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Coincidentally the NS operates quite a few of the rebuilt CB&Q Budd gallery cars on the Chicago Metra Southwest Service commuter line between Chicago and Manhattan, Illinois. This line is the former Wabash line from Chicago to St. Louis that became N&W property with the 1964 merger of Wabash and N&W, then becoming NS with the later N&W and Southern merger.
Other than the Chicago to Aurora BNSF commuter line this is the only other Metra line that operates the CB&Q cars. The cars are within the CB&Q car number range of 741 to 787 along with a few low 800 coach and cab cars that were later additions during the BN era. The cab cars are run as coaches only and never as cab cars with the engineer's side and front cab windows having been covered over with welded on stainless steel sheets.
The NS commuter train consists are maintained along with the BNSF commuter fleet at the ex-Q/BN Chicago "Zephyr Pit" and 14th Street coach yard just south of Chicago Union Station.
The lower numbered (700-740) and original cab cars (790-795) along with the 752 and 781 were sold off by Metra to Federated Railways until Metra discovered that the cars could have their interiors stripped and rebuilt resulting in basically a new car with the stainless steel bodies still in pristine condition after 50 years or more of service.
The cars letter board's, decades after the "Burlington" in Zephyr font had been removed were re-lettered about 5 years ago with a black font very near the original Zephyr font except for the squared rather than radiused letter corners. The car letter boards now read either "Burlington" or "BNSF Railway".
Dennis Popish
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From: spoony81@att.net [CBQ] <CBQ@yahoogroups.com> To: CBQ <CBQ@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thu, Oct 15, 2015 10:11 am Subject: [CBQ] CB&Q Commuter coaches borrowed by the N&W [1 Attachment]
[Attachment(s) from spoony81@att.net [CBQ] included below]
Norfolk Southern posted this on Facebook this morning as part of the "Throwback Thursday" fad. After I noticed they were double deck commuter cars from the CB&Q. Does anyone have anymore info on this trip?
In autumn of 1966, teams from the Wildcat Baseball League in Fort Wayne, Indiana, rode the Norfolk and Western to see a major league game in Detroit between the Tigers and the Boston Red Sox. The train consisted of sixteen double-deck commuter cars, two power cars, and two baggage cars for concessions. 2,550 Wildcatters, staff members, and their families left the Fort Wayne station at 9:30 a.m. and arrived in Detroit at 12:30 p.m. They walked 1.4 miles from the 21st Street Coach Yard to Tiger Stadium, where they had seats in a reserved section and were able to meet members of the team, including Tigers catcher Orlando McFarland and third baseman Don Wert. The Wildcat League was organized in 1961 by Dale W. McMillen, Sr., the founder of Central Soya Company. McMillen believed that all boys should have the opportunity to play ball, regardless of their athletic ability, and started a league for players ages 8 ½ to 15. The league flourishes today with the same motto— “everybody makes the team.” __._,_.___ Posted by: qchooch@aol.com __,_._,___ |