Nostalgia & History > CRI&P office car ID needed

Here’s a scene I didn’t get to see in the final years of the ‘Mighty Fine Line’. I don’t recall ever seeing a Rock Island business car out on line. In 1972 Bill Gibson found 2 such cars in Armourdale Yard in Kansas City, KS. I put this slide under glass and near as I can make out the car number on the right is #106. If anyone can correct me on this, please do. Also: did this car ever have a name? Enquiring minds would like to know…

1. CRI&P 106(?) sits in Armourdale, KS on January 22, 1972.
(photo by William A. [Bill] Gibson Sr.)

TIA for the help!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Art Gibson (wag216)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/22 00:21 by santafe199.

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Car on the right is Rock Island 101, which is an ex CN&W sleeper Imperial Mark 4-4-2, which was rebuilt by Autoliner in 1971 or so. Car on the left looks to be Rock Island Choctaw 99 ,which was sold not long after the Rock Island acquired the 101.

mopacrr Wrote: > Car on the right is Rock Island 101...

Thanks Tony. I will adjust my notes. I was a little bit surprised Bill didn't shoot the other car. Maybe he didn't like the shooting angle, or maybe he already had an earlier shot somewhere. Maybe he just didn't want to step across the tracks.

Lance

Talk about a high visibility rear end! That step box is different.

Awesome picture! If you find any of #99, please post them as well. I posted this picture to the "Fans to the Rock Island" Facebook page with credit.

Brian Ehni

What became of these cars?

The reason that dad did not shoot the 99, was because he shot the other car MANY times in better places. Lets get more slides out of my basement. \wag216

If I recall correctly, 99 became GNW&B (Going Nowhere & Back) "Gritty Palace", and is still on the rails. Not sure about 101.

Brian Ehni

Was the 101 named Lake Michigan? I am remembering some office car with full fluting and the name Lake Michigan. Maybe it was the 100.

twin_star_rocket Wrote: > ... Not sure about 101.

Which car became MRL's "Silver Cloud"? I was thinking it was the 101, but now I'm not so sure. In my early MRL days I remember sneaking into the storage building in Missoula and looking at the newly acquired car. I think I was working some switch engine so didn't have my camera with me. When I saw the Silver Cloud later as a finished product I couldn't believe the difference!

Lance

Silver Cloud was converted from a stainless coach. The car in the photo was converted from an imperial series sleeper. Sold off to Mexico in the late 1980's if I recall correctly.

Posted from Android

Clarification:
This car is #100, NOT 101. 101 was the "Lake Michigan", which became the MRL "Silver Cloud".

Brian Ehni

twin_star_rocket Wrote: > Clarification: This car is #100, NOT 101...

I dug Bill's slide back out for another look under glass. I have to agree the 3rd number is not a '1'. What I first thought was a '6' could easily be a zero with a bit of a smudge on it.

My mistake,RI 100 not 101 as I stated,although in checking Dave Randall's Railway Passenger Car Annual IV shows the 100 to be ex C&NW Imperial Ranch not Imperial Mark as I thought.

What are the cars hooked up to in the foreground? Air doesn't make much sense for single cars, and I would have expected steam lines to be insulated.

Evan_Werkema Wrote: > What are the cars hooked up to in the foreground?

I noticed that while I was scanning. The connections have the appearance of being attached directly to the train line. But the angle cock is closed on the left hand car. So I'm guessing it's some way of providing water to both cars...

One of my favorite authors, Arthur C. Clarke [now deceased] once said: "The truth, as always will be far stranger"

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
<<What are the cars hooked up to in the foreground? Air doesn't make much sense for single cars>>

Stand-by air lines to keep the auxiliary air for the toilets and sinks running while occupied and parked.

And yes, the 101 became MRL 101 Silver Cloud.
Dave in Missoula

twin_star_rocket Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If I recall correctly, 99 became GNW&B (Going
> Nowhere & Back) "Gritty Palace", and is still on
> the rails. Not sure about 101.
>
> Brian Ehni


According to J.M. LaBoda's Passenger Car Photo Index,
the CRIP 98 became the "Gritty Palace", and the 99
ended up going to the IANR in 2008.

Rock Island 99 - Choctaw - was sold to Hugh Patterson, publisher of the Arkansas Gazette, and was moved to Little Rock where it resided for a number of years on the business car track near the Choctaw station (the latter also purchased by the Gazette from the Rock Island.) Later it went through a number of owners and now resides in Manly, IA as others have noted.

Both cars are hooked up to house steam.