tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.comments2024-03-18T23:38:44.583-05:00Hicks Car WorksUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7246125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-35242375963431880592024-03-18T23:38:44.583-05:002024-03-18T23:38:44.583-05:00Hi Dan, thanks for your kind words! And you're...Hi Dan, thanks for your kind words! And you're absolutely right, I completely missed car 322. I think the reason was that I was running this search through the PNAERC roster, and car 322 was never owned by Shaker Heights Rapid Transit per se - it was only purchased from Newark during the GCRTA era. That's a quibble on my part, but I have rewritten the beginning of the article to more accurately reflect this.<br /><br />And Olin, I have not seen any evidence of that, but if it exists the folks at Minnesota Streetcar Museum would know.Frank Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577228910617578573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-73328829850692455482024-03-18T11:34:31.130-05:002024-03-18T11:34:31.130-05:00Frank, congratulations on a well-researched articl...Frank, congratulations on a well-researched article about Shaker Heights PCC #63. This is the kind of detailed historical study that our museum should be, and is, doing. Please excuse one small item of nit-picking. You mention that only one of the several preserved Shaker PCCs (IRM's) is operational. Technically, you are correct in speaking about the ex-Minneapolis cars that spent most of their lives in Cleveland suburban service. However, I think it would be a shame to omit mention of the magnificent preservation of Twin City Rapid Transit #322 at the Minnesota Streetcar Museum's Como-Harriet location. While this car spent most of its post-Minneapolis life in Newark, New Jersey as #3, it did operate for a short period of time (still as #3) in Shaker service. Congratulations to our friends in Minneapolis for their noteworthy restoration efforts, and kudos to you for another informative article.<br /><br />Dan Buck Dan Bucknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-12830543173004685912024-03-17T22:05:58.249-05:002024-03-17T22:05:58.249-05:00Randy, Thanks to you and all who helped: Norm, Tim...Randy, Thanks to you and all who helped: Norm, Tim and Ed, Fritz, Gerry, Tom, John and Todd your help made this project possible on a very windy day! This was IRM resourcefulness in action, we picked a pair of the best doors from the old east end of Barn 4 to reuse and replace the old on the west end. <br /><br />DDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-87365933182911637512024-03-15T23:30:35.979-05:002024-03-15T23:30:35.979-05:00Thanks to Frank and Aaron and Bill for this story....Thanks to Frank and Aaron and Bill for this story. It tells me a lot I did not know about the Shaker cars! One question - is there any photographic evidence the converted MU PCCs ever ran together over the TCRT system in testing?<br />O. AndersonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-22464247749288679672024-03-15T19:25:16.113-05:002024-03-15T19:25:16.113-05:00Thanks for the clarification. Obviously I'm n...Thanks for the clarification. Obviously I'm not an expert on carnivals. But many of these operations were responsible for preserving Pullman cars that would otherwise have been scrapped. So that's a good thing, even if most of them are a real challenge to restore.Randall Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16246581917018679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-89753231274754216922024-03-15T18:06:34.993-05:002024-03-15T18:06:34.993-05:00The James E. Strates train transported carnival ri...The James E. Strates train transported carnival rides, and the ride staff. They toured the east coast, while Royal American Shows operated in the midwest and the prairie provinces of Canada. Different sort of operation from Ringling Barnum or Hagenbeck-Wallace.Stephen Karlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02945914425504935287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-8270363458504393412024-03-15T13:28:22.397-05:002024-03-15T13:28:22.397-05:00It seems like there are SP locomotives all over th...It seems like there are SP locomotives all over the place!<br /><br />They just moved one to the Niles canyon Railway not far from me!<br /><br />Ted Miles Still ana IRM Member Ted Milesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-33948387888050129682024-03-14T22:53:08.458-05:002024-03-14T22:53:08.458-05:00I wish to Thank You, Frank for posting information...I wish to Thank You, Frank for posting information on Frank Sirinek obituary. I was attempting to reach him last Dec/ Jan. And talked to him just prior to Christmas. Thank You for providing us and others in regards to Frank’s situation. I do thank You for posting pictures of Frank on the cars I will miss him for sure. I do miss many of our other members who have also pass on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-55218317814743359782024-03-14T20:30:19.505-05:002024-03-14T20:30:19.505-05:00I do hope that Frank caught that”car in the sky”. ...I do hope that Frank caught that”car in the sky”. I did know Frank for many years and I will tell you that I will personally miss his presents @ IRM. I had always enjoyed working with Frank whether he was working as motorman or whether he was my conductor on 144/ 4391, 1374. Or any trips we worked together. I have worked with so many other good friends@ IRM in the past years and unfortunately, they are are falling left and right. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-43883938822753548482024-03-13T21:40:54.082-05:002024-03-13T21:40:54.082-05:00What I'm doing is just a cosmetic restoration,...What I'm doing is just a cosmetic restoration, and a quickie one at that. But the car is pretty close to being operational. It ran briefly at IRM until its MG set flashed over, but we have a rebuilt MG set sitting in the car shop ready to be installed on car 63. It also needs new roof boards, which shouldn't be a big challenge, and one of the brake actuators had been acting up. But that's about all it would need to run. The challenge is really just volunteer time.Frank Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577228910617578573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-44758031576373517392024-03-13T15:18:34.034-05:002024-03-13T15:18:34.034-05:00Is the 63 going to be a revenue car, or is this go...Is the 63 going to be a revenue car, or is this going to be a cosmetic restoration?<br /><br />C Kronenwetter Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-28883246642930579032024-03-13T09:08:58.522-05:002024-03-13T09:08:58.522-05:00Must have been a passing indisposition. Works fin...Must have been a passing indisposition. Works fine for me!<br /><br />R. W. Schauer<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-62733927066205074642024-03-13T08:47:58.354-05:002024-03-13T08:47:58.354-05:00Looks like the IRM website is DOWNLooks like the IRM website is DOWNAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-56570535119593343012024-03-11T09:56:00.417-05:002024-03-11T09:56:00.417-05:00They certainly appear to be single-ended. The onl...They certainly appear to be single-ended. The only explanation I can think of for the roof arrangement is that the monitor end at the back allows you to have an open vent for better air circulation while in motion.Randall Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16246581917018679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-8800348723545321112024-03-09T20:17:08.707-06:002024-03-09T20:17:08.707-06:00Very cool to see the asymmetrical roof arrangement...Very cool to see the asymmetrical roof arrangements. Were the cars single-ended?Josh Sutherlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00510163545061352069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-25744439997019658302024-03-09T19:42:47.046-06:002024-03-09T19:42:47.046-06:00The photos of the converter are great. It is a 6-p...The photos of the converter are great. It is a 6-pole machine likely 25 hz or 500 rpm.<br />60 hz machines were flash happy and at this voltage would have needed interpoles (machine has none) and flash barriers (no way to tell from the photos). I would guess somewhere between 300 kW and 500 kW. 400 kW was a very common 25 hz size.<br /><br />The transformers are interesting also. 25 hz units are much larger and heavier but there are two shown? A WAG is there are three single phase units with the third buried in the mess.<br />Thanks,<br />Dennis BockusAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-43249196335406754682024-03-06T23:52:13.691-06:002024-03-06T23:52:13.691-06:00Ted, the car had a fender at least part of the tim...Ted, the car had a fender at least part of the time it was in North Olmsted, but by the time it came to IRM in 2013 it had lost its fender. We did receive three badly damaged fenders as part of the Trolleyville parts dispersal in 2010, and late last year we used parts from two of those - plus some newly fabricated parts - to make one good fender. We also received only one chain for suspending the fender, and that was badly rusted but did provide a pattern.Frank Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577228910617578573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-51171668338961759632024-03-05T21:56:36.878-06:002024-03-05T21:56:36.878-06:00Thanks,
Every visit can uncover new things, and I...Thanks, <br />Every visit can uncover new things, and I see a few items in your visit I never saw before. For others, here is the link:<br />https://hickscarworks.blogspot.com/2021/09/riverside-and-great-northern.html<br />The shops and structures present a unique interpretation of an 1880-1910 railroad shop facility. Always enjoyed poking around there.<br />O. AndersonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-77428692265947042542024-03-05T20:47:00.768-06:002024-03-05T20:47:00.768-06:00I posted a rather detailed treatment of the Rivers...I posted a rather detailed treatment of the Riverside and Great Northern back in September of 2021. As Thurber would say, you could look it up.Randall Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16246581917018679919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-46422818470023518302024-03-05T18:56:23.318-06:002024-03-05T18:56:23.318-06:00Frank,
Please refresh my memory; was there a...Frank,<br /> Please refresh my memory; was there a fender on the #18 when it arrived from Cleveland?<br />Or did you have to make up some chains and hardware to hold it in place? <br /><br />Ted Miles, still an IRM Member <br /> <br />Ted Milesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-28083189535914026362024-03-05T07:00:45.974-06:002024-03-05T07:00:45.974-06:00I remember going on vacation in Wisconsin many yea...I remember going on vacation in Wisconsin many years ago, and I remember seeing the giant water parks at the Wisconsin Dells. . .from the interstate as my parents drove right past the Dells and went to the Mid-Continent Railroad Museum instead-, and also did a drive-by pass the Circus World Museum in Baraboo.<br /><br />So no water park capitol of world for me, but I traded for riding behind an ALCO S-Class switcher at Mid-Continent, and then riding behind a Fairbanks Morse H10-44 at the National Railroad Museum the following day.<br /><br />-Matt MaloyMatt Maloyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07000718180686052185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-33141529656022751312024-03-04T22:52:54.264-06:002024-03-04T22:52:54.264-06:00I will have to take a look at that the next time I...I will have to take a look at that the next time I am up thereWill Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-11359161800778775572024-03-02T20:52:34.246-06:002024-03-02T20:52:34.246-06:00I hope you may get a submission from Will, showing...I hope you may get a submission from Will, showing a visit to the Dells' Riverside and Great Northern. In a way, it is an oddball museum - a railroad museum of a replica/functional miniature railroad builder (who had an appreciation of old machinery) that went out of business in the 1970s or so. ). O. AndersonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-91201702459479158442024-03-01T16:13:15.658-06:002024-03-01T16:13:15.658-06:00Frank was a huge asset to the IRM. He will missed ...Frank was a huge asset to the IRM. He will missed greatly. THANK YOU, Frank, for all that you did for the Museum and it's future.Wally Unglaubnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1810478746663531557.post-52384316235748928342024-02-29T08:43:40.219-06:002024-02-29T08:43:40.219-06:00Lexan can be polished but it does get foggy again ...Lexan can be polished but it does get foggy again over time. Scott Davis Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com