Brief update on the LSE auction, at least in terms of local (Chicagoland) interest.
Early in August, the Illinois Rwy Museum Board of Directors authorized bidding on up to a total of eight cars from the LSE collection, with a particular emphasis on the CA&E wood and steel cars. There's a total of eight CA&E cars, but that's no indicator that they're trying for all of them. I can see giving up on two of the four CA&E 450 series St Louis cars, and trying to get 6 CA&E cars, and two cars from the rest of the collection (Another Fox River car, maybe one of the Iowa motors ?) We'll have to see.
In the meantime, IRM is the first group (at least that I'm aware of) that's actively solicting funds for the purchase. You can contact IRM directly and/or donate direct to a specific fund set up for these cars. Link here :
http://www.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=715
Every dollar helps, remember a winning bid is only the start, the museum also needs to pay for rigging (both at shipment and delivery points), permits, transportation, insurance, track space, and eventual indoor storage, restoration, upkeep, etc.
Here's hoping that at least one of the Fox River cars "comes home" to FRTM in South Elgin as well.
Winning bids will be announced on October 2nd (along with the 2016 Olympics bid which Chicago is a finalist for !)
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