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What is the story with 7603? Shown as "destroyed 08/07/2008". This is almost 10 years after the other 1955 cars in 1998-99. Was it being held for some reason? Other cars shown as "destroyed" usually have the actual date of the wreck shown, not scrapping date, which for instance in the case of 7488 was over a decade after the wreck at 47th. 

Also, any ideas what claimed cars 745 and 7103? Both shown as destroyed on BNSF, but no date.

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3 hours ago, andrethebusman said:

9/17 update:

7847 retired (last used on North Central)

7867,  7871, 7881 being stripped for parts (never in service?) (listed at Kensington)

7798, 7843 being stripped for parts (listed at UP-California Av)

I first saw 7867 in service on 9/27/17 on UP-NW. The other ones being stripped I have not seen.

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13 hours ago, andrethebusman said:

9/17 update:

7847 retired (last used on North Central)

7867,  7871, 7881 being stripped for parts (never in service?) (listed at Kensington)

7798, 7843 being stripped for parts (listed at UP-California Av)

someone posted that those cas would be back in service

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another new development - apparently Metra has decided to put the MP36 paint scheme on the handful of Pullmans that were in full VRE paint...

??

(PHOTO - William D. Robinson/Flickr)

Per a post in a Metra-related Facebook group, this is car 7664 (one of the 7 in the final group back from VRE).  First of the 1956 cars back in service.  No idea which territory it will be assigned to yet.

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6 hours ago, Eric95 said:

Another new development - apparently Metra has decided to put the MP36 paint scheme on the handful of Pullmans that were in full VRE paint...

??

(PHOTO - William D. Robinson/Flickr)

Per a post in a Metra-related Facebook group, this is car 7664 (one of the 7 in the final group back from VRE).  First of the 1956 cars back in service.  No idea which territory it will be assigned to yet.

Me thinks the paint scheme  looks great on the locomotives, but absolutely horrendous on the railcars. 

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6 hours ago, Eric95 said:

Another new development - apparently Metra has decided to put the MP36 paint scheme on the handful of Pullmans that were in full VRE paint...

(PHOTO - William D. Robinson/Flickr)

Per a post in a Metra-related Facebook group, this is car 7664 (one of the 7 in the final group back from VRE).  First of the 1956 cars back in service.  No idea which territory it will be assigned to yet.

There's no doubt about it. It's the 6-window variant. I thought those were long gone...

Doing a little looking around, it looks like this was taken on the Chicago Air Line bridge. The original photo can be found here.

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The old red and blue paint scheme on both locomotives and railcars was simpler and made the train look more uniform, even with a mix of stainless steel and painted cars. The new colors are more detailed which makes them more difficult to apply. I can understand the change because the old colors have been around a while, so Metra is trying to improve their public image with the limited resources they have. But applying the new colors to old equipment just doesn't look right. The new scheme was designed for the MP36's, which are streamlined, so it doesn't look quite as good on the boxier F40's. Now a few railcars with the new colors are going to look very strange mixed with stainless steel cars. If they had an entire train of them it would look OK, but that won't happen anytime soon (if ever).

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10 hours ago, Pace831 said:

I can understand the change because the old colors have been around a while, so Metra is trying to improve their public image with the limited resources they have. But applying the new colors to old equipment just doesn't look right.

I agree that the car looks a bit bizarre, and  you have hit onto something here that goes back to CTA painting 1920s streetcars green and cream, for, according to Lind's book, exactly that reason. At least Pace only used wraps.

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Yeah, I can't help but feel that scheme was poorly applied in this situation and just looks really tacky.  That scheme looks good on the MP36's, marginal on the F40's (I'm not a fan), and downright ugly on the coaches.  Be that as it may, I would guess the other 6 from the same group will also get that treatment.

The only other 6-window coach we've gotten back besides that group of 7 is 7658, which, from what I've seen and heard, is sitting at M19A repainted into the regular blue/orange stripe scheme but in need of some repairs before it can go out that will likely require it be sent back to KYD.  Sounds like it's been sitting there a couple years, so it must not be particularly high on the priority list.

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  • 3 months later...
On 1/21/2018 at 2:17 PM, Eric95 said:

Another new development - apparently Metra has decided to put the MP36 paint scheme on the handful of Pullmans that were in full VRE paint...

??

(PHOTO - William D. Robinson/Flickr)

Per a post in a Metra-related Facebook group, this is car 7664 (one of the 7 in the final group back from VRE).  First of the 1956 cars back in service.  No idea which territory it will be assigned to yet.

A bit OT, but I got on a UP North train & I could still read a VRE coach number under the repaint, as V440.  I think Metra's number is 8415.

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44 minutes ago, strictures said:

A bit OT, but I got on a UP North train & I could still read a VRE coach number under the repaint, as V440.  I think Metra's number is 8415.

8415 would have been an Amerail stainless steel cab car (usual on a UP route). A Metra number on a former C&NW car would have been 87xx, if a cab car.

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19 minutes ago, Busjack said:

8415 would have been an Amerail stainless steel cab car (usual on a UP route). A Metra number on a former C&NW car would have been 87xx, if a cab car.

It wasn't a cab car, it was the second car behind the engine. I rode it on Tuesday.   It also didn't have the old flip over C&NW seats that had a metal back & upholstery on just one side, but the current seats that just flip back & forth with upholstery on both sides.

I just don't get why Metra didn't totally sand down & completely eliminate the VRE number which was at the coach end & not near the doors like Metra does it.

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21 minutes ago, strictures said:

It wasn't a cab car, it was the second car behind the engine. I rode it on Tuesday.   It also didn't have the old flip over C&NW seats that had a metal back & upholstery on just one side, but the current seats that just flip back & forth with upholstery on both sides.

I just don't get why Metra didn't totally sand down & completely eliminate the VRE number which was at the coach end & not near the doors like Metra does it.

It USED to be a cab car, but has since had its cab deactivated.  Even the ones that held on to their cabs haven't been used as such since the MK/Amerail cars were delivered in the late '90s, though I don't think the cab was actually removed until it went to VRE circa 2004.  Metra car number is 8718 - that car came back as part of a group of 6 sometime in 2014 and has been in service on the UP lines since returning.  Not sure if VRE or Metra is responsible for the seat swap.

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On 5/17/2018 at 10:21 AM, Mr Downtown said:

Sitting under Roosevelt Road at the north end of 14th Street Yard is 7661, with the paint job mostly done.  Not sure if the work was done by BNSF, or what.

IMG_0877.JPG

 This car was at KYD weeks ago i posted about it in Random Metra... thats how it looked at KYD.. they left it in the yard on a friday night and it was gone the next day. KYD did the paint job as i did see the car before it was painted a day before it was inside.

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On 5/17/2018 at 10:53 AM, Busjack said:

Metra property, so would have been done by Metra.

Wait, what property does Metra own near Roosevelt Road?  If you meant the car is Metra property, I didn't realize they never use any outside contractors or send rolling stock out for work.

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55 minutes ago, Mr Downtown said:

If you meant the car is Metra property,

Yes I meant the car. As @richii0909 pointed out, it was at KYD yard and it wasn't there to be marshaled for a run on the ME.

While usually car rehab work is done in the 47th St. shop, some is done at KYD, and you were the one who said:

On 5/17/2018 at 10:21 AM, Mr Downtown said:

Not sure if the work was done by BNSF, or what.

Yes, you weren't sure, and since BNSF doesn't own any commuter cars in the Chicago area, there is no reason for it to have a commuter car rehab shop.

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4 minutes ago, Mr Downtown said:

OK, I'll bite.  If not BNSF, then who does the maintenance work on WSMTD cars?

  1. This isn't a WSMTD car (which was my point  about the car being Metra property).
  2. From the inventory @andrethebusman posted, there no longer is WSMTD property.
  3. I don't know where BNSF and SWS maintenance are done, but Metra Milw and UP work appear to be done at the same Metra shop at Western Ave.
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