Ex-Metra Pullmans being used elsewhere...

I was looking at Nashville's Music City Star's website and found pictures of Metra's ex-pullmans that they have, which still are in Metra's color scheme. Music City Star is also using F40's, which now have "Metra's" scheme as well. I think they look pretty sharp, too bad Metra couldn't come up with it first.

Those 40's aren't bad, but I'll take mine with a blue body and red roof any day.

After I stumbled across 5 gallery cars in the middle of the desert half way between El Centro and San Diego, CA, I thought it might be interesting to try to compile an account of all the places (including the torch) that the old C&NW and RI cars have ended up.

I don't know what line those cars I saw were sitting on, but I suspect--without certainty--that it was the Carrizo Gorge Ry.

Plus sightings in Nashville (as mentioned above), Washington-MARC, Washington-VRE, Montreal STCUM (on lease?), Caltrain (briefly on lease), WSOR, and others.

What has anyone else seen?

There's some sitting in Joliet at the EJ&E yard north of town.

metraRI wrote:Music City Star is also using F40's, which now have "Metra's" scheme as well. I think they look pretty sharp, too bad Metra couldn't come up with it first.

I couldn't agree more. They look really sharp, much better than the Metra red-head scheme. The equipment flows together, instead of clashing.

Info on the cars down in Joliet can be found at

http://www.cl.ais.net/~dbehr/

I actually called and spoke to the guy, and he's pretty friendly. Told me all about how he tried to pitch to the cities of Skokie and Northbrook that he should take over the old C&NW Valley Sub when it was up for abandonment and run commuter shuttles with these cars. It was really supposed to be a way to get some value out of the cars and put them somewhere, but some of the city employees didn't want all the "crime" that "mass transit" would bring to their community, or something.

He wouldn't tell me how many cars he owned (who knows why...) but he had scrapped about half of the fleet he originally purchased.