Made a recent trip to the Texas State Railroad for a Lerro Productions charter and while there, we were given a cool tour of the yard in Rusk. Lots of equipment scattered around, a wild place to visit, I could spend hours just in the yard.

Of note - I came across this critter - forgot to ask about the details.

Anyone familiar with it - history, timeline, its potential future?

/Mitch

Looks like one of the steel express motor cars of the Cincinnati & Lake Erie. C&LE was the consolidation of several interurban lines connecting Cincinnati and Toledo.

These were built in 1929-30 by Cincinnati Car Company and utilized motors and controls from old wooden interurban cars.

When the C&LE was abandoned, seven of the ten cars after eventually sold off to American Aggregates which added diesel engines with generators to make them into diesel-electric locomotives.

One of these is now at Illinois Railway Museum.
See: Hicks Car Works History of Cincinnati & Lake Erie 640

Thee others went west to the California Central Traction Co. and remained straight electrics.

Confirmed. I found this reference on Frank Hick's Preserved North American Electric Railway Cars (PNAERC) List https://pnaerc.blogspot.com/search/labe ... 20Railroad

"So the Texas State Railroad's collection of grounded interurban freight equipment has tripled, with the two native freight trailers joining the ex-C&LE freight motor that arrived in Rusk around the late 1990s as well."

F A C I N A T I N G ! !! !!!

If you don't ask, you'll never know!

Such an easy piece to simply walk past but well worth the time to investigate. Thanks for supplying the puzzle pieces! Would love to see this in operation, glad to hear several survive.

Interurban freight... how about that.

I suppose people from Iowa are familiar with the concept. Perhaps South Bend, IN residents, as well.

/Mitch

Specifically, this is C&LE 646. It was acquired by the Fort Worth transit system for its trucks and motors which went under North Texas Traction 25. Afterwards, the body was sold to the Texas State Railroad. I know that they have their hands full keeping the place running, but this along with the other two freight trailers would make a very nice display.

Ya know, I think Texas is the one state that has more preserved trolley freight equipment than passenger cars.

It's function down at Rusk is basically as a parts shed. It's certainly available to any party that might be interested in it for scrap price. It's under no immediate threat of being cut up, but it's part of the collection of stuff down there that really needs to find a better home in the future. It's an interesting, if rather odd, piece of hardware, and if there's another museum or entity that wants it they should speak up.