Lake Shore Electric Museum Folding - Equipment Sold

[Tim Lesniak]

We got ours.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=7098437

I saw the video yesterday. That's a great way to get some free publicity for your museum. It also shows the public that "stuff" gets done at the museum. Too many times, people think that "nothing" gets done at rail museums.

[Montclaire]

Wow, looks like it's in good shape!

[byte]

IRM got its open car last Sunday night, and it operated on the car line for nine trips on Monday, The cover for the controller fell off and was run over during transit, but a spare was quickly located so the car is complete. No idea when we're getting the other cars.

[Tim Lesniak]

IRM got its open car last Sunday night, and it operated on the car line for nine trips on Monday.

Were you open on Monday, or were they special runs for volunteers to check out the new cars?

[byte]

The museum wasn't open (and I wasn't there when they tested the car). However, on any given day there is probably someone up there working on something, and on Monday a bunch of volunteers made an effort to get out there and unload the car (including some of the guys who loaded the car in Ohio), re-install the overhead equipment, give the motors a look-over and then of course take it out for a spin.

There's an excellent blog maintained by a few of the regulars in the electric car department, which might be a good place to look for updates on the Trolleyville cars at IRM as they begin showing up: http://hickscarworks.blogspot.com/. Some photos of the open car being unloaded have also been posted in the member photo gallery on the museum's website: http://www.irm.org/gallery/album199.

Ideally three of the five cars IRM will be getting could "run right off the truck" (as you can see, one already has). As I mentioned before, CA&E 36 will require the re-installation of its rebuilt motors into its trucks before operating. Also, CA&E 319 is going to swap trucks with the other high-speed wood car IRM has, #321. The former has a body and interior in better condition than the latter, but the latter's motors are in better shape than the former's. Swapping trucks will give the museum one good looking and good running car.

[Otto Vondrak]

CAE 309: http://railroad.net/articles/railfanning/cae309/

CAE 308: http://railroad.net/articles/railfanning/cae308/

[byte]

The word on the street (well okay, it's actually official) is that IRM will now be getting a seventh car, an ex-Cleveland RTA PCC streetcar. As I was told, it was purchased by another organization for the use of only its trucks and planned to scrap the carbody, and the powers that be at the auction said "hmm, wait a minute" and will be locating that organization another set of PCC trucks. IRM has agreed to purchase the car and it may be the next one to show up at our front gate because it's supposedly close to the front door of the facility in Ohio.

Also, I did get to ride the previously-mentioned Vera Cruz open car on Saturday night, and that car is a blast. Its simplicity is almost startling compared to the rapid transit cars I'm usually working on - no battery feed [if the pole dewires, you immediately know because the lights go out], no operating doors, and no horn/whistle.

[ohioriverrailway]

Ex Cinci 2227 arrived at Pennsylvania Trolley Museum on the 6th and was unloaded on the 7th.

[Tim Lesniak]

Iowa Southern Utilities 1, Centerville Albia & Southern 101, and the OW bobber caboose were successfully unloaded at CERA. 101 and 1 were unloaded between 8:30 and 10:30pm on Wednesday, and the bobber was unloaded on Thursday at 4:30. It took a lot to get the cars to the museum as there were problems with the permits, and one driver ended up in the hospital. At the end of the day on Thursday, we ended up with 3 trucks and 2 drivers at the museum.

[nkpcar]

I am glad to see that all of these cars have found good homes and will continue to give people a glimpse of what this country used to have as a transportation network. While the cars are in good hands, does anyone know what happened to the substation equipment, track and overhead? The power system came from another Pennsylvania museum that closed sometime in the 70s. Until that time, it was rare for Trolleyville to run the heavy steel trains. The overhead poles came from Cleveland Railway's Clifton Blvd. line. It was unique in that it was laid in the tree lawn on each side of the road. When Gerry Brookins built Trolleyville, he built one stretch to resemble Clifton Blvd. Trolleyville also had an old B&O station at the turning loop at the end of the line. Was never used for much that I saw except when they started to have Trolleyfest model meets there. I guess I will have to go visit the 460 at IRM. That was the car I ran on my wedding day there at Trolleyville. The only time I got to run the big steels.

Jim Mihalek
Lakeville, MN

[Otto Vondrak]

While the cars are in good hands, does anyone know what happened to the substation equipment, track and overhead? The power system came from another Pennsylvania museum that closed sometime in the 70s.

Could that be the Magee Transportation Museum? It was wiped out by floods after Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The New York Museum of Transportation got a lot of overhead bracket arms and contact wire, I dont know if we got any substation components to go with that. We have since used the arms and wire to electrify our demonstration railroad.

http://nymtmuseum.org/

-otto-

[Tom6921]

Blackpool "boat tram" #606 and former Toronto PCC 4602 arrived at the National Capital Trolley Museum a week ago.

[nkpcar]

Otto,
Magee seems to ring a bell. That was probably it. Glad to see that the overhead has found a new place. I worked on some of that too; when it was hot. We had the OX line car and were installing wire into the new barn. I don't ever recall if they finished that or not. The cars that we had in it didn't run anyway. One more thing, when I was working there, one of the Fox River/Shaker cars was wrecked. If I recall correctly, the car was parked on the hill by the car barn and the hand brake was not set. When the air bled off it rolled away. I don't even recall what it hit. Last time I saw it (20+ years) it was in the barn under a tarp. Again, good luck to all the places that got Trolleyville equipment.

Jim Mihalek
Lakeville, MN

[ohioriverrailway]

Toledo arrived PTM on 11/25; #100 to arrive 12/1.

[Montclaire]

Article on the CA&E car Electric City picked up from the Lake Shore collection:

"Museum's new trolley recalls Laurel Line vehicles"
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/mu ... s-1.463182