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 Post subject: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 8:33 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:25 pm
Posts: 2455
Location: The Atlantic Coast Line
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File comment: Arlington & Fairfax 109 is loaded for a move to interim storage.
AutoRailer Clarks4.JPG
AutoRailer Clarks4.JPG [ 373.46 KiB | Viewed 9082 times ]
National Capital Trolley Museum has acquired Arlington & Fairfax 109, an Evans Auto-Railer. The vehicle ran from 1937-1939 on the former electric streetcar trackage of the Arlington and Fairfax (A&F) Railway. The Auto-Railer was designed by Edwin R. Evans in 1936 and was first used on the A&F in 1937. Highway tires permitted A&F 109 to travel off the rails, while railroad guide wheels next to the tires were used on the railroad tracks. The Auto-Railer was gasoline powered by a Chevrolet engine.

A&F109 has survived decades of outside storage and neglect, but retains nearly all of its parts that can either be restored or used as patterns to return the car to its original appearance. This vehicle is the only complete example of an Evans Auto-Railer known to exist.

In 2021, Nick Jobe, a student at William & Mary University, brought the existence of A&F 109 to the attention of the Trolley Museum through an internet posting on Railway Preservation News.

Museum volunteers, including Wesley Paulson, Josh Hirschfield, Wes Cox, Matt Nawn, and Bill Wall worked to inspect the car and arrange its purchase and transport to the Museum.

The Auto-Railer was moved to interim storage from Clark's Amusements in New Hampshire on September 9.

Further information about the Auto-Railer is available on our web page.

Wesley Paulson
National Capital Trolley Museum


Last edited by wesp on Tue Sep 17, 2024 10:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 9:02 pm 

Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:06 pm
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Location: Thomaston & White Plains
That is amazing! Congratulations on this save. How did it wind up at Clark's?

Howard P.

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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 9:37 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:25 pm
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Location: The Atlantic Coast Line
The car went to Clark’s in private ownership in the early 1960s.

~Wesley


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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 10:14 pm 

Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2017 6:47 pm
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
With Chevy mechanicals, return to operation is feasible.

Phil Mulligan


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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 11:30 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2561
Earlier post, with photos and blueprints: viewtopic.php?t=45888

and three videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO5BaMreTy0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdsgtT6T8Zg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyXLshH4nOE

As was noted in the other thread, the ride quality may have left a lot to be desired.


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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Wed Sep 18, 2024 6:08 am 

Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:41 am
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Location: Inwood, W.Va.
PMC wrote:
Earlier post, with photos and blueprints: viewtopic.php?t=45888

and three videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO5BaMreTy0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdsgtT6T8Zg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyXLshH4nOE

As was noted in the other thread, the ride quality may have left a lot to be desired.


Amazing that such an item lasted this long! The originals would have been quite rare due to limited production, but here it is!!

This is a link to that last video, with its original "newsreel" soundtrack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQiJuQ9fwQM


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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Thu Sep 19, 2024 10:20 am 

Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 8:46 pm
Posts: 26
Location: Centreville, VA
Hello everyone, this is Nick Jobe. It's super rewarding seeing a dream that formed years ago finally reach that finish line. When I first began researching the various Northern Virginia trolley lines, I quickly discovered through the sources available that no equipment had survived. Treat the tale of Autorailer #109 as a lesson that even when nothing is said to survive, that doesn't mean the story is over.

My role in this process is certainly overstated, the main congratulations should be to Wesley and other National Capital Trolley Museum directors. This is a massive moment in the history of preservation relating to Northern Virginia as a whole. I stated earlier in this process that I don't care how I'm referenced as long as the railbus gets preserved and its history gets told. Happily, I can say that this goal will now be completed.

I'm looking forward to the delivery of the car to the museum in the Fall and hope to see it unloaded in person. Hopefully one day it will be operational and maybe visit the surviving Oakton station. That would certainly be something.

Thanks to all that made this happen.

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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2024 1:51 am 

Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:36 am
Posts: 647
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
A few letters between the Alaska Railroad and Evans Autorailer.

https://www.alaskarails.org/historical2 ... r-info.pdf


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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Fri Sep 20, 2024 4:17 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2561
RyPN gets a shout out and a link: https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... ollection/


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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2024 1:41 pm 

Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2024 1:25 pm
Posts: 16
Everyone's so hyped about this Auto-Railer preservation, but I reckon history has a way of glorifying the old and defunct. Ride quality was horrendous in those things, like an old mule on cobblestones. But alright, I grant you, it's an impressive find and worth studying. Just keep perspective in mind.

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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2024 2:00 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:25 pm
Posts: 2455
Location: The Atlantic Coast Line
Quote:
Ride quality was horrendous in those things, like an old mule on cobblestones.

Since we don’t have Birney car this will have to do for us. lol.

~Wesley


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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2024 4:52 pm 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
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In my opinion, the Evans Auto-Railer tells the story of the desperation of the legacy trolley systems, in a tangible form, as nothing else really can. They were trying to head off closure at the end of the Depression, when autos were popular but not yet popular enough to cause gridlock.


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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2024 11:52 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 2:46 pm
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Location: St. Louis, MO
The Arcade and Attica Railroad by Springirth, published in 2009, has two photos of these cars on pages 46 & 47. On page 46 it shows an Evans Auto Railer marked Arlington & Fairfax #102 and said it was one of three the line bought and they arrived in February 1941. On page 47 it shows one of the cars marked A&A #109. There was no equipment roster in the book. Another book on the A&A by Lewis and Douglass published in 1966 makes no mention of these cars and doesn't list them in its loco roster. However it does list the first diesel for the line as 110, one number over the 109 pictured in the other book.

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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2024 12:41 am 

Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm
Posts: 2561
Here is a photo of #109 on the A&A (bottom, unknown credit).

Edit: found this comment on a post on the "Fans of the Arcade & Attica" Facebook group, in the notes to a post about the South Shore photo (top): https://www.facebook.com/groups/fansofa ... 3899493442

"Patrick Connors Author
December 4, 2022
The A&A acquired at least two Arlington & Fairfax Evans Autorailers around 1941. #102 and #109. The #109 was resold to the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend in 1955. Some rosters show a #108 also as going to the A&A. One ended up on the Coudersport & Port Allegany as well. This one may also have gone through the A&A during the same time period."

Patrick Connors on the "Fans of the Arcade & Attica" Facebook group might know more.

From the other thread:
wesp wrote:
According to the roster in Old Dominion Trolley Too, three Auto-Railers were sold to Arcade & Attica by A&F: 102, 108, and 109. A&A then sold one of the three to CSS&SB where it was numbered 50. Roster notes in Old Dominion Trolley state 109 was the car sold. We know that note is incorrect because our Auto-Railer is clearly marked 109 and the original body has not been modified.

The question on the floor is what was the A&A roster number of South Shore 50?

~Wesley

Not modified at all? It is a mystery.


Attachments:
306834462_136486649112841_4073969653515333561_nb.jpg
306834462_136486649112841_4073969653515333561_nb.jpg [ 71.93 KiB | Viewed 6095 times ]
10847249_10152890278175956_4940595165764135184_o.jpg
10847249_10152890278175956_4940595165764135184_o.jpg [ 71.72 KiB | Viewed 6103 times ]
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 Post subject: Re: National Capital Trolley Museum Saves Auto-Railer
PostPosted: Tue Sep 24, 2024 12:06 am 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 2:46 pm
Posts: 656
Location: St. Louis, MO
The lower photo of #109 was the same one in the book I mentioned above.

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