I Want My Cars Back

[ljeppson]

The Metra "era" is not quite over here in Salt Lake. I was correct that UTA has disposed of all of their inventory of Metra equipment, sending most of it back to Chicago and scrapping five cars. However, I was mistaken about the three cars shown below. They are in the possession of Union Pacific here in Salt Lake and are still on site, albeit on UP iron west of the UTA Warm Springs shops! No one I've talked to (including UTA PR) knows why.

http://www.utahtransit.us/lnc2.htm

[Tadman]

I saw string of Utah cars sitting at Metra's 47th street Rock Island shops yesterday from my car on I-94.

[mrconductor55]

yep, you get a better view of them from state st., time for me to get down there some early morning

[AMTK347]

I saw cab car 8749 at KYD sitting outside the shops today.

[kmillard]

I'm not sure why they are there or how they got there, but there's been a whole big lineup of of about 50 retired METRA cars parked on an old abandoned C&O branch just south of Traverse City, MI for a few yares now. They're actually in the town of Grawn, just West of Interlochen.

[byte]

Those are old CB&Q cars. They won't be coming back to Metra anytime soon. Another poster here hypothesized that differences in their brake systems (making them non-standard) is why they were retired and the slightly newer CB&Q cars were rehabbed.

[andrethebusman]

UP Railroad bought a few galleries to be converted to camp cars. Also, which 5 did UTA scrap?

[F40c611fan]

UP Railroad bought a few galleries to be converted to camp cars.

What do you mean, "camp cars"? Also, are these the 13 in the 47th street yard?

[justalurker66]

UP Railroad bought a few galleries to be converted to camp cars.

What do you mean, "camp cars"? Also, are these the 13 in the 47th street yard?

"a railroad car used as a dormitory for construction and maintenance workers."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ ... ?qsrc=2446

I remember seeing long strings of NS's ratty camp cars in a nearby yard. Mobile homes on railroad wheels.
I suppose it would be better than pitching a tent when at a work site where it is not easy to travel to a hotel.

[F40c611fan]

As these are the only gallery cars recently acquired by UP/Metra, I presume these thirteen are the camp cars. Pity, though - I was really looking forward to seeing some more smooth-side coaches on the system.

[andrethebusman]

No, the cars at 47th St have nothing to do with the UP. They went Metra to Utah back to Metra. A different 5 cars (7714, 7722, 7728, 7736, 7746, 7756) went to the UP supposedly for work car conversion.

[F40c611fan]

I'm sure glad of that - it would be a pity to see those cars go to waste. Still too bad UP is making camp cars out of those five, but at least the thirteen will hopefully make it back in service.

[andrethebusman]

Another question: Where did the Nashville ex CNW galleries come from? VRE website says they were selling 10 to Nashville, also have info that Metra sold some to Nashville. Anybody have ex Metra numbers there?

[metraRI]

7806 was sitting in the yard south of 115th/Kensington (Can't think of the name for the life of me) today, freshly painted with the windows still covered in plastic. There was another there as well, but completely covered. These could be the first of the UTA cars to reach service. I don't know of any before them.

[Milwaukee_F40C]

Was this the usual Platinum Mist with blue and red stripes paint scheme? Since the smooth sides always run with stainless cars now, I think they could save time and money and get more of a matching look by painting them all platinum with a blue Metra rectangle. Might be good to use as wrap cars as well.