From what I can find, the CTA bus service after 1952 was pretty much the old CMC service into Grant Park. CTA already had lots of bus lines by 1951, so buses by themselves weren't the problem. Prior to CTA takeover, CMC served only areas that were controlled by the Park Department, which in practice meant Boulevards and a handful of streets, most notably Michigan Ave. The jog in the Ashland line onto Paulina at Roosevelt was there because Ashland was designated a boulevard north from there to I think Division - I'd have to check to be sure. There was still no bridge across the IC suitable for buses until 1954 or 1955 - the CMC buses either came down from Wacker (~400 North) on the original section of Lake Shore Drive or used the 23d st. bridge which was quite a ways south of Roosevelt (12th). The CMC takeover was at least a year before the first of the two streetcar loops closed, and about two years before the Cermak loop closed. The Cermak loop involved what amounted to a light L structure across the IC, like the Roosevelt line.
I was born a few blocks south of there a few years after all these events took place, so I can't claim any of this is verified by personal observation.
Rob
Your mention of the Chicago Motor Coach lines brought back some boyhood memories of the pre-WW2 times when I rode their double decker busses on Michigan Ave with my Aunt. Weather permitting I'd always ride on the open upper deck which to my way of thinking was quite a novelty.
Mark
Chicago Motor Coach came into existence through a legal loophole. At the time, Chicago boulevards and parkways were under the jurisdiction of the various park districts inside the city and it was determined that a franchise from the City Of Chicago was not needed to operate on the boulevards, allowing Chicago Motor Coach to operate without a franchise although it still needed an operating certificate from the Illinois Commerce Commission.
It must have been interesting riding one of the open double deckers under one of the low railroad viaducts common to Chicago, or even under the L. At least they didn't go under those on streets with trolley wire...
The bus operated by CMC and then by CTA to Grant Park came down from the north. I don't remember the exact route, and it was definitely not a double-decker in 1952, but you could board it at Union Station, at least just before and after Grant Park concerts on the evenings the concerts took place. Anyway RC, we await your question.
I did not ride the streetcar shuttle to go to and from the concerts, just did it as part of railfanning on a weekend. I was living in LaGrange that summer, and used the Q suburban service to and from the concerts, with he bus connection in Chicago, with the LaGrange Stone Avenue station nearest to my rented room. Much much later, I got to redesign the sound system and the orchestral shell. Or course even that was some 32 years ago, and it has probably been changed since.
The Soo Line assigned its first passenger diesels, FP7s and F7Bs, to the Winnipeger between the Twin Cities and Winnipeg. For a while after their delivery, they came off westbound at Thief River Falls for steam locomotives which ran through to Winnipeg over the CP, even though the schedule allowed enough time to turn the diesels at Winnipeg and CP had adequate diesel facilities. Why was this done?
Possibly they did not meet Canadian requirements regarding safety or tax issues. Possibly there were not enough F7AandB combinations to cover all assignments with protection power, and the turn-around time in Winnipeg was not sufficnet turn them on an in and out basis, while the available steam power (4-6-2's?) (CP as well as SOO possible?) was more that sufficient.
One of your answers is close. It was the reverse of the reason CP bought 3 US-built E8s (and a bunch of Alco RS3s) for use in Vermont and Maine. Soo and CP had a long-standing deal where the CP leased the Soo's engines on the Winnipeger for each trip but apparently it didn't apply to diesels. It took some time for the lawyers to work out the new deal. One of the FP7s and both of the F7Bs were built as EMD demonstrators for the Canadian market.
There were similar arrangements in effect between the Rutland and CN for the Rouses Point NY to Montreal runs of the Green Mountain Flyer and the Mount Royal. Through passenger service to Montreal didn't last long enough for the RS3s to get involved.
My question: Under CN management, the Newfoundland Railway regularly tranferred CN box cars and possibly other types of cars from standard gauge trucks to narrow for operation on the Island, at Port Au Basques (pardon spelling). And back. This operation probably did exist before CN took over the operation , but my history on that is weak.
There was one other type of equpment, not owned by CN, that had similar use on the Island. What reporting marks (owner) and what type of car?
Hint: The owner of the car fleet is usually thought of as primarily a USA operation, not Canadian.
TTX ?
GATX or UTLX ?
Similar, but not any of the three posted so far. As far as I know the reporting marks are NOT used today. A large eastern Class I that did (successor still does) that did have an operation in Canada and does major interchange with CN was part or total owner of the car line. And only one type of car was involved. I think at one time steel-framed wood cars as well as all-steel were handled.
Merchants Despatch (MDT) reefers.
100% correct, partly or totally owned by New York Central
This streamliner ran over several different railroads and when first placed in service was diesel powered over all of its route except for the segment over one road where it was handled by a streamlined steam locomotive. What was the train, the railroad and route over which it ran behind steam, and the type and number of the steam locomotive?
That would be the South Wind which ran behind E6s (and maybe E3s) on the L&N, ACL and FEC, but was handled by PRR K4s 4-6-2 #2665 from Chicago to Louisville via Logansport.
The South Wind is correct but we have both made an error. Shortly after posting this question I realized I had overlooked the fact that the train originally ran behind a streamlined PRR K-4 between Chicago and Louisville. The road and engine I was looking for was the L&N and its streamlined 4-6-2 No.295 which handled the SW between Louisville and Montgomery. The 295 was equipped with an oversized 6-wheel truck tender which enabled it to make the 490 mile run with a single stop for coal and water.
How about another streamlined steam question to make up for it?
This railroad, which named many of its early diesels, gave both of its streamlined steam locomotives the same name. Looking for railroad, name and road numbers.
The Burlingtons's two streamlined Pacifics No's. 4000 and 4001 both named the Aeolus.
They were Hudsons. On the other hand I didn't ask for the wheel arrangement. All yours.
rcdrye They were Hudsons. On the other hand I didn't ask for the wheel arrangement. All yours.
That's what I get for going strictly from memory - photos of these engines clearly show they were 4-6-4's.
Travelling between these two cities in the late 1930's you had your choice of sleeping car routes on several different railroads. Though there was a difference of only 59 miles between the longest and shortest route there was a time difference of about five hours between the schedules of the fastest trains that carried sleepers on each of the two lines. What railroads had the fastest and slowest sleeping car service between these cities and what trains carried the sleepers?
For extra credit what other railroad(s) ran sleepers between these cities?
You didn't specifically ask to name the two cities, but my guess is NY and Chicago. The fastest I believe would be the 20th Century Limited. The slowest.....ummm....... wow....Lehigh Valley & Nickel Plate ??
Buck
Oh.... Erie, PRR, GTW with a connection, Michigan Central with a connection....
Buck, the trains I'm looking for ran between another pair of cities not NY and Chicago.
New York and Louisville, KY, with the PRR-L&N Cincinnati Lmtd and possibly the Hummingbird (but I am not sure) Cincninnati - Louisville on the L&N, as the fastest, and PRR to Wash, DC and C&O to Louis on the Sportsman or possibly the George Washington, sleepers in the NEC possibly in a combined sleeper trains for the Crescent and the C&O or on the Embassy or one of the other regular NY-Washington trains. The B&O may have had a sleeper to Louisville out of Jersey City or out of Penn Staition during WWI and just after.
Sorry Dave but none of those are the route I'm looking for. Here's a hint. Focus on the 59 mile difference between the longest and shortest routes between the cities.
Hmmm......Chicago to Los Angeles. CNW-UP // ATSF // RI-SP The Santa Fe route was the fastest.
Nope, not Chi - LA. The sleeper routes I'm looking for were much shorter - strictly overnight runs.
New York - Cleveland, via the NYC Ohio State LImited, and Jersey City (NY via ferry) - Cleveland five hours longer? Pacific LImited or the Lake Cities? Other overnight runs might be via DL&W-Nickel Plate
Not NY - Cleveland, Dave. Here's another hint. On some of the trains you had your choice of either a standard or tourist sleeper.
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