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In addition to the constant upkeep of our historic trains, track, overhead wire, and buildings, volunteers also spend hundreds of hours each year working to restore our historic railcars to a realistic and safe operating condition, allowing future generations to experience rail history! Since 2020, our dedicated volunteers have completed the restorations of three historic electric railcars!
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Current Projects
Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee #162
162 was built in 1915 by the famed J.G. Brill Car Company for the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railway. The C&ME would become the famed Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee (the "North Shore Line") only a year later. Car 162 is a 48-seat coach car used by the North Shore Line until only weeks before it's final runs on January 21, 1963. Car 162 can seat 48 people and would regularly travel at speeds of over 80 miles per hour between Chicago and Milwaukee. 162 is the oldest surviving NSL passenger car and one of only four surviving C&ME cars.
162 was built in 1915 by the famed J.G. Brill Car Company for the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railway. The C&ME would become the famed Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee (the "North Shore Line") only a year later. Car 162 is a 48-seat coach car used by the North Shore Line until only weeks before it's final runs on January 21, 1963. Car 162 can seat 48 people and would regularly travel at speeds of over 80 miles per hour between Chicago and Milwaukee. 162 is the oldest surviving NSL passenger car and one of only four surviving C&ME cars.
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Car 162 will require body, roof, and interior work along with rebuilt electrical and brake systems. The restoration of Car 162 is currently our main restoration project. Restoration of the car will provide the museum with a second operational NSL passenger car, and when paired with Car 761, will provide the museum with a two-car NSL train, the first to operate in Wisconsin since the 1980s! The two-car train will also allow both cars to be operated more often and possibly during special events like Bunny, Trick or Treat, and Christmas trains as backup power as our cars continue to age.
To learn more about 162: click here. |
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Chicago South Shore and South Bend #107
Car 107 was built in 1926 for the Pullman Car and Manufacturing Company for the newly-formed Chicago South Shore and South Bend (the "South Shore Line") Railroad. Car 107 is a combination (or "combine") car; a passenger car which has areas for both passengers and freight. Combine cars were once a common sight on interurbans across America, including the South Shore Line. Increased ridership due to gas and rubber restrictions during WWII caused the South Shore Line to lengthen and modernize all of its combines and some of its coaches. Car 107 operated until 1983, when it was retired and acquired by the National Park Service, who donated the car to the East Troy Railroad Museum in 2010.
Car 107 was built in 1926 for the Pullman Car and Manufacturing Company for the newly-formed Chicago South Shore and South Bend (the "South Shore Line") Railroad. Car 107 is a combination (or "combine") car; a passenger car which has areas for both passengers and freight. Combine cars were once a common sight on interurbans across America, including the South Shore Line. Increased ridership due to gas and rubber restrictions during WWII caused the South Shore Line to lengthen and modernize all of its combines and some of its coaches. Car 107 operated until 1983, when it was retired and acquired by the National Park Service, who donated the car to the East Troy Railroad Museum in 2010.
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The interior of this car has been stripped and the seats removed to prepare this car to become a reserve Dining Car for our Dinner Trains. It will also be equipped as a mobile classroom, where we can accommodate STEM classes, field trips and charters needing audio-visual capacities. Car 107 will also receive trolley poles and new air compressors due to differences between the South Shore and the East Troy railroad's power sources.
While CNS&M Car 162 (above) is our main priority, restoration experts will continue to make steady progress on Car 107. |
Recently Completed Projects
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Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee #228
The East Troy Railroad Museum acquired Car 228 from The Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society in 1988. At that time volunteers did preliminary work to restore the car, but did not complete the work. Starting in early 2022, restoration work began again and the car left the maintenance facility under its own power for the first time in over 50 years in April 2024. The car looks practically new and is a showcase of both midwestern interurban and museum history. |
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) #4439
This car was acquired from the Toledo, Lake Erie & Western Railway and Museum in 2020. The car has been completely restored, inside and out, and was painted to match the final color scheme worn by this car when it was retired from service in November of 1973. Photographic evidence suggests that this car ran on the last day of operation for these cars, which were built in 1924. This car was dedicated on August 13, 2022. |
Older Restoration Projects:
You can read about several other restoration projects completed over the last 8 years buy clicking on the name of the car below. These articles were published in First & Fastest, the magazine of the Shore Line Interurban Society, and are used with permission. Chicago South Shore Car 9 Chicago South Shore Car 33 The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. Car D23 Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Car 761 |
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