Do we know anything about scrappings? One hears stories of cars stored around the Metra system and occasional movements but have the bulk of the cars been scrapped and if so, where? Or are they all, with a few exceptions, still extant?

I recall a tale about activity east of the main line just south of where the South Shore branches off and I seem to recall seeing a car or two over that way but no further info. For the record at present there are a small number of Highliners sitting at KYD. Observed as recently as yesterday.

When Metra wants to scrap cars, there is a formal bid process involved. If you read the Chicago Sun-Times you'll find one or more Metra bid notices there just about every day (or you can look at the Metra web site). A few months ago there was a bid notice for the scrapping of various cars: Highliners at Kensington; LAHT Steel cars at Blue Island, and Stainless Steel wrecked cars at 47th St. There was an on-site bidders' conference at each location, attendance mandatory if you wanted to bid.

In the meantime, there still was (as of April 29) a group of Highliners on the Milwaukee District North Line siding just north of Rondout, IL.

Regarding different cars/locomotives with the same road numbers in museum collections: Orange Empire has SP 3100, a GE U-25B diesel and LA Transit Lines 3100, a 1943 St. Louis-built PCC streetcar. Other than the fact that both units have GE traction motors, they have little in common. OERM also has Ventura County 2, a Baldwin 2-6-2 oil burner and Hill of Howth/Great Northern Ry. of Ireland double deck tram 2.

Orange Empire also has two more pieces of equipment numbered '2':

The "Emma Nevada', Grizzly Flats 2, an 1881 Baldwin narrow-gauge 2-6-0 (Ward Kimball's engine, ex-Nevada Central 2)
Mojave Northern 2, a 1917 Davenport 0-6-0T.

Bob Cook

Thanks for the addition--I had forgotten about the MN saddletanker, and wasn't sure whether "Emma" was #1 or #2.

IRM already has two 1518s: C&NW (first GP7, first GP) and SP (first SD7, first SD).

The modal number at Western Railway Museum is 63:

Petaluma & Santa Rosa 63, a wooden interurban

San Francisco & Napa Valley 63, a steel interurban

PG&E 63, a double-truck Birney car

Only P&SR 63 is operable, the others await restoration.

Getting back to the original subject of this thread, I recently found out that Highliner # 1651 is going to South Bend for use as a training facility for first responders. It's my understanding that the car is still at NICTD's Michigan City Shops awaiting installation of a section of track in South Bend. After movement to South Bend, perhaps a photo will be forthcoming.


Les

I would be surprised if the cars were being scrapped either en masse or in small groups that nothing has shown up in fan media unless the locations were totally inaccessible.