OK you guys...I'm staking out my claim as being the only person on this list who actually worked on a motorcar in revenue service.. The car was the 9769 and it served as the power for the "Huntley Local out of Hastings summer 1956.
I worked this job two weeks in early August..I still have my old timebook and can give exact dates and hours worked.
Here's how the job worked...On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we ran Hastings -Huntley and return via Ayr Junction. There was a wye just north of Huntley where we turned the car after we had done our switching at Huntley.
On Tuesday and Thursday we ran Hastings-Sutton-Lushton..turned the car on the wye at Lushton returned to Sutton..did the station switching and headed down to Clay Center. The return from Clay Center was a backup move...waycar ahead. We returned from Sutton to Hastings, doing whatever local work there was to do along the way.
All the photos I've seen of the '69 show it as a double end car with both ends painted in the red-yellow paint scheme. I don't remember the rear end being painted at the time I was there and I do know that our engineer never ran the car from the rear end..We backed up with the waycar ahead from Clay Center to Sutton.
The last day I worked the job we burned up a traction motor or maybe it was something in the generator..We barely limped back to Hastings and the car went to Lincoln for repairs...It was later sold to the Southern Iowa Utilities railroad at Centerville, IA and I think the car was scrapped from there..This would have been in the late 60's.
My greatest regret from my braking years was not riding in the cab of the 9769. We always had a light train and both brakemen rode the waycar. IIRC there was an old wooden office chair which sat in the car, but I just never went up and rode there...
I'll be glad to answer any questions about the car or it's operation to the extent that I can..AND I'll defer to anyone else on here who actually drew pay as a train or engineman for service using a motorcar as power.
Also I also claim to be the only guy on here who worked as a brakeman in revenue service on the Pioneer Zephyr...which, in case you didn't know...was considered a "Motorcar" in its early days.
Pete
-----Original Message-----
From: William Canelos
sharronbillc@yahoo.com [CBQ] <
CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
To: CBQ <
CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tue, Jul 5, 2016 8:13 am
Subject: [CBQ] Re: Last Q Motor
Rupert, Pete,
thanks again for all the info! Rupert I will look forward to the updated motor car roster!!
Does anyone have any idea when one was last used in regular service?? not necessarily the last run, but possibly after 1955??
Bill