Rock Island 2529

Commuter Coach

2529 is one of three Rock Island commuter coaches owned by the Minnesota Transportation Museum. It was one of fifty built in 1925 by the Standard Steel Car Company. Numbered 2500-2549, they were known as "Capone" cars. After decades in Chicago commuter service it was acquired by MTM in 1981. It has been placed on a display track at the Jackson Street Roundhouse, where it will be a lecture and lunch area for groups visiting MTM's new museum there. Its restoration is in progress - passers-by will notice it has a fresh coat of paint but no lettering yet. The other two, 2604 and 2608, are slightly newer and have been restored to operation and are regularly used on Osceola & St. Croix Valley passenger trains.

The Rock Island Technical Society has put together a partial disposition list of Rock Island passenger cars, including many of their commuter cars.

MTM's ownership of 2529 is an accident. We had originally purchased three 2600-series cars. One was destroyed in a yard accident, so the seller substituted an older car, 2529, instead. They are generally similar, but where the 2600-series has wider double-doors into the passenger compartment, the 2500-series has a narrower single door. For that reason, and because it sustained some frame damage prior to delivery to MTM, it was never restored for operation.

Railfans may notice its trucks look rather odd. It's own trucks are under one of our 2600-series cars. The trucks it is sitting on are from a Soo Line steam locomotive's tender.

It is interesting to compare 2529's roof line with DSS&A 101 which is displayed next to it. DSS&A 101 has a "clerestory" roof which was an industry standard from the 1870's to the 1940's. The clerestory roof has a high center section with small windows that open, and lower roof sections on each side. The clerestory roof provided better illumination, improved air circulation, and allowed the lighting fixtures to be high enough the aisle so people wouldn't knock their heads. Rock Island commuter coaches like 2529 have an unusual "Harriman" roof, named for the Harriman interests which controlled the Rock Island, Southern Pacific, and other railroads during the first decades of this century. They strove for standardization of equipment, and favored a simple high-arch roof over the more complicated and structurally weaker clerestory roof.

Sources:

1. "Rock Island Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment," by Steve Hile, David H. Hickcox and Todd Miller; data p18.
2. "The American Railroad Passenger Car," by John H. White, Jr.; data p153-155.