With all the talk about trolley body discoveries and critters; I thought I would examples of each that I see almost daily on my commute back and forth to work.

There are a pair of trolley bodies on private property at the intersection of I-35W and US 67. Here they are in Goggle Earth:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... 7&t=h&z=19

They are painted red and white; don't know trolleys well enough to even guess at the builder. They appear to fairly intact at a distance; looks like the glass is gone from them; and being stored outdoors; probably not in the best of shape. There are also a three boxcars on the property (look below the trolleys and a ways to the left); two of them are wooden.

The critter is this one:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1496305

According to a poster on the Railspot group, it is SW RR Car Parts 501 b/n 61107 4/50 ex LTV Garland,TX nee YS&Tube 252. Up until last year or so, it was looking like it was going to be pushed into the scrap yard it serves and cut up as well. But, as you can see, it is now freshly painted; and does operate from time to time.

Interesting! I looked at the cars on maps.live.com and it appears that they're both Stone & Webster design "turtle-back roof" cars, probably similar to Dallas 434 at Seashore (http://www.trolleymuseum.org/collection/national/434.html). It appears that one entire side of the northernmost car has been removed; it also looks like both cars still have their roof ventilators.

That google link kept resetting itself to downtown Alvarado. Here is a better link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Alvarado,+Texas&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.313287,56.25&ie=UTF8&ll=32.418078,-97.231512&spn=0.001062,0.001717&t=h&z=19

Sorry; the one you sent did the same thing.

Here is what Frank Hicks was referring to; hopefully, it will work better. Definitely a better view.

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&F ... &encType=1

This is also along Hwy 67, outside of Cedar Hill. Looks like a wooden passenger car to me:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&F ... &encType=1

There are old railroad cars of every kind scattered about the Texas plains; most without trucks.

Hi:

I'm conident that one of the fellows associated with the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority in Dallas knows about these two cadavers--John Landrum or Andy Nold?

Thanks!

These are two Dallas Railway & Terminal 700 series modified Peter Witt streetcars. They were located a few miles down the road next to Highway 67. The cars became available when a contractor was doing demo work for the expansion of Hwy 67. For some reason, the folks behind the Cleburne railroad museum group decided that these cars would be somehow be appropriate for their plans. The group lagged in getting the cars moved and the contractor said anybody come get them or they will be bulldozed. I took a look at them, but the Cleburne group finally got off dead center and moved them at the last minute. The brass window frames were already removed and one car had a large section of the side missing. But they were well preserved under roof and at least one was in restoreable condition. They are on John(?) Percifield's ranch along with the critter from Venus, but I can't tell you anything about their current plans or if the group even exists still.

The group exists, for the most part, on paper, I think. I get an ocasional email from the founder (related to the ranch owner). After their relationship with the city of Cleburne deteriorated over several issues, the effort quietly evaporated.

~George Jenista
Fort Worth, Texas