General Blog Entries

Many of you follow IRM operating days on the webcams.  In case you were watching Saturday, you probably asked yourself "WHAT WAS THAT?"  On Saturday IRM hosted a group from the Great Northern Railway Historical Society as they were holding their annual convention in Chicago for the first time ever.  I would be remiss if I did not publicly and loudly thank the many volunteers involved in setting this activity up, and running the special operations.  There were probably over 30 individuals who contributed to the successful day including those in the Operating Department, Internal Combustion Department, many of my Freight Department volunteers, the Signal Department, more than I can mention by name or list here.   We had a good time rolling out the red carpet for the GNRHS with special displays, docent led tours, exhibits, and a special MIXED train.  This unusual consist (for IRM) ran a closed trip for their members and it included a photo runby at Seeman Road.

Runby

Here is the train at Seeman Road on the runby for photographers.  The train was led by CB&Q 9255 and a matching CB&Q caboose 13572 brought up the rear.  Behind the locomotive were four freight cars, five passenger cars, and three cabooses open for riders.  Before and after the special trip that same consist ran our trips for the public.  Something new, something different, and the public flocked to the cabooses.

At the Platfom

The special is loading now, ready to depart in only a few minutes.  Behind the loco the first two freight cars were of course from the Great Northern; hopper 70104 and tank car X 1390.  All aboard!!

Eastbound Special

Crossing Seeman Road and heading east, the train makes a very pastoral scene as it passes through the Illinois croplands.  We had a well behaved photo line setup, and also our members flagged the local traffic on the road and warned us of approaching vehicles.

Wiring

I was very busy with the visiting group but managed a few pics of the hardworking volunteers, still at their restoration work.  Eric Lorenz was adding more wiring to the front end of the Cleveland Transit System 4223.  Amazing how many wires, cables, and harnesses need to be made up before the ceiling goes in.

Plowed and Primed

A good sized crew worked on Chicago Great Western X 38, completing paint removal, cleanup and priming of most of the side panels on the north side of the plow.  Tom Bernacki is up on the roof, having worked up there on the needle chipper while Jim Leonard was a jack of all trades for the day's activities.  Victor Humphreys, Bill Peterson, Ray Pollice also helped us along.  Less than two weeks of good weather and some extra work days, led to this fairly fast transformation.

We witnessed the greatest ever display of operating trolley cars and exhibits over this past holiday weekend.  CONGRATULATIONS to the Electric Car Department, for the Curator and to every volunteer who helped, big and small, with the planning, preparation, staging, execution, and of course putting away the equipment after the special runs.  I could not help but attend on site for these days, who could miss it?  So here is a short BLOG EXTRA.  One of the most popular special displays was our CNS&M Electroliner which was spotted at the 50th Avenue station with its high level platform.

Booster

Here is Tom Sharrat on Sunday morning going to enter the station which had special signage advising that the train was to be available for tours.  Tom is a team leader for the Electroliner Campaign to raise funds for restoring it to operation for its 75th birthday, and has long been a fan and booster of the train.

The Liner

Here is the 801-802 trainset early, before the tours started.  As I said, it proved to be very popular, with waiting lines to get in for the tour and presentations for much of the day.

Memorabilia

Many items of North Shore memorabilia were on sale that one day only, all proceeds to benefit the Electroliner Restoration.  Julie Piesciuk is seen setting up the sales table under the canopy on the station platform.  No rain, but I bet the shade was very welcome for it was a hot and humid afternoon.

SURPRISE

Just one perfect afternoon with one surprise after another.  The CNS&M 354 was pulled from its Barn Space and spotted in front of barn 4 for display and many visitors ventured inside.

Not All Play Time

While it was an excellent opportunity to show what IRM is capable of, and there were many friendships renewed and new ones made, Victor Humphreys and I (and Bill Peterson) accomplished some more progress on the Chicago Great Western X 38 snowplow.  Victor is setting new hinges for the south door.