HISTORY:
This caboose was the first in the final series of cupola cabooses built by the Illinois Terminal Company Decatur shops, between August 1934 and December 1935. These were built with steel underframes, wood sides, and were 32' 6" in length. To improve the ride quality, trucks were used from retired passenger equipment. The bodies were painted boxcar red, with black roofs and underframes, and white lettering. The interior included facilities for the crew to ride on, but also served as living quarters while laying over - there were 4 bunk beds, a desk, a coal stove, and a water closet. Unlike steam roads, the IT assigned a "cab" to regularly scheduled through trains and to its crew. Layover lighting was accomplished with a "stinger' (a 14' wooden pole, with a "hook" and a power cord, which was plugged into a receptacle), which was carried inside the caboose when not in use.
This car was scrapped in 1954.
Further information may be found The Flyer, the newsletter of the Illinois Traction Society, Vol 5, No. 2, Fall 1991, and in the books THE LINCOLN LAND TRACTION by James D. Johnson (1965 author) and ILLINOIS TERMINAL-THE ELECTRIC YEARS by Paul H Stringham (1989 Interurban Press)
Yes.. we know it's on passenger trucks... That's the way she came from the shop in 1939
DOWNLOAD INFORMATION
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