Jeremy's Motor Cars
The first car I bought, way back in 1994, was an ex-NYC Fairmont M-19. It was a "project car" in rough shape. I restored it and ended up selling it to an NYC fan from Pennsylvania in 1996. It's history is unknown but it's an older car, maybe from the 40's. Here it is on the Plainwell Central Railroad.
In 1995 I bought the ex-IC Fairmont M9 show on the front page on this web site. I turned it into my main car for a decade and have ridden over a thousand miles in it. It was bought by a local enthusiast. To see more about this car, click here.
I bought an ex-NKP M-19 locally in 1997 and sold it the next year to a local enthusiast. It came with all the original NKP paperwork. Here it is in 1994 on the line between Paw Paw and Lawrence, then owned by the KLS&C (now Pioneer Rail).
This is a Fairmont S2 from the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, probably from the 40's or 50's. This is a 4-6 person car. I bought it in 1998. It's history is unknown at this point, except that it was bought from the railroad in 1978. Chances are very good that its service life was in Michigan. It was completely restored by the previous owner, who made the front and roof removable. Thus it could run as an open car when the weather was suitable. I sold it to a pair of NARCOA members from Ashland, Kentucky in early 2000.
Below is a 1986 Fairmont MT-19 from the Canadian National Railway. It was used in the Detroit River Tunnel by the signaling department until 1993, when they blew the engine and then dumped it behind Windsor Depot. A friend of mine rescued it when the site was being cleared in the summer of 1993. I bought it in 1997 and sold it to another Michigan speeder enthusiast in 2000.
In late 2003 I sold the Fairmont MR19 to a friend in Michigan. The "R" means that the car has the capability to travel in reverse without stopping the engine and then cranking it in the opposite direction. Not many were made and few survive today. It's a 1955 DT&I car. For a better look at the reversing setup, click here.
In March 2000 I bought a partly restored car. It was a 1957 M19-F from the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE). It can be seen below after a full restoration. Click here for the story of the restoration. In October 2005 I sold it to a railroad buff from Iowa who has 1/2 mile of track in his own back yard!
In May 2000 I picked up an ex-DSS&A Line M19. It had spent the last 30 years tucked away in a barn. Click here to see an article on this car. It was definitely a project car. Click here for the restoration story. To see a DSS&A timetable click here.
I couldn't let 2001 slip away without buying a car, could I? Shown below is an ex-Grand Trunk M19 with Fairmont steel cab from the 1940's. It had been stored in a barn for the last 20 years, was complete and in fairly good shape. Since the previous owner never rode on it, part of the deal was that I let him ride with me at least once. I narrowed it and made into an open car. Click here to see what it turned into. In January 2006 I sold it to another Michigan motor car enthusiast.
In 2004 I had a tip about an M-9 up at Lowell. I went up and bought it. It has the standard C&O cab. It came with the build sheet, showing it to be a 1949 car delivered to the Pere Marquette District of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway at Saginaw, Michigan. See more pics of this car by clicking here. I sold it to a big C&O fan from Indiana in Spring 2006.
And last, but definitely not least, in 1999 I bought an open M9-C from a friend in Marquette, Michigan. It appears to have started life on the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad in 1942. When that railroad closed, it made it's way to Upper Michigan, working on the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad and the Marquette and Huron Mountain Railroad. It runs off a dry battery - no generator or alternator. To see the Fairmont build sheet, click here. To see a Fairmont sales brochure for this model, click here. To see a North Shore timetable click here and for an LS&I timetable click here. I sold this in late 2008 to a very good friend. I have ridden 3958 miles on the rails between 1994 and 2008.
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Last Edited 28 January, 2018