1948 Rail Ramble

[Tom Kepshire]

I am working on something for The Hoosier Line on the May 16, 1948 excursion, otherwise known as the Northern Indiana Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Railfan Rail Ramble. It was a trip between Michigan City and Lafayette and back. I am loking for photos. Our Photo Archivist, Ron Marquardt is looking, but if anyone has any I'd like to get copies. I know that RS2 #22 was the motive power for that excursion. I have some of another railfan or employee trip with #25. I hope somebody has some.

[Tom Kepshire]

I need to locate anyone who may have been in attendance May 1948 for the Northern Indiana Chapter The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's trip from Michigan City to Lafayette.  Can anyone help, or have information on the trip?

[Tim T Swan]

I also would like photos or any information at all of an excursion I was on about 1950.  A Boy Scout trip on the MONON from Chicago to Shops and return, including a tour of the Lafayette facilities.  I still have several souvenirs from that trip, but no other evidence that the trip even actually happened!  If I get something to use, I too will write a THL article about it.

[George Lortz]

Tom,

Not sure if this is what you want, but here are four photos of special trips out of Monon, IN.

Monon_22-01 - Monon, IN; 1951; greg_sells_cool_stuff collection
Monon_25-01 - Monon, IN; 5/16/48; Wilfred Nickel photo; HVRM collection; Rail fan trip
Monon_25-02 - Monon, IN; 5/16/48; echocanyonranch collection
Monon_25-03 - Monon, IN; 5/16/48; V. B. Adams photo; railroadtreasures collection; CSS&SB trip

George L.

[Tom Kepshire]

George

I have all of those photos too. I also have a photo, taken by Harry Zillmer of a special train at Lafayette. I believe this is the train. RS2 #22 in the Zillmer photo wears the as delivered original black and yellow scheme. This came on property in March 1947. The Rail Ramble was May of 1948. Also, the consist in the Zillmer photo matches an eyewitness description I have in my research of the event. The RS in George's photos has #22 in black and gold. That is why I hope to find someone who was part of, or remembers this trip. In the Hilton book there is a shot of JWB III next to the open gon that was used on the excursion.

[Tom Kepshire]

Tim

What motive power was on the Boy Scout excursion? F unit or RS?

[Tim T Swan]

Don't exactly remember, Tom.  Likely F's though, since it was a long train, or at least seemed so.  I do remember disappointment on not getting a seat in one of the few r-w-g cars instead of the dingy old green cars.  My Cub Scout Pack boarded at Hammond, and all the "good" seats were already occupied by Scouts out of Chicago.  At Shops, we were each given one of those white MONON engineer caps plus some other stuff, including some "O" scale decals, some of which I still have.  It was probably on a Saturday or Sunday of course.

[Tim T Swan]

The four great photos posted by George (Thanks, George!) don't appear to all be of the same excursion.  In the first photo (with the switch stand in the foreground) the train is at Monon and headed out on the Indy branch.  But in the second and third (with the Monon water tank in the background) the train is coming off the Michigan CIty branch, headed toward Lafayette/Louisville.  The last (with the caboose) is not at Monon (a wood depot is visible down the track).

[Mike Albert]

I think the last one is Monon.   The building on the right in the distance is the limestone block building which sat north of the diamond on the east side of the MC Branch main.  I think the track the caboose is spotted was called the Hog Chute.

[Tim T Swan]

Maybe you're right, Bill.  Looking at a close-up photo of that old block building (attached), the end window and the stack do appear to match. And in the left background is the silhouette of what could well be the hotel.  I'm maybe 80-90% convinced.  Good sleuthing.

[George Lortz]

The captions that I listed for the four photos are the only information I have about the su[not allowed]ect of the photos and they were gathered over many years of my collecting photos from Internet sources.  The 5/16/48 date on the three Monon #25 photos were all listed completely independently of each other.  This leads me to accept the fact it was the same railfan event.

George L.

[Tom Kepshire]

Here is the photo that Ron Marquardt and I believe is of the May 16, 1948 Excursion. According to an eyewitness the consist included: RS2 #22, Business Car, dinner-buffet, six coaches including one reclining chair job from the Santa Fe and an open air gondola on the rear end with a gate leading into the rear coach.

[Eric Reinert]

In what paint scheme is the (business?) car behind the engine in?

[Tom Kepshire]

I believe that is the red/ gray scheme.

[Eric Reinert]

If it's Red/Grey it must the inverse of what they settled on as a final scheme. I realize it's a Black & White photo, but the window section is a lighter color than the areas above and below. It definitely looks much different than a B&W photo of the standard Red and Grey cars to me.

Eric Reinert