The Electroliners are a pair of streamlined interurban trainsets built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1941. Initially numbered 801–802 and 803–804, they were operated by the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad from 1941 to 1963, followed by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (later SEPTA ) from 1964 to 1978. Since their retirement, both trainsets have been preserved in railway museums .
22-400: Each set consists of two end coaches and two center coaches. The coaches are articulated using Jacobs bogies . Each end coach is divided at the side doors into a Luxury Coach, which seats 30, and a Smoking Coach, which seats 10 and also has a restroom . Each door has steps and a trap door to permit boarding from street level, low-level and high-level platforms . One center coach seats 40, and
44-507: A large tugboat, with between seven and nine crew members. The typical American ATB operating on the east coast, per custom, displays navigational lights of a towing vessel pushing ahead, as described in the '72 COLREGS. Rockhill Trolley Museum The Rockhill Trolley Museum is a museum and heritage railway in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania that collects and restores trolley, interurban , and transit cars. Founded in 1960,
66-593: A reduction in pay. The sets were designed by the St Louis Car Company and North Shore's engineering staff. When they arrived in 1941, they were well received by the public. The nation's economy was beginning to improve; earnings increased, older equipment was refurbished for appearance and comfort, and the North Shore changed from a typical mid-western interurban to a high-speed regional commuter railroad, running at high speed between two major cities. In
88-930: A rigid and strong method as to be certified as such by authorities (classification societies) such as the American Bureau of Shipping , Lloyd's Register of Shipping , Indian Register of Shipping , Det Norske Veritas or several others. These units stay combined under virtually any sea conditions and the "tugs" usually have poor sea-keeping designs for navigation without their "barges" attached. Vessels in this category are legally considered to be ships rather than tugboats and barges must be staffed accordingly. These vessels must show navigation lights compliant with those required of ships rather than those required of tugboats and vessels under tow. "Articulated Tug and Barge" (ATB) units also utilize mechanical means to connect to their barges. ATBs generally utilize Intercon and Bludworth connecting systems. ATBs are generally staffed as
110-581: A semitrailer) [6] [a] is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. Many train cars are made with articulated connections, sharing a common truck between two cars. This reduces costs, weight, vibration and noise; and also enables higher speed running. One of the first examples of articulated railway carriages were used by the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) in Great Britain on its London Suburban Trains in
132-717: A single track when making a turn in a soft surface like mud or sand. (the rear wheels follow the front wheel trajectory) The most common models of articulated haulers are Caterpillar , Volvo , and Terex trucks ranging in tonnage from 25 to 40 ton . Some military vehicles, including the United States Armed Forces ' M561 Gama Goat and the Swedish Bandvagn 206 were engineered with an articulated body for rough terrain capability. The "integral unit", or "Integrated Tug and Barge" (ITB), comprises specially designed vessels that lock together in such
154-663: Is currently being restored to its early 1960s operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum (IRM) in Union, Illinois and is operational as of 2023. Current efforts are now focused on restoring the interior. Updates on the restoration can be found on the liners Facebook page "Campaign For The Electroliner" 803-804 is preserved at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Orbisonia, Pennsylvania . It
176-523: Is not necessarily considered articulated. Buses are articulated to allow for a much longer bus that can still navigate within the turning radius of a normal bus. Most buses have one articulation, but some have two . In the UK, tractor unit and trailer combinations are referred to as articulated lorries , or "artics". A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, [1] (or semi, [2] eighteen-wheeler, [3] big rig, [4] tractor-trailer [5] or, by synecdoche,
198-646: Is open from May through October and for special holiday events. For the latter—including Easter, Pumpkin Festival in October, and Christmas in Coal Country—the museum partners with the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company , which is across the street. While the two organizations are not formally affiliated and do not cross-honor tickets, the railroad sells tickets for the combined events with
220-552: Is operational, but has not been subject to major restoration efforts. Model railroad company Con-Cor initially planned on releasing an HO scale Electroliner train set in 2003/2004, but cancelled the project due to lack of interest, and produced a Pioneer Zephyr set instead. In 2007, the company announced that the project was being resumed; its model was released in mid-2009. The trainset has been produced in brass in HO Scale by several companies. MTH Electric Trains announced
242-565: The 1950s. Articulated trams, were invented and first used by the Boston Elevated Railway in 1912–13. This was instead of using trailers or multiple units, which had been attempted in the early 1900s. The articulated design allows passengers (and fare inspectors) to move the entire length of the vehicle, whether stopped or in motion. Front loaders , graders , dump trucks and other vehicles have been made with articulated joints to greatly reduce their turning radius and make
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#1732798582668264-622: The 1960s, competition from freeways eroded ridership, income dropped, maintenance and operating costs climbed, and the line was abandoned in January 1963. After the North Shore ceased operations, the sets were sold to the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, known as the Red Arrow Lines , and renamed Liberty Liners . The trolley poles and steps were removed, new doors were added in
286-536: The center coach sections, and updated third-rail contact shoes were installed to operate on the Norristown High Speed Line , which uses third rail and high-level platforms between Upper Darby and Norristown . The tavern-lounges continued in service, providing coffee and pastry in the morning, and beverages and snacks in the evening. 801-802 was named "Valley Forge", while 803-804 became "Independence Hall". They were retired in 1978. 801-802
308-577: The downtown Milwaukee Terminal. The sets' styling resembled that of the Pioneer Zephyr and influenced the styling of other electric trainsets, notably the Odakyū 3000 series SE Romance Cars . The articulated truck/bogie design allowed very smooth running with none of the horizontal movement characteristic of non-articulated equipment. Although they were streamlined, the sets were not permitted to run faster than conventional North Shore equipment. From
330-514: The driving wheels could pivot around corners. In a broader sense, any vehicle towing a trailer (including a semi-trailer ) could be described as articulated (which comes from the Latin word articulus , "small joint"). In the UK, an articulated lorry is the combination of a tractor and a trailer, abbreviated to "artic". In the US, it is called a semi-trailer truck , tractor-trailer or semi-truck and
352-437: The front passenger seat adjacent to the motorman's half cab, if the door was propped open, a passenger could see the speedometer pegged at 90 mph on the long stretch between Dempster Street and North Chicago Junction. When the sets were received in 1941, during one test run the traction motors were allowed full field shunt to determine absolute maximum speed. It reached just over 110 mph (180 km/h) , but at that speed
374-502: The mid-1920s; this rolling stock was designed by Nigel Gresley and built at the LNER's Doncaster Works . The four set "Quad-arts" were one of the very earliest articulated trains, this innovation was to save space. Although not the same as modern high speed trains where all the carriages share common bogies , they are an early form of the now more common design. Trams and light rail vehicles have been made with articulated designs since
396-857: The museum operates what has been historically referred to as the Shade Gap Electric Railway to demonstrate the operable pieces in its collection. "Shade Gap" refers to the name of a branch of the East Broad Top Railroad , from whom the museum leases its property. The first car acquired by the museum in 1960 is Johnstown Traction #311. Recent acquisitions include Public Service Coordinated Transport (later New Jersey Transit), Newark, NJ Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) Car #6 and Iowa Terminal Railroad Snow Sweeper #3. The museum formerly operated under its corporate name, Railways to Yesterday . It changed to its current name to acknowledge and enhance its relationship with, and provide mutual promotional support to, its hometown. The museum
418-640: The nearby Milwaukee Road. All of its operating equipment had been constructed in the 1920s and exhibited wear. But it offered convenient stops around the Loop on the Chicago 'L', to which it ran from the Chicago-Evanston city boundary. The North Shore's unionized work force was concerned about job losses if the line closed, so when company management approached them with a proposal to purchase new streamliners to invigorate passenger service, employees agreed to
440-531: The other is a Tavern Lounge that seats 26. All cars are air-conditioned , a first among new traction ( interurban and trolley ) equipment of the time. The sets were designed to operate with the high platforms, sharp curves, and narrow clearances of the Chicago Loop and the Chicago 'L' , to run at speeds of 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) or more on the North Shore's main line, and to use city streets to
462-475: The release of an O scale Electroliner in 2007; both Electroliner and Liberty Liner versions were released in 2010. Articulated vehicle An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint , allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses , trams and trains . Steam locomotives were sometimes articulated so
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#1732798582668484-472: The train reached highway crossings before the crossing gates fully closed, a dangerous situation. Thereafter, the sets were limited to 90 mph (140 km/h). The North Shore was struggling financially in 1940 and was on the edge of bankruptcy. The effects of the Great Depression were still being felt, plus it had almost side-by-side competition from the Chicago and North Western Railroad and
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