"The car had been one of two built in 1911 by McGuire-Cummins for the MUR. Both were assigned as "interurban sweepers" and were used in the towns which didn't have city systems. Because the line to Wolf Lake was operating when the interurbans closed in 1929, this sweeper went to Jackson for use on that line; there are many photos of it in the 1930s in the yard at the Jackson barn. It had been painted in the orange and green scheme (when I first saw the car it was just moved into Allen from Jackson and I had a chance to check it over carefully, and noted on the door edges the orange and green paint with the black stripe, just as we found on 28). This orange and green was on all of the motor cars that were part of their interurban operations, but not on any of the freight trailers, which kept their solid green to the end...including the trucks, of course.

Someone in Allen had set up a village of buildings they'd moved from various places - an old village sort of museum - and it was here where the car body ended up. I asked where they'd found it and was told it had come from Jackson."

I'm guessing IRM, which has another of these, is disinterested. Who else would be a good landing spot? Interurban cars seem more rare than trolley cars. (Not trying to dump junk on an organization that might already be overwhelmed).

PMC -

If the carbody is undamaged and in decent shape, my thought would be the indoor museum in Grass Lake, Michigan. They have a Michigan interurban and a Chicago Surface Lines streetcar that was rescued from a farm in Wisconsin (as I seem to remember) which they did a very nice job of restoring. Not sure they would even know about this car as I get the impression that they are not "railroad oriented" but more "community minded". I wonder if any photos of the car in its Michigan United Railway sweeper appearance, exist?

Les