get my photos scan I will try to post links to the pictures.

The car is completely roofed with a generous overhang. I am guessing that I will see good canvas if I take a ladder down to peer into the attic of the house. This was a first class (from the perspective of a railway preservationist) encasement of this interurban car.

I believe the original trucks were 27 MCB x3.

As for which museum would be the best to take care of the car, I don't know if Seashore is at the top of the list. Yes, they have had a TERy car (317?) sitting here in Fort Worth for more than 10 years in open storage rotting to the ground. Within the last few months, the owner of the storage yard, a railroad contractor, has requested the car to be moved or cut up. Well, it is currently being cut up. Does Seashore deserve another chance when they ruined the first car?

If there was a chance to find funding, I think it would be a lot cheaper to truck it to our property than it would be to ship it all the way across country. If someone wants this car, they are going to have to be responsible for ALL the expenses.

Still first come first served.

> Andy:

> I'd love to see any photos you have of the
> car, as well as any information you have
> about its structural condition. Are there
> any doors cut into the car? Does it still
> have truss rods, and is the body straight?
> What condition is the roof in? Also, do you
> know what kind of trucks it had originally?
> I'm not sure what the best museum to take
> the car would be - Seashore is supposed to
> already have a TE car stored somewhere in
> Texas awaiting transportation to Maine.
> Also, is there a chance of finding someone
> to completely fund a cross-country trucking
> move?

> Frank Hicks


Dallas 2002 ARM Convention - October 23-26, 2002 -

tnold@bigfoot.com

The person to contact is Ben Minnich. He is the guru of extricating "Chicken coop" trolleys and has done several over the years. I would assume someone here has contact information for him.

wyld@oc-net.com

Ben Minnich is responsible for the car that is being scapped right now. Why would I want to give him another chance to ruin another car? We have extricated several cars over the past twenty years, and it is not that I don't know how to do it. I am just looking for an interested party to take the car. I am continuing to look around the local area for a taker, but I thought I would announce it here to see if anyone was looking for this car.

> The person to contact is Ben Minnich. He is
> the guru of extricating "Chicken
> coop" trolleys and has done several
> over the years. I would assume someone here
> has contact information for him.


Dallas 2002 ARM Convention - October 23-26, 2002 -

tnold@bigfoot.com