Prototype News

The Rockhill Trolley Museum has nearly completed the restoration of an Aurora, Elgin & Chicago interurban car built in 1909 by the Kuhlman Car Company. Among the finishing touches is hand-crafted gold-leaf lettering.

Car 315 has been at the museum since 1963, when it was purchased from the Aurora, Elgin & Chicago for $500. The car was made operable in 1967 and was used on special occasions from then until 2001, when it was taken out of service because of a deteriorating platform. Initially, the plan was to rebuild just the platform, but it eventually turned into a 25-year total rebuild (although not all at once).

Among the finishing touches is gold-leaf lettering and numbering. 

The museum has contracted with a local artist, “Hot Rod Jen” from Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, to apply the gold-leaf lettering and numbering. The Rockhill Trolley Museum was the first railroad museum to hire Jen, and she has since gone on to do work for the Strasburg, McHugh Locomotive & Equipment, Fox River Trolley Museum and others.

Volunteers are also working on reupholstering the seats inside, installing upper clerestory windows and interior trim.

—Justin Franz 

The post Restoration of Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Car Nears Completion appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

The McCloud Railway, one of California’s most famous short lines that has been closed for 16 years, is reopening. On August 4, the short line announced that it would soon resume operations, and sources close to the effort tell Railfan & Railroad that they hope to begin offering rail bike rides later this year and diesel-powered excursions in 2027.

The railroad was founded by the McCloud River Lumber Company in 1897 as the McCloud River Railroad Company. The railroad’s primary purpose was to move logs and connect the company’s sawmill near Mt. Shasta with the Southern Pacific. Eventually, the railroad operated a 130-mile route through the woods of Northern California. The railroad was owned by a number of companies before being sold to Jeff Forbis’ 4-Rails, Inc., which renamed it the McCloud Railway. In the 1990s, the railroad began offering excursions, including behind steam. Freight traffic continued to decline, and by the 2000s, it had become a struggling excursion railroad. In early 2010, McCloud ceased operations, and the following year it was purchased by Mike Williams Group. Little has happened on the railroad since. 

Recently, Williams was joined by a new business partner who wanted to revive the line, which today includes about 15 miles of main line between McCloud and Mt. Shasta. This year, workers have been slowly clearing the right-of-way of trees and brush. They have also been working on two McCloud SD38 locomotives and some ex-VIA Rail equipment that will be used on future excursions. The rail bike tours, operating under the name Shasta Railbike Experience, are expected to start even sooner out of McCloud. 

The railroad plans to host a volunteer weekend on September 25-27. Among the projects to be tackled are clearing the right-of-way, replacing ties, repairing buildings, prepping locomotives and cars, and getting three recently reacquired speeders up and running. For more information, visit McCloud Railway Company on Facebook. 

—Justin Franz 

The post McCloud Railway On Track For Revival appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.