Nostalgia & History > Motor Car Monday: Rock Island for a location

A really cool piece of Rock Island history here! But I’ll need some help on the location. The original slide was taken by Mr Hol Wagner, longtime friend to the late Jim Watson. Mr Wagner lives in Denver, which might provide some help in establishing the location. I had originally thought it might be Fairbury, NE. But now I’m not so sure...

1. CRI&P motor car 9006 sits in Council Bluffs, IA* in June of 1961.
Copy slide by F Hol Wagner Jr, from the late James W. Watson collection.

Thanks for the help!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

*Location assistance courtesy of “ATSF3768”, thank you, sir! (see below):



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/24 06:37 by santafe199.

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Council Bluffs, IA. There is a different, but similar view taken from June 11 1961 

https://www.pbase.com/rocksosalla/image/126313745
 

Unbelievable!  I have never seen a motor car like that before...where on Earth could that be used?  

Thanks Drew! I do believe you've nailed the location. And your link might also have given me the exact date! With Mr Wagner being so far from Denver one could speculate that there was some kind of railfan event (Swap Meet? Train Show?) taking place. In your link June 11, 1961 was a Sunday... :^)

Lance

atsfer Wrote: > ... where on Earth could that be used?  

Well (chuckling) it would have to be Rock Island earth! Like the Santa Fe (and the UP), Rock Island had an assortment of motorcar "passenger trains" roaming their busier branch lines & secondary mains...

Lance

I found a trains magazine article on these contraptions. These were baggage cars that the Rock Island converted to locomotives. 10 of these were built, the first 2 of which were constructed at the Horton, KS. shops. Some were geared for freight service, and others for 60 mph passenger service. 9006 was used in the early 60s on branch lines in northern kansas and southern nebraska, but sister locomotives were run on other branch lines (i.e. the Dodge City-Bucklin line). The last of these were retired in 1964.  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/24 07:50 by ATSF3768.

You gotta wonder how much tonnage it can haul.

They were not limited to the Kansas/Nebraska branches.  They were used system wide.
Back in the 50's, (when I was single digit age!) my family rode behind one from Vinton, Iowa to Iowa Falls
usually once per year.  The train (as I remember) was all heavy weight baggage/RPO and coach.
zr190

I think they ran these in Missouri on the line to Kansas City too. When I worked for the DOD at Fort Leonard Wood in 1986, I ventured north and ran into that abandoned but very Scenic line with bridges and a tunnel underneath Freeburg. Mo. Research determined that they used these short things on freight. Do a search here for Freeburg under my moniker for photos.

Victor Baird

Posted from Android



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/12/24 12:03 by wabash2800.

Well that's pretty cool and bet it rode like a dream! 

wabash2800 Wrote: > ... I think they ran these in Missouri on the line to Kansas City too ...

Here's a link the 1st of a 3-part series of a kinda-sorta related motorcar operation on the Rock Island: ( WAG Wednesday: Rock Island motor car LAST Run! (pt 1) (trainorders.com) )

Lance

tomstp Wrote:
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> You gotta wonder how much tonnage it can haul.

One or two passenger cars shouldn't be a problem.

If ever a piece of railroad equipment could look like an adorable baby, this is surely it!

Tom

What kind of trucks are under that thing?   
 

Two contraption on the roof, one with three outlets and the other with four outlets. A lot of exhaust or whatever they were, please inform the TO world.

Don Allender

ATSFSuperChief Wrote:

> Two contraption on the roof, one with three outlets and the other with four outlets.

Those are exhaust manifolds.  CRI&P 9006 had two prime movers, originally two 400hp Winton model 148 distillate engines (the kind EMC used singly in a number of doodlebugs), installed when Rock Island converted mail car 5993 to a locomotive in 1929.  They dieselized the beast with two 400hp Caterpillar diesels in 1951, so what you are seeing are the diesel exhausts.  

Photos of the thing in freight service:

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?january14/01-18-14/CRI_P9006nearMercier5-12-62FrankTatnallScanColl.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54412588@N08/51192367945/