>From other lists, for those of you who keep tabs on the goings-on of ex-CZ
cars.
Dave
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Mueller [mailto:amueller@e...]
Sent: Saturday, April 19, 2003 7:09 PM
To: wisrail@yahoogroups.com; wcinfo@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [WCinfo] A better story on the Quad car fire.
>From the Sussex Sun Newspaper, Sussex Wisconsin
Village of Sussex - Shortly after receiving the call at 4:30 a.m. Friday,
the Sussex Fire Department responded to a fire on a passenger train car on
the Canadian National Railroad tracks on Highway 74.
Five pieces of equipment and 32 firefighting personnel were on hand and had
the fire controlled within five minutes, according to Chief Corky Curtis,
but damage to the car is estimated at $130,000.
The car, owned by Quad/Graphics Inc., is a two-level domed passenger car.
The fire started, Curtis said, when some combustible material was placed
too close to a wall heater.
"When we arrived, there was smoke showing from the car," Curtis said. "The
fire was confined to a couple pieces of furniture and damaged a small area."
Curtis added that most of the estimated $130,000 was smoke damage. Three
other similar passenger cars owned by Quad were not damaged.
Upon arrival at the scene, a search of the car revealed that it was not
occupied.
"We had to treat it as if it were occupied," Curtis said. "After a search,
we found no one inside."
After extinguishing the fire, Curtis said, firefighters began ventilating
the car and investigating the cause of the fire. A Waukesha County
Sheriff's Department investigator also was called in to help with the
investigation. The scene was clear at 7:11 a.m.
The car, called the Silver Chalet, is one of four such rail cars
Quad/Graphics owns. They often served as temporary dwelling for employees
from outside of Sussex who receive training at the company's headquarters.
The cars also served as a means of travel for company events throughout the
state and the country, according to Quad/Graphics spokeswoman Claire Ho.
Despite the damage, the 55-year-old Silver Chalet will be restored, Ho
said. Originally part of Western Pacific Railroad's California Zephyr line,
the Silver Chalet carried passengers between Chicago and Oakland.
Quad purchased the Silver Chalet in 1987 and the late Quad/Graphics
President Harry V. Quadracci later bought the other three, called the
Silver Express, the Silver Lodge and the Silver Shore.
©Sussex Sun 2003
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