Trolley Bus Department

Drilling LARGE Holes

Even Board Member Bob Sundelin pitches in on wood shop work!  In this case, the project for new seats for Chicago Surface Lines 84.

Trimming to a Square Edge

Henry Vincent is hard at work on the table saw making a new base section for six new transverse semi bucket seats for the coach.

Mounting a Template

Jeff Callandine (Steam Dept), and Shelley Vanderschaegen (Coach Dept), work on a new seat frame for our historic trolley bus restoration project.  If you come out to work in the Wood Shop, be prepared to get experience in a LOT of different areas, and to pitch in where needed on ANY project.

Lots Finished

Here we see three members showing off SOME of the 30-40 completed parts for seat frames, backs, cushion plates and parts in progress for this project.  Left to right - John, Faulhaber, Steve Holding, and John Nelligan.  Steve Holding is a long time trolley fan and volunteer who lives in the Fort Worth, Texas area and makes 'pilgrimmages' to Union.

CSL 84

In our woodshop blog entry you will note we are doing work on this historc piece of equipment. See the woodshop blog or I can duplicate that here if needed.  Following is a contribution from Ray Piesciuk Jr. on the history of that coach.

Built by American Car-Brill in 1930, this was one of Chicago's first 41 trolley coaches.  All early coaches had two low horsepower motors on the rear axle and many streetcar-like body features.  They include doors at both ends, roof mounted ventilators and a canvas roof.

All of Chicago's original trolley coaches remained in service until well after World War II, operating on lines such as Diversey, Central, Narragansett and the Elston and Belmont extensions.  With the growth of the trolley coach network, starting in 1948, they occasionally showed up on other lines as well.  The 84 was most commonly used on Narragansett.

Most of the original 41 coaches were extensively rebuilt in 1949-50, including the 84.  However, many of them saw little service thereafter.  The 84 was retired from passenger service in 1951.  It, along with coach 85, did not get scrapped with all the other original coaches because they became employee locker areas at the old Wrightwood carhouse.  In 1960 the coach was acquired for preservation by the Electric Railway Historical Society.  It was stored by EHRS near Downers Grove, IL until 1973, when the entire ERHS collection of equipment was donated to the Illinois Railway Museum.  Much of the restoration work has been done since its arrival here.  Except for the seats, the coach is complete.

Click on ROSTER for a quick link to that info.

Seat Work

John Faulhaber on left helps Richard Schauer manufacture new seat cushion frames for Chicago Surface Lines 84.