Where are they now?

While Reading the "Orange cars" post I started thinking, How many of the orange cars were preserved and where are they now? I heard that IRM has #8,19,28,34,37 and 40 and also the East troy electric museum has #9,11,30 and 111. Also, is the line car going to IRM? Someone at Hoosier Valley told me it was going there to be restored.

Note that not all cars are owned by the museums at which they are stored; many of the cars are owned by the National Park Service and are on lease to the museums. As for line car 1100, it was given to a group in Indiana on the terms that if they did not take good enough care of it, NICTD could take it back and give it to IRM in two years.

Illinois Railway Museum (Union, Ill.)
8, 19, 28, 34, 37, 40, 504

Fox River Trolley Museum (South Elgin, Ill.)
7, 14

East Troy Electric Railroad (East Troy, Wis.)
9, 13, 21, 24, 25, 30, 111

Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum (North Judson, Ind.)
4, 31

National New York Central Railroad Museum (Elkhart, Ind.)
15

Private Owner (Chesterton, Ind.)
17, 26, 100, 104

Indiana Railroad Museum (French Lick, Ind.)
204, 206

Indiana Transportation Museum (Noblesville, Ind.)
3, 205

City of Scottsburg, Indiana
503

Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad (Boone, Iowa)
39, 102, 106, 109

RAIL Foundation / National Park Service (Various locations)
5, 23, 203 (Indianapolis, Ind.)
6, 33, 107 (Bloomington, Ind.)
201 (Connersville, Ind.)
351 (Atlanta, Ind.)
CLS&SB 72 (???, Ind.)

Michigan Transit Museum (Mount Clemens, Mich.)
11

Southern Michigan Railroad (Clinton, Mich.)
1, 36

Seashore Trolley Museum (Kennebunkport, Maine)
32

Various sources have reported car 22 was scrapped in Florida.

Interesting, I didn't know that a few made it to as far away as florida. Sometimes I wonder why NICTD didn't save one and make it a Operation Lifesafer car or display car or such.

It's always been my understanding that the old cars were so beat by 1982-1983 that the thought of saving any for future use on the South Shore was out of the question. They had been maintained on a shoestring for so long and should have been replaced so much earlier, they really had no useful life left. (As an IRM volunteer who works on three of these cars, I have seen firsthand just how "tired" they are!)

The Park Service had plans to use car 37 on a tourist shuttle near Mount Baldy in Michigan City, but those plans never came to fruition and the car is now at IRM.

Well, I knew that towards the end maint. was being deferred but I suppose that was the smart thing to do, just bring in the new cars and quit putting more money in the old relics. Still, would've been cool to see an old one pop up.

Let's just feel lucky that most of them were preserved. I can't think of any other interurban that had that many cars saved. Only about 20 of the North Shore's were preserved, and I'm not sure about the CA&E.

While it is great that so many of the South Shore's old cars were saved, there is a tradeoff -- most of them were in such deplorable condition by the time they were retired, there's not a whole lot the museums that received them can do with them now. Whereas equipment from lines such as the North Shore and the CA&E was available because the railroads went out of business, the orange cars were available because the railroad had run them into the ground and could not possibly run them any longer. Most museums don't have the kind of money or labor it would take to overhaul the cars, although fortunately there have been a few exceptions.

There are cars scattered all over Indiana and last I knew car 22 was in Florida. As I said, I'll try to complete this list when I have a little more time.

I remember seeing a CSS&SB car in Jackosnville FL, near CSXT's old West Jax Yard, in the early 1990's. It was rusting in the weeds near where the North Florida Chapter NRHS was trying to preserve its collection of cars. Never did get the full story on how it got down there, but I think it had been sold to a scrap company at that point, so I think it was cut up. It was in very sad shape. Can't recall for sure, but #22 sounds about right.

I thought that they only had 2 at the East Troy Trolly Museum apperently that's no the case.

AmtrakFan

I'm sure the car you saw in Jacksonville was 22, as that is the only South Shore car that ever made it to Florida. Sorry to hear of its fate.

MikeF wrote:While it is great that so many of the South Shore's old cars were saved, there is a tradeoff -- most of them were in such deplorable condition by the time they were retired, there's not a whole lot the museums that received them can do with them now. Whereas equipment from lines such as the North Shore and the CA&E was available because the railroads went out of business, the orange cars were available because the railroad had run them into the ground and could not possibly run them any longer. Most museums don't have the kind of money or labor it would take to overhaul the cars, although fortunately there have been a few exceptions.

The CA&E or the North Shore Cars most of them were achually believe or not were burned.

AmtrakFan

AmtrakFan wrote: The CA&E or the North Shore Cars most of them were achually believe or not were burned.

I am familiar with the fate of the North Shore and CA&E equipment. What I am saying, though, is that the cars from those railroads that were saved were in better conditon than the South Shore cars, which ran for 20-25 years longer before being retired.

Awhile back I was looking through some slides taken at Shops in 1988-1989. There was a few slides of 3 regular passenger cars, two were in CSS colors, one of of those was names "Duneland" and the other I believe was an observation car also, I have a couple shots of an old PRR Heavyweight pullman in MOW colors in the yard. Now, Where did these cars all go to? Who owned them before hand?

There are 3 at the Hoosier Valley Railroad museum in North Judson, IN. I took some pictures of them and will try to post the numbers when I get a chance.

Allegedly line car 1100 is also being stored at North Judson these days.