Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Many thanks to Kirk Warner for supplying pictures taken showing progress on several different projects as of this date.  These may be the last for a while as Kirk should now be on his way to sunny Florida for the winter!

New Canvas

Tim Peters continues to show remarkable perseverance and progress on a difficult job.  Here you see new canvas being draped over one of the hip roof sections.

Installation Finished

Now the canvas has been stretched, trimmed, and tacked down.  Painting it will likely wait for the return of warmer weather.

More information is being developed due to the research by IRM and CNWHS member Erich Russ.  It appears that the car in question for possible acquisition is CNW 284!!

The car was part of a series numbered 1-625 built in 1953.  It was listed as (AAR) type 110XM, capacity of 3898 cu ft.  Inside length is 40'-5", inside width is 9'-2", inside height is 10'-6"; and the car was equipped with a 6 foot door.

For those not familiar with the paint scheme, and not able to visualize it through the rust of the pics I previously posted,  Erich has furnished a photo of sister car 209.

CNW 209

Wouldn't that scheme look nice in one of our freight trains?  It appears to be painted boxcar red with black ends (and roof?).  But there looks to be an awful LOT of lettering on that car, I wonder what I might be getting into?

I thought I would take advantage of the blog format to pose a question to the "Court of Public Opinion".  In many cases members and friends do not understand the acquisition process or how decisions are made.  First, the car or locomotive must be 'available'.  Then, funding must be secured; REMEMBER even a free car is not free of expenses.  With those elements in place, a proposal is submitted to the Board of Directors for consideration.  So, here we are at the beginning.

The following images are by Andrew Cornillie taken in 2005.

The Car!

Here is the car.  It has been on our Museum 'watch list' for maybe 10 years and word has filtered down that it is now available.  An all steel Pullman Standard iconic boxcar from the Chicago & North Western.

Traces of the Lettering

The car carried the classy 'Route of the Streamliners' billboard legend on its right side, here still faintly visible.

The Site

Here is an overview of the site, in the Chicago area.  You will see two additional CNW boxcars at this location but they are not available at this time - and the Streamliner car is the one we previously selected for our want list.  It is the far car in this view so is also the most accessable for loading on a truck to transport it to Union.

THE PITCH - Neither the Freight Department, nor the Museum General Fund, have the money to make this happen.  Yet it would appear to be a fan favorite fallen flag and a good fit into our Museum roster of freight cars.  We do not know how imminent the disposition of this jewel might be, but we have lost many possible acquisitions over the years waiting for funding or other pieces to fall into place.

So some response and feedback is needed fairly quickly if we are to pursue this.  Of course that means donations from members and friends.  But perhaps the CNW Historical Society might want to help.  Fellow Historical Societies have made donations or grants to help preserve IRM equipment - most notably the Milwaukee Road and the Great Northern.  We would not want the CNW left out!!

So, it is estimated we would need about $5000 to load and ship the car and have it safe on IRM track.  That does not include the beginning of any work to stabilize it, restore it, use it in freight trains, or place it under protection in a Barn.  First we have to acquire it, but that implies a longer term commitment to its preservation.

What say you all?

Bob Kutella

Many of you have commented that they enjoy my efforts to post current news and photos of IRM on this series of blogs.  I rely heavily on images submitted to me, especially by Kirk Warner.  Kirk becomes a snowbird every winter and flees to warmer weather, so in a week he will be gone.  And I am faced with some committments which will prevent my attendance at IRM for a month or more.

So these twice a week (or more) updates will disappear for a while, unless some brave soul wants to send the images to me via e mail.  I will plan on checking the home computer regularly and will not be totally out of touch.

Thanks, everyone, for your help and support.

Bob Kutella