Beginning today, we are accepting payment for 2015 CERA Memberships.  You can also still purchase them for 2014.

Since 1938, Central Electric Railfans’ Association has hosted programs, published books, and held fantrips.  We have many exciting things planned for this, our 77th year.  Your continued support makes this all possible. Join today, or renew your existing membership, and be a part of it all.

You can pay for your membership by check, or online via our web site.  We accept PayPal, and you can also pay using a credit or debit card.

2015 Members will receive a book entitlement.  At the present time, we expect that this book will be published in 2016.  Whatever the subject, you can count on our next publication to continue a long tradition of excellence in historical transit research, while also being both informative and entertaining.

Members also get discounts on purchasing CERA books, monthly mailings (including program, product information, used book lists, and “CERA News”), plus free admission to our programs.  Be a card-carrying member of CERA!

Thank you for your support.

-Your CERA Directors

PS- If you wish to mail in your payment, click these links for membership forms for 2015 or 2014.

Editor’s note:

When we had our September meeting notices printed, our vendor accidentally left off the “CERA News” from the backside of the sheet.  We did not discover the mistake until the notices were mailed.  Here is the missing notice, exactly as it was supposed to appear in our mailing.

Our printer has prepared replacement sheets that will be mailed to our members.  Since this was the printer’s mistake, this is being done at no additional cost to CERA.  We apologize for the error.

References to forms are other enclosures included in the original mailing.  Of course, you can still purchase tickets for our Chicago PCC Weekend events via our website.  You can read more about George W. Hilton here.

CERA News for September 2014

George W. Hilton, 1925-2014

We regret to report the passing of George W. Hilton, a giant in the field of transportation history, and a longtime friend and contributor to the association. The CERA Board of Directors made Professor Hilton our first and so far only Honorary Life Member in February of this year. This honor was made possible due to a change in our By Laws, approved by membership the previous month at our Annual Meeting.

Used Book Exchange

Our next used book list will be distributed with October’s program notice. The continued availability of used books is dependent on the generosity of our Members, and we thank you for both your donations and purchases.

Chicago PCC Weekend

An order form is enclosed for this month’s events, which begin with the Chicago Streetcar PictorialRound Table on Friday evening, September 26^th. Get your Round Table tickets now, before it’s completely sold out!

We will continue our celebration of Chicago’s PCCs streetcars on Saturday (27^th) and Sunday (28^th) withInspection Trips to the Kenosha (Wisconsin) Streetcar and the Illinois Railway Museum. CERA has arranged with MCERA Vince Allen’s Victory Bus Service to provide round-trip transportation between the Crystal Lake Metra station and IRM.

Kenosha runs a half-dozen PCC streetcars over a loop of about two miles in length. On Saturday, we will ride the Chicago Tribute PCC, which rides on authentic Chicago PCC trucks, and have a shops tour. Kenosha’s Philadelphia PCC will be the regular service car on the afternoon of our trip.

The following day, we will ride the last surviving postwar Chicago PCC, CTA “Green Hornet” 4391, at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. In addition, the newly restored Chicago & West Towns car 141 andChicago, Aurora & Elgin wood car 36 are expected to be operating for your enjoyment.

Kenosha is directly accessible by Metra commuter train for Saturday’s fantrip. You can also take Metra on Sunday to the end of the line at Crystal Lake, where our charter bus will take you the rest of the way to IRM. Fantrip tickets and charter bus tickets are available either online, or by using the enclosed ticket order form. Metra offers a weekend pass good for unlimited train rides on both days for just $7, and you can purchase this at the Ogilvie Transportation Center downtown.

B-146 Progress Report

We have redoubled our efforts to complete work on Bulletin 146, the Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: the PCC Car Era, 1936-1958 as soon as humanly possible. Layout work on the book is essentially complete; the text sections for the book are finished, the nearly 1000 photos selected, locations identified, captions written and double-checked for accuracy. The DVD inserts are already at the printer, as are the reproduction 1936 CSL brochures that will accompany each copy of the book.

This book will have more pictures, and with better reproduction quality, than any previous CERA book ever. However, when we started working on the book’s images using Photoshop, looking at the scans under high magnification, it became apparent that there were many imperfections in the 60-year-old slides and negs that require attention. Since an individual image may have upwards of a thousand “fixes” that need to be made, to make things look just as they did when the picture was originally taken, this has proven to be a time-consuming process. But the work is already far along, and we expect this process will be completed in a few weeks. Once the book is turned over to the printer, it will be another 3-4 weeks before the finished copies are printed. They will then be mailed out directly from the printer to you.

Since we stand behind what we sell, we will cheerfully offer a refund anyone who pre-ordered the book and does not want to wait any longer to receive it. Because the book is already very popular and likely to sell out quickly, we expect that very few people (if any) will take us up on this offer. See you all at our Chicago PCC Weekend events!

-Your CERA Directors

Kenosha’s streetcar loop is about an hour’s drive from Chicago, and is always worth a visit. Last Saturday, September 6th, Kenosha Area Transit celebrated Kenosha Streetcar Day, as they have annually for some years. All the cars were running, and there were displays and presentations at the shops.

The weather was absolutely perfect, without a cloud in the sky. You couldn’t ask for better weather.

Here is a selection of the pictures I shot that day. CERA will be returning to Kenosha on September 27th, as part of our Chicago PCC Weekend events. Tickets for that fantrip are on sale here. We will be using the Chicagao Tribute PCC, and the Philadelphia car will also be running that day. We will have a shops tour as well.

We hope to see all of you there in just a few weeks. Let’s hope the weather is just like this.

-David Sadowski

Passengers board the Chicago tribute car.

Kenosha’s streetcar operators are always very courteous and friendly.

Interior of the Chicago tribute car.

The Pittsburgh tribute car.

The Koenosha Streetcar Society had a table at the shops.

A Lego PCC car.

Model trains on display.

This trolley will eventually be restored and painted as the San Francisco tribute car.

The Johnstown car, above the inspection pit.

The Philadelphia car, back in the barn.

A PCC accelerator, which works something like a dimmer switch.

Model trains on display at the shops.

A Lego version of the Franks Diner, which is a Kenosha landmark.

A side view of the Toronto car.

The Johnstown tribute car.

Car 2185 will be the regular service car on September 27th, during the CERA fantrip.

This ex-SEPTA car from Philadelphia is the latest addition to the Kenosha fleet.

The interior of the Philadelphia car.

The Toronto car (which actually ran there) prepares to turn a corner not far from the Metra depot.

Future railfans of America.

There were good crowds on hand, enjoying the ride.

The Pittsburgh tribute car.

The Cincinnati tribute car.

The Cincinnati tribute car.

Editor’s Note:

Frank Hicks is our contest winner.  Here is his winning submission:

Interesting post, and interesting contest!  I’ll take a stab at it…

1 – This is the Northampton Station off of the Boston elevated in downtown Boston.  It was built in 1901 and moved to Seashore in 1988 when this section of the elevated was torn down.
2 – Boston ticket booth in the Visitors Center
3 – Montreal #2, a sightseeing car built in the company shops in 1906 and nicknamed the “Golden Chariot.”  This car was acquired by Seashore in 1963 and was recently refurbished after a few  years out of service.
4 – Montreal #2
5 – Montreal #2
6 – Long Island Railroad #4137, an MP54A1 heavyweight commuter coach built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1930 and retired in 1972, which is when Seashore acquired it.  These cars ran on 600 volts but only operated off of third rail.
7 – Boston Elevated Railway #5821 is a “Type 5″ lightweight semi-convertible car built by Brill in 1924.  These cars were used all over Boston for many years.  This car was retired in 1954 and acquired by Seashore; it has been fully restored.
8 – BER #5821
9 – Connecticut Company #838, a 15-bench double-truck open car built by J.M. Jones & Sons in 1905.  Originally it was Consolidated Railway #838 and then ran for ConnCo until 1948, when it was acquired by Seashore.  Cars like this were famous in later years for use in taking huge crowds to the Yale Bowl in New Haven.
10 – BER #5821
11 – Connecticut Company #1160, a typical ConnCo double-truck wooden suburban car of which that company had a large fleet.  This car was built by Stephenson in 1906 as Consolidated Railway #542 (renumbered #1160 by ConnCo in 1915) and ran until 1948.  It was the focus of a recently-completed major restoration project.
12 – ConnCo #1160
13 – Manchester Street Railway #38, a gorgeous double-truck suburban car built in 1906 by the Laconia Car Company of New Hampshire. Originally this car ran on the Manchester & Nashua where it was car #4 and then car #32 before eventually being renumbered #38.  It was one of Seashore’s first three cars, acquired by the museum in 1940 prior to WWII.  It has been completely restored.
14 – MSR #38 interior
15 – BER #5821 on Visitors Center loop
16 – ConnCo #838
17 – ConnCo #838
18 – BER #5821
19 – BER #5821
20 – Tower C was built in 1901 on the Atlantic Avenue elevated structure in central Boston and was located at North Station where the Atlantic Avenue section joined with the Charlestown Elevated and the north end of the Main Line elevated.  The tower was moved to Seashore in 1976 following closure of this section of the elevated, by then part of the Orange Line.
21 – Visible in this photo are MBTA “Blue Line” cars #0622-0623 (built by Hawker-Siddeley in 1979 and acquired by Seashore in 2009) to the left, LIRR #4137 (described above) in the middle, and South Shore #32 (built by Standard Steel in 1929 and brought to Seashore in 1989) to the right of it.  Off to the right, beyond the caboose, are a couple of small rail grinders that were used by Boston Elevated Railway.
22 – Montreal #2
23 – MBTA #4006 is an E800 trolley bus built in 1976 by Flyer and retired in 2008.
24 – MBTA #4028 is an E800 trolley bus built in 1976 by Flyer and retired in 2008.  Note the trolley bus overhead; Seashore does have a short stretch of trolley bus line which they plan to extend at some point.
25 – Portsmouth Dover & York #108 is a very attractive double-truck RPO car built by Laconia in 1904.  It was later acquired by York Utilities and converted for use as a line car but has been restored to its earlier configuration by Seashore.  It has been at the museum since it was retired from service in 1949.
26 – ConnCo #1160
27 – MSR #38
28 – Boston MTA #8361 is a model 45OS-102-43CX trolley bus built by Pullman-Standard in 1948.  It was the first trolley bus acquired by Seashore, coming to the museum in 1963 following retirement.  It is currently operational.
29 – These are the “State of the Art Cars,” the SOAC pair, built in 1972 as testbed cars.  The bodies were built by St. Louis Car Company with electrical equipment provided by Boeing-Vertol.  They were built to Eastern subway clearances and were test-run in New York, Philadelphia and briefly operated on the Skokie Swift in Chicago, which was the only line that could easily be modified for their extra length and width.  They were acquired by Seashore in 1989.
30 – Consolidated Railway #303 is a typical 15-bench open car built by Brill in 1901.  Originally it was Winchester Avenue Railway #303, then Fair Haven & Westville #303 before becoming Consolidated #303 and eventually being renumbered Connecticut Company #615.  The car ran until 1948 in Yale Bowl service and has been at Seashore since then.
31 – Dunedin #105 is a cable car from New Zealand that was built in 1903 by Stansfield.  It was acquired by Seashore in 1957 after retirement from service.
32 – Dunedin cable car grip
33 – Wheeling Street Railway #639 is a rare Cincinnati curve-side suburban car built by Cincinnati in 1924.  Later it was owned by Co-Operative Transit and was retired in 1948.  Seashore acquired the body of this car in 1957 and during the 1990s and early 2000s it was completely restored to original condition, one of several “chicken coop” restorations Seashore has done.  It is currently the only operational Cincinnati curve-sider in existence.
34 – Consolidated #303 bench
35 – Consolidated #303
36 – Wheeling #639
37 – Sydney Tramways #1700 is a “compartment” streetcar built in 1925 by Meadowbank.  It ran in Sydney until 1960 and was acquired by Seashore the following year.
38 – Wheeling #639 emblem
39 – Twin City Rapid Transit #1267 is a standard single-end “gate car” from that city, built by the company shops in 1907 in class H-6.  It ran until 1953 and was acquired by Seashore that year.  It is one of two cars of this type currently preserved, the other being car #1239 which was restored from a body and is in operation Excelsior, MN.
40 – DC Transit #1304 is a prewar PCC built by St. Louis in 1941 for Capital Transit.  It ran until 1961, when it was retired and sold to General Electric for use as a test car.  It was later sold to the Trolleyville museum in North Olmsted, OH, which sold it to Seashore in 1985.  It has been restored to its late-1950s condition while in service in Washington DC.
41 – CNS&M #755 is one of five preserved cars from the Standard Steel order built for the North Shore in 1930.  It was acquired by Seashore in 1963 following abandonment of the North Shore and still wears its “Silverliner” color scheme.  This car is operational and is currently the focus of some restoration work.
42 – TCRT #1239 gate closeup showing the distinctive design used for the gates on the open back platforms of these cars
43 – Ottawa Transportation #B2 is a single-truck snow sweeper built by the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company in 1926.  Though McGuire-Cummings was the company most closely associated with snow sweepers like these, several other companies including Brill, Ottawa, and Fowler built similar sweepers.  Ottawa #B2 was sold to Cornwall in 1959 and ran there until the wires came down in 1972, at which point it was acquired by Seashore.
44 – Atlantic Shore Line #100 is a unique cab-on-flat locomotive built by Laconia in 1906.  It ran in revenue service on the same right-of-way currently used by Seashore for its main line and was later sold to York Utilities, where it ran until 1949.  It was acquired at that time by Seashore and during the early 2000s was completely restored to original condition.
45 – Dallas Railway & Terminal #434 is the only pre-PCC city car from Dallas preserved intact.  Built by Stone & Webster in 1913, it ran until 1954 and was then acquired by Seashore.  It has operated at the museum regularly for years and is currently the focus of some rehabbing work.
45 – DR&T #434
46 – An overview of the Town House Restoration Shop with Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway lightweight car #7005 (built by Osgood-Bradley in 1927, later Boston Elevated Railway #4400, acquired by Seashore in 1950) in the foreground for heavy restoration and Blackpool #144 from England (homebuilt in 1925, acquired by Seashore in 1954) in the background.
47 – Town House Restoration shop with EMSR #7005 in the foreground; in the background are Bay State Street railway #4175 (built by Laconia in 1914, acquired by Seashore in 1976 and the subject of a long-term restoration), Middlesex & Boston #41 (a single-truck car built by Stephenson in 1901 and acquired as a body by Seashore in 1962), and Blackpool #144.
48 – Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority #01000 is an elevated car built by Wason in 1928 for use on the Main Line Elevated (later the Orange Line).  It was acquired by Seashore in 1980 and is operational.
49 – CA&E #434 is one of two Cincinnati-built cars from the CA&E in preservation, the other being car #431 at IRM.  Car #434 was bought by Seashore from the railroad in 1962 and during the 1990s was completely restored to its 1950s appearance.
50 – Chicago Surface Lines #225 was one of the cars regularly used on fan trips in Chicago during the mid-1950s and went to Seashore in 1957.  It is one of three preserved “Old Pullman” cars, the other two being #144 and #460, both at IRM.
51 – CSL #225 motorman’s position
52 – CSL #225 interior
53 – CSL #225 interior
54 – CSL #225 platform interior
55 – CSL #225 number
56 – CSL #225 emblem
57 – CSL #225 number
58 – CSL #225 lettering
59 – The double-deck car is Glasgow #1274 from Scotland, a “Coronation” tram built in the company shops in 1940 and retired in 1963, when it was donated to Seashore.  The single-level car is Rome #279, buitl by Tabanelli in 1914 and retired in 1960.  It was the first car from continental Europe acquired by Seashore.
60 – Union Street Railway #10 is a horsecar from New Bedford, MA that was built by Brill in 1885.  When service was electrified it was retained by the company as an historic relic and eventually made its way to Seashore in 1954.
61 – a Suffolk County (MA) sherriff’s wagon for transporting prisoners, acquired by Seashore in 1983.
62 – Union Street Railway #34 is a single-truck railway post office streetcar that was rebuilt in 1893 from a horsecar that had itself been built in 1880.  This car was retired in 1947 and acquired by Seashore at that time.
63 – Rome car #279
64 – Mousam River Railroad #8, a street railway freight trailer built by Portland in 1893.  It was in use until 1947, when it was acquired by Seashore.  It is thought to be the only street railway freight trailer preserved.
65 – California Street #48 is a typical double-end cable car from the California Street line in San Francisco that was built in 1907 by Holman.  It was sold to an individual in Montreal in 1955 and was later acquired by Seashore in 1970.
66 – California Street #48 number
67 – Brooklyn & Queens Transit #4547 is a double-truck, double-end semi-convertible car built in 1906 by Jewett.  It ran for fifty years in Brooklyn.  Cars of this type were common on B&QT and were built by a couple of different car builders.  Seashore acquired #4547 in 1956.
68 – Cleveland Street Railway #1227 is one of several preserved center-door cars from Cleveland but is the only one that has been backdated to original condition.  Built in 1914 by hometown car builder Kuhlman, it was sold for use on the suburban line to Shaker Heights in 1921 and was later renumbered Shaker Heights Rapid Transit #27.  During its time in suburban service it was rebuilt with Westinghouse MU control and other modifications.  Retired in 1960, it bounced around, from the National Capital Trolley Museum to Trolley Valhalla to Buckingham Valley Trolley Association to a private owner in Ohio.  Seashore acquired the car in 1984 by which time it was reduced to a badly deteriorated body.  During the early 2000s the car was completely restored to as-built condition.  In 2010 Seashore acquired Cleveland center-door trailer #2365 from Trolleyville and there are plans to restore that car to match #1227.
69 – Montreal & Southern Counties #504 is a large freight motor built in 1924 by Ottawa.  It was used in service out of Montreal until 1956, when it was acquired by Seashore
70 – Montreal & Southern Counties #610 is a heavy interurban car built by Ottawa in 1922, quite late for wood car construction.  It saw regular operation until 1956, when it was donated to Seashore.
71 – Rome #279 emblem
72 – CA&E #434
73 – Rome #279
74 – Brooklyn & Queens Transit #4547
75 – The “City of Manchester” is arguably the most opulent car preserved at Seashore.  It was built in 1898 by Briggs Carriage Company for the Manchester Street Railway.  Its precise retirement date is uncertain but in 1952 the car’s body was being used as a children’s playhouse when it was acquired by Seashore.  This was likely the first electric car body ever acquired by an American museum in derelict condition and the first full “chicken coop” restoration done by a U.S. trolley museum.  The car was restored during the early 1960s and has run at Seashore ever since.
76 – Cleveland #1227 interior; in later years Shaker Heights Rapid Transit replaced the bench seats on the left side of the car with standard lateral seats, but Seashore backdated the car to this condition.
77 – MSR “City of Manchester” lettering
78 – Claremont Railway #4 is a homebuilt line car built by this small New Hampshire system.  It was acquired by Seashore in 1955. At one point it was briefly loaned to the MBTA.
79 – Biddeford & Saco #31 was the first streetcar acquired by Seashore, in 1939, making it the first streetcar acquired by any U.S. trolley museum for preservation.  It is a 12-bench double-truck open car built by Brill in 1900 and was used until the B&S was abandoned in 1939.  It has been completely restored.
80 – Lehigh Valley Transit #1030 is one of two preserved ex-Indiana Railroad highspeeds.  It was built by AC&F in 1931 as Indiana Railroad #55 and in 1934 was converted into a full-length parlor car.  After the Indiana Railroad quit service in 1941 this car was sold to LVT, which rebuilt it with a left-side front door and a door at the rear of the car (for emergency egress on the Norristown trestle).  It operated for LVT until 1951, when it was acquired by Seashore.  The other ex-Indiana Railroad highspeed, car #65, went to the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City and in 1953 became the first car owned by the Illinois Railway Museum.
81 – LVT #1030 letterboard
82 – LVT #1030 letterboard
83 – LVT #1030 letterboard
84 – LVT #1030 motorman’s position; note the left-side door and trap installed by LVT.
85 – LVT #1030 interior
86 – LVT #1030 washroom
87 – LVT #1030 interior
88 – LVT #1030 motorman’s position
89 – LVT #1030 interior – old IRR number
90 – LVT #1030 interior
91 – LVT #1030 interior fan
92 – LVT #1030 interior
93 – LVT #1030 front
94 – LVT #1030 number
95 – LVT #1030 rear
96 – Overview of some of Seashore’s bus collection, with New Orleans #333 (Flxible 1967), Portland #504 (GMC 1950), Peninsula Transportation #195 (Mack 1959), Toronto #7521 (Flyer 1972), Omaha articulated #1312 (Twin Coach 1947) and others visible.
97 – Some of Seashore’s bus collection, with MBTA #9138 (Flyer 1982), MBTA #6169 (GMC 1967), New Orleans #333 (Flxible 1967), and Portland #504 (GMC 1950) visible
98 – Some of Seashore’s bus collection, with WMATA #6481 (GMC 1964), Manchester #107 (GMC 1974), Cape Ann #7804 (GMC 1979) and MBTA #9138 (Flyer 1982) visible
99 – MBTA motor bus #8400 (GMC 1985) and Swiss trolley bus #653 (FBW/EGGLI/BBC 1964) with an MBTA Red Line car in the background

Regards,

Frank Hicks

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine,the first time I’d been there in 35 years. Seashore (originally called the Seashore Electric Railway), founded in 1939, is the first and oldest trolley museum in the United States, and has a vast collection, truly international in scope.

We thought we would make a contest out of identifying the various cars, buses, and artifacts in the photos.First prize will be a copy of our new “Spirit of 76″ DVD collection, which includes the first 76 CERA Bulletins, issued between 1938 and 1947, plus bonus features.

To enter the contest, send us a list identifying what you see in these pictures. The best and most complete answer received at cerablog1@gmail.com by midnight Central Time on Thursday, September 4, 2014 will be the winner.

All photos were taken by me on August 16, 2014. There’s a lot to identify here, so I wish you good luck in figuring it all out. When referring to individual photos, please use the image numbers so that individual pictures can be matched to the descriptions. Once the contest ends, we will add captions to each picture.

Good luck!

-David Sadowski

The rest of the photos in next post

Editor’s Note:

To read the winning contest answers, click here.

 

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine,the first time I’d been there in 35 years. Seashore (originally called the Seashore Electric Railway), founded in 1939, is the first and oldest trolley museum in the United States, and has a vast collection, truly international in scope.

We thought we would make a contest out of identifying the various cars, buses, and artifacts in the photos.First prize will be a copy of our new “Spirit of 76″ DVD collection, which includes the first 76 CERA Bulletins, issued between 1938 and 1947, plus bonus features.

To enter the contest, send us a list identifying what you see in these pictures. The best and most complete answer received at cerablog1@gmail.com by midnight Central Time on Thursday, September 4, 2014 will be the winner.

All photos were taken by me on August 16, 2014. There’s a lot to identify here, so I wish you good luck in figuring it all out. When referring to individual photos, please use the image numbers so that individual pictures can be matched to the descriptions. Once the contest ends, we will add captions to each picture.

Good luck!

-David Sadowski

Boston’s public transit system has seen many changes since my first visit there in 1967, but the variety of equipment operated there means it’s always worth a trip.

Boston pioneered the use of color-coded transit lines, but unlike Chicago’s, their equipment is not shared between lines.  There are differences that keep Boston’s Red, Blue, and Orange Line rapid transit cars from running on each other, and the Green Line is the most different of all.

On the Green Line, the venerable PCCs and the ill-fated Boeing-Vertol LRVs have given way to today’s modern fleet of Type 7 and Type 8 trolleys, the latter with low floors.  Often, Boston mixes 7s and 8s in trains so that at least some portion of each train is handicapped accessible.

It’s hard to believe, but many of the Type 7s, which first ran in 1987, are really showing their age with a lot of surface rust from those hard Boston winters.  This was my first experience riding the Type 8s, and I found them to be likable, attractive cars as well.

Boston continues to use PCC streetcars, as it has for nearly 75 years, just not on the Green Line.  PCCs provide all the service on the Ashmont-Mattapan line, a prototypical “light rail” line that dates back to the 1920s.  Technically, this is part of the Red Line.

In addition, Boston is one of a handful of cities that still use trolley buses.  I was sorry to see them go from Chicago more than 40 years ago, so it was a thrill to ride one again this week.

Railfans tend to like “roster shot” types of photographs, with nary a person in sight, but the Boston system is used daily by large numbers of people, and their interactions with transit vehicles can also create interesting pictures.  Boston is a very friendly city, and if you have not experienced it, consider visiting sometime.  You may find yourself coming back time and time again, as I have.

Meanwhile, I hope that you will enjoy these images as souvenirs from my recent trip.  They were taken on August 14-17, 2014.  Boston is the kind of city that fits me to a “T!”

-David Sadowski

A mass of humanity at Park Street.

An Alewife-bound Red Line train at Park Street.

The Red Line at Alewife.

Inside a Red Line car.

Boarding the Red Line at Alewife.

The classic Harvard Square “T” station subway entrance lives on as a magazine stand. The current subway entrance is nearby.

Harvard Square.

The Harvard Square bus tunnel.

The bus tunnel provides off-street loading and unloading in the busy Harvard Square area, and is also partly responsible for the continued use of trackless trolleys in Boston.

A Route 71 trolley coach in the Harvard Square bus tunnel.

A Route 71 trackless at the end of the line in Watertown.

The back end of an MBTA Route 71 trackless along Mt. Auburn.

MBTA’s trolley coach garage on Mass Avenue.

One of MBTA’s trackless trolleys at the ir garage along Mass Avenue.

A Type 7 car in profile.

MBTA full-size mockup for a “Type 6″ car, circa 1968. You can see traces of this design in the Type 7s from the 1980s.

A fuller-length view of the same mockup. Instead of developing this car, MBTA and MUNI collaborated on the design of the Standard Light Rail Vehicle in the early 1970s.

Waiting for those doors to open on a low-floor Breda car.

The classic trolley shelter at Coolidge Corner.

Waiting for the light to change at Coolidge Corner.

Passengers board a low-floor Breda at Coolidge Corner.

Bredas at Coolidge Corner on the MBTA Green Line “C” branch.

Coolidge Corner is a very picturesque neighborhood.

The old and the new at Coolidge Corner.

The MBTA’s Beacon Street line has always been one of my favorites.

Boston’s “Type 7″ cars, to my eyes, are a cross between a PCC and the Boeing-Vertol LRVs.

Night shot, outbound at Coolidge Corner.

Night shot, inbound at Coolidge Corner.

A Green Line train, led by a Type 7 car, makes its first stop after emerging from the subway tunnel.

The Citgo sign has long been a Boston landmark, as was the Cities Service version before it, standing behind the subway portal on Beacon.

Car 3850 is one of the MBTA’s low-floor “Type 8s,” delivered between 1999 and 2008.

Boston’s fleet of Type 7s were built by Kinki-Sharyo and entered service in 1987. After more than 25 years these cars are really showing their age.

Type 7 interior.

A two-car rain at the end of MBTA’s Green Line “C” route at Cleveland Circle.

Workers switching a two-car train for the return trip from Cleveland Circle.

Bostons Type 8s are handsome cars. Despite many initial difficulties, their reliability has been greatly improved.

The interior of a Type 8, showing how portions are low-floor and thus, handicapped-accessible.

A train prepares to stop in the Green Line subway.

A Type 7 car in the Green Line subway.

Getting off the Red Line at Ashmont. Some of these riders will continue South via PCC.

PCC 3260 at Ashmont. Although none are visible in this photo, these cars actually carry lots of passengers.

Interestingly, only one bank of lights appeared to be in use in the PCC interiors.

Except for the roof-mounted air conditioner, you’d be hard-pressed to tell if this picture was taken in 1964 or 2014.

The air conditioned PCCs really look nice in classic orange and white.  With their sealed windows, they remind me of Boston’s “picture window” PCCs, which were cars 3272-3321, all now retired.

PCC 3230 picks up passengers at Mattapan.

Car 3260 approaches the Mattapan terminal.

PCC 3254 arriving at Matapan.

A PCC negotiates the turnback loop at Mattapan.

PCCs at Mattapan awaiting their turn in service. PCCs have been in continuous service in Boston for nearly 75 years.

Two of the PCCs assigned to Ashmont-Mattapan service, showing their roof-mounted air conditioning units.

A PCC interior on the Ashmont-Mattapan “high speed trolley.”

A Red Line train ready to depart at Ashmont.

Boston’s famous giant tea kettle near Government Center dates to 1873 and holds 277 gallons of water. Why not visit Boston, where something big is always brewing!

We are sorry to report that noted historian and author George W. Hilton has died at age 89. He was the author of many notable books, including The Electric Interurban Railways in America (with John F. Due) and The Cable Car in America.

Professor Hilton first joined CERA on March 25, 1950, as Member #1549. In February 2014, the CERA Board of Directors made George W. Hilton our first (and so far only) Honorary Life Member for his many important contributions to the study of transportation history and to CERA in particular.

CERA reprinted two of his Electric Railway Historical Society books earlier this year (Cable Railways of Chicago and The Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway), as part our our Complete ERHS Collection on DVD data disc. Both had been unavailable for many years.

We especially thank him for his generous bequest to CERA some 20 years ago, which has in effect become an endowment, permitting us to issue publications like Transit in The Triangle Vol. 1, Trolley Sparks Special #1, and Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: the PCC Car Era 1936-1958. We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude, and his legacy will live on for many, many years at CERA.

-The CERA Board of Directors

From Trains magazine:

Transportation historian George W. Hilton dies

Published: August 7, 2014

BALTIMORE – George Woodman Hilton, retired professor of economics at the University of California at Los Angeles, long time Trains contributor, and a prolific author of books on transportation history and economics, died on Aug. 4, 2014. He was 89 years old.Born in 1925, Hilton graduated with an A.B., summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College in 1946, and earned an M.A. in 1950. He attended the London School of Economics from 1953 to 1955 and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1956. He was professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, until his retirement.Hilton specialized in transportation economics. He practically identified himself with competitive organization of the railroads and prided himself on his contribution to the abolition of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Hilton was a frequent and insightful Trains contributor for many years, and enjoyed tremendous respect from then-editor David P. Morgan. Hilton’s versatility as a writer for Trains was never more visible than in 1972. He showed his enthusiast side in the May issue with “The View of the Viaduct From in Front of the Diner,” a witty, bittersweet memoir of riding Erie passenger trains. Then he demonstrated his power as an economist in October with “What Does the ICC Cost You and Me?”, a penetrating, no-holds-barred critique of the Interstate Commerce Commission. It’s a measure of David P. Morgan’s regard for Hilton that the editor gave the story five pages of solid text, with no illustration. It delivered a powerful message. He wanted to be remembered best for his works on transportation history. Of his fifteen books and countless articles, many were on transportation history. Many of these are considered the definitive work on their particular subject: The Great Lakes Car Ferries, The Cable Car in America, The Ma & Pa, Eastland, Legacy of the Titanic, American Narrow Gauge Railroads, and Lake Michigan Passenger Steamers. In 2008 he received the Samuel Ward Stanton Award from the Steamship Historical Society of America for scholarship in steam navigation. In addition to publication, Hilton contributed in other ways to transportation history. For example, he funded the work of a summer intern at the Smithsonian Institution who redrafted plans of the Detroit River railroad car ferry Lansdowne and funded the construction of an exhibit model of the Great Lakes car ferry St. Ignace. In 1982, he endowed the George W. and Constance M. Hilton Book Award of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. This award is granted annually for an outstanding book on railroad history, and is considered by many to be the most prestigious award that a book on railroad history can receive. Hilton had many interests beyond transportation. He was a baseball fan. For many years his car bore the license plate “Sox 06.” His sports interests extended to girls’ college volleyball. Hilton traveled to England to celebrate the performances of Gilbert & Sullivan works. He was a fan of theatre organs. He edited the newsletter of a breweriana collectors group.

Here is our sixth list of used books for sale. We had previously written about the CERA Used Book Exchange here.  Copies of List #6 and an order form have been mailed to all current CERA Members.

Used books, donated by our members, are being sold to raise money to help fund CERA programs and services. Since we are a 501(c)(3) organization, such donations may be tax deductible. Do you have used traction books that you no longer need? If so, why not donate them to the CERA Used Book Exchange? We thank our donors.

HOW TO ORDER – You can pay by check through the mail using this form, or online using PayPal or acredit/debit card. Please do not send your credit card information through the mail. As items are sold or added, we will update the online version of the list here.

As books are sold, we will cross them out on the online list, like this. You can download and print out a copy of List #6 here.

You can also contact the CERA Office by telephone at 312-987-4391. If we are not available, leave a message and we will get back to you.

To order books online, drop us a line at ceraoffice@gmail.com and CERA will e-mail you back an invoice that you can pay using PayPal or a debit/credit card.

All sales are final. Used books are sold without warranty or guarantee. No haggling or quantity discounts- the items here are priced to move. Please do not ask us to put items on “hold” for you. Books will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Current (2014) CERA Members in the United States get FREE SHIPPING. Other Domestic buyers pay $5 Shipping and Handling per book ($3 for the ERHS bulletins). International shipping is available by special request. Contact us and we will work up a quote based on actual cost.

Books are graded as Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. Significant damage is noted, where observed. Some amount of normal wear is to be expected in books that are “of a certain age.”

When using the mail-in form, in the unlikely event of an overpayment, if a book you want is no longer available, please indicate whether you would prefer a refund, or a credit that can be applied to a future purchase. If you send your order by mail, keep a copy of the form for your records.

Please note: Illinois residents must include 9.25% sales tax with payment.

CERA Used Book Exchange List #6 (Updated as of August 21, 2014)

Stock #	Description	Publisher	Date	Cover	Cond.	Price	#	Notes
UBE110	The Shore Line Electric Railway Company	CERA	2007	H	EX	$40.00	B-139	Like New
UBE127	Faster Than the Limiteds	CERA	2004	H	EX	$30.00	B-137	Like New
UBE131	Electric Railways of Northeastern Ohio	CERA	1965	H	G	$25.00	B-108	DJ worn, otherwise OK
UBE132	The Lake Line	CERA	2011	H	EX	$50.00	B-144	Like New
UBE133	Not Only Passengers	CERA	1992	H	EX	$20.00	B-129
UBE134	Chicago Surface Lines	THP	1979	H	EX	$35.00		By Lind – Third Edition
UBE135	The Green Line	CERA	2000	H	EX	$20.00	B-134	Like New
UBE136	The Last Interurbans	CERA	2003	H	G	$30.00	B-136	By Middleton
UBE137	Cincinnati Streetcars v5 1895-1911	WCC	1971	S	G	$20.00		By Wagner and Wright
UBE138	TravElectric	CERA	2009	H	G	$30.00	B-143
UBE139	TM (The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co.)	CERA	1972	H	G	$35.00	B-112	Sleeve torn, otherwise OK
UBE140	How the Medal Was Won	CERA	1985	H	EX	$10.00	B-124
UBE141	The Colorful Streetcars We Rode	CERA	1986	S	G	$15.00	B-125
UBE142	Northern Indiana Railway	CERA	1998	H	EX	$20.00	B-132
UBE143	The Chicago & West Towns Railways	CERA	2006	H	EX	$30.00	B-138	Like New
UBE144	Interurban to Milwaukee	CERA	1962	S	F	$20.00	B-106	1st printing; spiral bound, cover repaired with tape
UBE145	Route of the Electroliners	CERA	1963	S	G	$25.00	B-107	1st printing; spiral bound
UBE146	From Bullets to BART	CERA	1988	H	F	$10.00	B-127	Sleeve torn, otherwise OK
UBE147	Illinois Traction System	CERA	1954	S	G	$35.00	B-98	Spiral bound
UBE148	The Smaller Electric Railways of Illinois	CERA	1955	S	G	$35.00	B-99	Spiral bound
UBE149	Electric Railways of Iowa	CERA	1956	S	G	$35.00	B-100	Spiral bound
UBE150	Indiana Railroad	CERA	1973	S	G	$15.00	B-91	Reprint
UBE151	The North Shore Line- 30 Years Later	CERA	1985	S	G	$15.00
UBE152	Gary Railways	CERA	1975	S	G	$15.00	B-84	Reprint
UBE153	CERA Bulletins 1-19	CERA	1976	S	G	$15.00		Reprint
UBE154	The Red Arrow	HP	1985	H	G	$35.00		By DeGraw
UBE155	Trolleys of Johnstown, Cambria & Somerset Counties (PA)	BRTP	1991	S	EX	$20.00		By Rohrbeck; smaller format, spiral bound
UBE156	North Shore- America’s Fastest Interurban	GW	1964	H	F	$10.00		A few pages are loose; otherwise OK
UBE157	Ride the Red Devils Along Nostalgic Ohio Trolley Trails	TH	1971	S	F	$15.00		By Christiansen; small stain on cover
UBE158	North Shore Line Memories	DB	1980	H	EX	$25.00		By Campbell

We also have a number of original Electric Railway Historical Society bulletins available:

Stock #	Description	Cond.	Price
ERHS1	Lightweight Interurban Cars (1952)	EX	$23.00
ERHS4	Brill Magazine, May 1927 (1952)	G	$18.00
ERHS6	The Northern Indiana Railways by George K. Bradley (1953)	P	$10.00
ERHS8	The Hammond Whiting and East Chicago Ry. by James J. Buckley (1953)	EX	$23.00
ERHS13	Car Plans of the Chicago Railways Company 1911 (1954)	EX	$23.00
ERHS15	Brill Magazine, December 1914 (1954)	EX	$23.00
ERHS18	Cars of the St. Louis Car Company 1927 (1955)	EX	$23.00
ERHS19	The Biddeford and Saco Railroad by O. R. Cummings (1956)	EX	$23.00
ERHS21	Cars of the Rockford and Interurban Railway (1956)	EX	$23.00
ERHS24	Baldwin Westinghouse Electric Locomotives 1925 (1957)	EX	$23.00
ERHS26	Brill Magazine, April 1924 (1957)	EX	$23.00
ERHS27	Electric Railway Journal 1912 Convention Issue (1957)	G	$18.00
ERHS28	The Evanston Railway Co. by James J. Buckley (1958)	G	$18.00
ERHS30	Niles Cars 1914 (1958)	G	$18.00
ERHS31	Thomas Built Cars (1959)	EX	$23.00
ERHS33	Modern Lightweight Cars (1959)	EX	$23.00
ERHS34	Brill Magazine, September 1911 (1959)	EX	$23.00
ERHS35	The Manchester Street Railway by O. R. Cummings (1960)	F	$13.00
ERHS36	The Safety Car (1960)	G	$18.00
ERHS37	Brill Magazine, January 1917 (1961)	EX	$23.00
ERHS38	Car Plans of the Chicago Surface Lines (1962)	EX	$23.00
ERHS39	Railway Equipments and Locomotives in the Far West (1962)	EX	$23.00
ERHS42	The Toledo, Port Clinton and Lakeside Railway by George W. Hilton (1964)	G	$18.00
ERHS43	Brill Magazine, October 1912 (1964)	EX	$23.00
ERHS47	Light-Weight Cars (1965)	EX	$23.00
ERHS48	The Lee County Central Electric Railway by Philip L. Keister (1967)	G	$18.00