Entries by Ray Piesciuk

As many of you know, construction has started on the streetcar track that will be located down the middle of Main Street, and will eventually become part of the Carline extension.  That project has resulted in the intersection of Central & Railroad being torn up.  Of course that is a part of our Trolley Bus line.  B&G and our contractors are working feverishly to make one lane of that intersection at least passable by Bus Day on 10/01.  At this point, NO GUARANTEE could be given that the line will be able to be used on 10/01, but it looks good for limited operation.  If all goes as we hope, we will operate westbound on Central, turn north on Railroad and around the Wagner Loop.  On the return trip southbound on Railroad, we will hop the trolley poles to the northbound wires and operate back on the "wrong" side until the double wire ends at the used bookstore.

No matter the outcome of the construction issue, we WILL have motor bus operation (as always, based on condition) on 10/01 using the Janesville RTS 412 and the Chicago Motor Coach GM 605, which Vince Allen and John LeBeau were able to get running reliably yesterday (09/24).  We WILL have many of the trolley and motor buses outside the garages, open for inspection and for photos.  We WILL have several trolley and motor buses inside the garages open for inspection.  We WILL have the Bus Stop Shop open for business, selling excess memorabilia from the museum's collection.

As I receive further updates I will post them on this blog.  Thanks to everyone for their questions, inquiries and interest in this event!!!

At 10:15am on Wednesday 11/25/2015, Seattle Gillig Trolley Bus 4123 rolled off the truck trailer under its own power!  The bus was loaded in Seattle on Saturday afternoon.  Thanks to the guys at Extreme Trucking, it safely made the cross-country trip in about 3½ days.  As usual, the guys at MEHVA (Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association) out in Seattle took care of us.  They chose a coach that was in great shape and mechanically sound.  They also sent along ever critical extra parts.

Seattle Gillig 4123 officailly arrives at IRM at 10:15am on 11/25/2015.

Our coach has a build date of February 13, 2002.  It is exactly 13 years, 9 months and 12 days old.  It may very well be the youngest piece of equipment ever to join the museum's historic collection.

Seattle Gillig 4123 immediately after unloading, in front of the Andersen Garage (11/25/2015)

We were able to make two test trips and it performed wonderfully.  As this is such a new bus, there are a couple things that we are figuring out as we go and we have a couple outstanding questions for the MEHVA guys, but it was great running a bus that could easily still be in service.  We are immediately getting busy emptying, cleaning, inspecting and testing the bus and will hopefully have it in service for the Christmas event in a week and a half.

Street side view of Seattle Gillig 4123 at Central and Depot ( 11/25/2015)

In this season of giving thanks, those involved with this acquisition come to mind.  First, thanks to all the guys out in Seattle for arranging this and taking care of the loading.  Thanks to the Board of Directors for having the foresight to approve such an exciting new acquisition.  As always, a HUGE thank you goes to Richard Schauer.  He arranged the trucking and took care of all that was necessary to "de-shippify" the bus once it arrived - putting back all the things that had to be done/undone in order to ship it.  Finally, THANK YOU to everyone who has supported the Trolley Bus Department over the years.  With the previous acquisitions from MOT in St. Louis and this one, our trucking costs are in the $15,000 range.  Even though vehicles are either donated or made available at scrap value, it still costs a considerable amount to transport them to the museum.  Your past and continued support allows us to keep working and (hopefully) keep acquiring as exciting opportunities (like this one) arise.

Seattle Gillig at the Wagner Loop on the first test trip ( 11/25/2015)

We in the Trolley Bus & Motor Bus Departments wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

Last weekend (Thursday through Sunday!) we were able to finish the reorganization of the Andersen and Hoffman Garages.  A HUGE thank you to Wes Lloyd, who worked alongside me and Richard Schauer the entire day on Sunday.  Without his help it is doubtful we would have been able to finish the job last weekend.  Once complete, we gave a tour of the newly acquired coaches to President Joe Stupar, First Lady Gwyn Stupar along with other Directors, former Directors and volunteers.  Once that was finished, we all joined Frank Hicks and a good size crew to tarp one of the CA&E cars in yard 11.  It was a busy and rewarding weekend!

Yesterday started out lending a hand to Joel Ahrendt, who wanted to accomplish the simple task of moving CA&E 460 to the pit for inspection.   There just happened to be a couple trucks and two other CA&E cars blocking his path.  So we set about getting the two trucks, newly delivered for Tim Peters' 1024 project, ready to be moved.  As usual, Richard Schauer was an integral part of the team.  After a good deal of oil in strategic places, with additional help from Fred McGullam, Bob Olsen & Tim Peters, and encouragement from Marcus Ruef & Randy Hicks, we were able to get the trucks relocated.  We then switched to other two CA&E cars and Joel was finally, with cooperation from the Diesel guys, able to get 460 to the pit.

During the week, Richard and Greg Kepka acquired, primed and painted a new trolley board for Chicago Marmon-Herrington 9553.  Yesterday afternoon, with the help of Thomas Slater and David Fullarton, we installed it on the coach.  It may be one of the coaches we put into service to shuttle visitors to and from the parking lot during the Christmas event, so it was critical that this maintenance was done prior to the event.  Now, it is ready to go!!

We just received the bill for trucking the four newly acquired coaches from MOT in St. Louis.  The cost came to around $8,000.  Any assistance with defraying this cost via donations will be very gladly accepted!!!  Sorry, no pictures this week.

These past several months have seen and incredible amount of activity and progress in both the Trolley Bus and Motor Bus Departments.  I want to extend a big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us.  Not only the volunteers, but those of you who have supported us via donations - to EVERYONE who has helped, you are GREATLY appreciated!!!