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Sticky PostingsWelcome to the Freight Car Department Welcome to the blog for the Freight Car Department at the Illinois Railway Museum. Here you will see updates on projects, maintenance and repair schedules and news on pending or proposed acquisitions. Also, our department seems to be the defacto manager of the IRM Woodshop. Stay tuned for notes on projects that include making piles of sawdust.Our department also does a lot of the artwork and lettering for our restored cars, and in addition to freight cars, has included electric cars, internal combustion, steam locomotives, and steam passenger cars. You may see some of this work posted in the blog. The images on these blogs are 'thumbnails' only, but if you click on them with the left mouse button, you will see the full image. If there is a project you are interested in, please contact me and we will try to get pics/updates of work our dept may be doing in that area. To take advantage of the info elsewhere on the IRM website you will also see links to other areas of interest. Bob Kutella Collection Curator Sticky PostingsUnion Refrigerator Transit 26640
This is a new entry for a fairly new project car for the department. It is one of only two insulated boxcars in the Museum collection, although an untrained eye may assume it to be a refrigerator car. But there are no roof hatches and no ice bunkers or fans.
 URTX 26640 in 2008 Here is a link to ROSTER info. That indicates it was built by GATX in 1931 and has Barber trucks. It certainly was rebuilt well after that date as it now has a plug door and PSF trucks from 1940. Those are unusual Pittsburgh Steel Foundry products. As of 1942 the car was listed in the Register as an ice bunker refrigerator car, so the rebuild included removal of the icing capability, a plug door, new roof panels, for a start. We also could use any info on this car at IRM as it had received a partial repaint sometime during the 1970's And as you can see most of that paint is gone. If we want to keep this one it is overdue for new paint and weatherproofing. As it is, several of the siding boards will be replaced during the work. So, do any of you out there have pics after its arrival at IRM? Or pics of similar cars in like numbered series showing the lettering and placement. We have hints, but I do not want to prejudice the jury. Show us what you got!! Sticky PostingsUnion Tank Car Company 17222 Tank CarI am going to try to create a new entry here for an ongoing project of the Freight Car Department. This is one of our iconic more or less 'standard' tank cars - and we once had at least three more of these, although they have gone on to other uses on the IRM property. We have already invested a lot of time and money on this project, having contracted out the initial sandblasting, priming, and painting. Expenses remain and then there is the need for additional donations to protect this car (and our work) by displaying it under roof in one of our buildings. If you want to see this 8000 gallon beauty complete and in running condition, your generous donation will be appreciated - send to: Illinois Railway MuseumPO Box 427 Union, IL 60180 and mark your donation for fund R17222. THANKS!  UTLX 17222 This tank car is more or less typical of the tens of thousands of such cars that have all disappeared from the rail scene. It is a single shell car, non insulated and without heating coils - the type used to carry petroleum and such products ranging from fuel to lubricating oil. Fans - here is the ROSTER info for this piece of equipment. PLEASE NOTE: The on line roster has some 'errors and omissions' requiring updating. Below is the correct info from the original Certificate of Construction for this car. Ordered by Union Tank Car Co Company Built date - 6/37 Capacity - 8211 gallons Builder - American Car & Foundry - - Lot 1625 Number of cars in this order - 800 from 17000 to 17999 Continue reading "Union Tank Car Company 17222 Tank Car"Sticky PostingsRock Island 19135 Transfer Caboose CRIP 19135 Winter weather shut down a lot of remaining work on this car, Rock Island 19135, since our department has no shop space, even inside an unheated Barn building. You will be happy to know that needed parts to repair side bearings and 'coupler droop' are being ordered and we hope to have this restoration completed and the car in operating condition this season. For you die hard fans here is a quick link to the ROSTER info for this car. To see the Kirk Warner GALLERY album of 233 restoration pictures (so far), with commentray, click HERE. Sticky PostingsGreat Northern 70104 This GN freight car is the only true hopper in the IRM collection at this time. It now resides on Track 40 east of Barn 4. We are hoping to start serious restoration work on the car this season, beginning with structural and cosmetic steel repairs. This all depends on funding, so please consider a donation to the Freight Car Department.For more of the car's history we can add that the car was built in July, 1957 as a type PS-3 hopper by Pullman Standard Car Mfg. Co. in the plant at Butler, PA. This was designed as a 70 ton car (CAPY 140,000) but that number was increased to 77 tons as the AAR allowed for heavier axle loadings in the late 1960's. Current reweigh stenciling indicates it was last processed during GN/BN ownership at "station name" SM in October 1970. SM was the BN designation replacing T in Great Northern times for Hillyard in Spokane, WA. Here is the ROSTER info for this car. Note that at this time the on line Roster has not been corrected to reflect the Great Northern number and reporting marks, although this is the restoration plan. This car arrived at IRM from the Wisconsin & Calumet as WICT 7010 after it became surplus on the BN and they acquired it. Continue reading "Great Northern 70104"Sticky PostingsUnion Pacific 25086 Steel Caboose 2006 Photo Our Union Pacific caboose, 25086, has seen significant progress and ongoing efforts by a dedicated group of volunteers who travel to IRM to work on this car almost every Wednesday, year around. EXTRA EXTRA!!! As of August 2009 the caboose restoration work has allowed this car to reclaim its previous identity - UP 3786. So you will see mixed id's depending on when the blog was posted. Don't worry, donations can be sent to either car number and they will be properly credited. Monday, November 16. 2009Do We Want this New Car - UpdateYou will remember earlier posts about this FINE CNW boxcar.  40 foot car Progress is being made and now is the time to step forward with pledges and donations to a fund designated R 284. The CNWHS (historical society) is stepping forward and backing this project. THANKS!! And just below you will see a copy of the railroad car card scan that has been preserved in their archives.  RR Car Card Their research uncovers a lot of the car's heritage and history. Built by Pullman Standard in Michigan City, Indiana October 27, 1953. A record of reweigh numbers, dates, and locations - including on line re-weigh at Chadron, NB in 1957, Southern Railway System in 1962, and finally by the Missouri Pacific in 1966. Retired in 1983. Sold to Lawrence Foods and delivered to their siding April 4, 1983 and now waiting for us to rescue it. Sunday, November 15. 2009URTX 17222 Update November 14, 2009 Still Shiny The day started with seemingly perfect weather for this time of year. Pleasant temperatures and a clear blue sky. Somewhere between 12:30 and 12:37 (seemed that quick) the sky clouded over and became darker and darker. However, we got more lettering done on the car using a combination of stenciling and hand painting to add 44 characters to the car before day's end. Remember, the other side of this car (and the B end) is complete. Added today to the right side, was the Union Tank Car Co., the Lithcote liner info and the start of the Capacity data. Sunday, November 15. 2009URTX 26640 Update November 14, 2009 Trucks Hardworking volunteer Ray Pollice is buried under the car working on cleaning grunge from the wheels and trucks. This might not be everyone's idea of an ideal volunteer task, but Ray cheerfully and ambitiously takes on these jobs. Thanks Ray!  Roof Edge Victor Humphreys is up on the ladder cleaning and priming on the metal car roof. Another month of good weather would have this done before winter, but I expect much of the remaining cleaning and paintwork will wait for next spring. Thursday, November 12. 2009UTLX 17222 Tank Car Update - November 11, 2009 B End The weather was not exactly warm, but above average for this time of year and dry! So this gave us a chance to complete the lettering on the B end of the car.  On the Wye Following a lunch break the car was taken for a spin. Well, not quite, but it was turned. Here the car travels on the wye being pushed by little Joy No. 2.  Returning to Track 40 The crew is returning the car to its work spot, now with the side still needing some lettering facing south. Hopefully this will buy a few more weeks of work time before hard winter sets in. Gerry Detloff is riding lead on this switch move, Henry Vincent in the cab at the controls, and John Faulhaber does the ground work. Thank you one and all. Also noted was a lot of other activity at Union this day. Loads of crushed stone were being delivered to the parking lot near the site of the new aerial light tower, Mike Alterio was seen painting signal masts, and one of our stalwart steam department regulars was out painting the cab of GN&A 26. You already have a report form the track department. Thursday, October 22. 2009URTX 26640 Update - October 21, 2009 A End The A end ladders are now mounted back on the car, the work done last Sunday.  More Painting Victor Humphreys continues with touch up painting of finished areas. He also applied black paint to the left side sill, located below the wood siding boards. Thursday, October 22. 2009UP 3786 Caboose Update - October 21, 2009All the comforts of home department - -  Lamp and Sink The kerosene lamp and wash basin grace one end. Another lamp has been installed for lighting the other end.  Flares and Fusees The original boxes have been replaced for these items.  Hot Box? Instructions are thoughtfully provided for action in the case of an overheated journal bearing.  Cupola Brakes The cupola area has a brake valve and controls for the crewman to stop the train if a problem is noted form his lofty observation post. Monday, October 19. 2009Possible New Boxcar - Decoding the MysteryMore 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? Saturday, October 17. 2009Do We Want This Car? October, 2009I 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 Thursday, October 15. 2009 |
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Comments
Fri, 11-20-2009 23:23
Congrats to the IRM. I am from close by South Bend, Indiana and follow the museums workings closely (well as much as I can through internet). [...]
Fri, 11-20-2009 22:40
No, those parcels are owned by Zierer.
Fri, 11-20-2009 20:09
Are the 69.95 and 41.7 acre parcels owned by IRM?
Thu, 11-19-2009 11:25
>CBQ 1309, a baggage car owned by IRM >at least since 2001, has been >located recently. You lost a baggage car? Lucy you need to do some [...]
Thu, 11-19-2009 08:18
As usual, Pete's work is outstanding! Now if we could make some progress on the trucks, so that the car can be finished and operate on a limited [...]
Wed, 11-18-2009 16:39
Could someone please tell me what is going on with the Milwaukee Road 33C E9A in the barn? The last update is a few years old, and my friends and I [...]
Sun, 11-15-2009 22:09
And the B&G Department said, "LET THERE BE LIGHT!" In all honesty, this is one of the important things that we were missing for night time [...]
Thu, 11-12-2009 20:05
Perhaps about 200 of those page views were from this member, hoping that the museum would take advantage of the 50-60 degree November weather and [...]
Tue, 11-10-2009 10:41
I too would like to see more timely information posted on the IRM website regarding new acquisitions like the abovementioned Santa Fe engine, or IRM's [...]
Thu, 11-05-2009 13:05
Thanks for posting pictures and information on Sand Springs 68. Living in Sand Springs, I have only heard my parents talk about riding the street car [...]