Ex-IC Fairmont M9
As already mentioned, this is a Fairmont M9-G, originally built in July 1958 and delivered to the Illinois Central Railroad at Waterloo, Iowa.It ended its railroad service in 1989 and was purchased from the ICRR at Genoa, Illinois for $100. I bought it in 1995.
Fairmont has a build sheet collection that goes back into the 1910's. To see the official Fairmont build sheet for this car, click here.
When this car was in railroad service, the operator would be expected to carry a rule book and a timetable, maybe other documents too. Thanks to ebay I've obtained the following documents:
This is a rulebook specifically for motor car operators. The larger railroads has separate rulebooks for track cars, the smaller ones might include such rules in one safety rule book for all employees. This one is effective February 1, 1956. If an operator didn't follow these rules to the letter, he was out of a job very quickly. | |
At the end of this car's railroad life, it was stationed at Genoa, Illinois, which was part of the Iowa division of the Illinois Central. Here's a timetable for that division, effective December 27, 1981. There were 3 daily freights timetabled through Genoa in each direction. | |
Here's a copy of the Rules of the Operating Department from 1970. It doesn't cover motor car operations but it is 194 pages of interesting reading. You can buy stuff like this on ebay for 5 or 10 dollars. | |
This one's an interesting book - an interpretation and explanation of the operating rules. For many of the rules, there are questions and answers. This one is 288 pages, issued in July 1977 and applying to the 1974 rulebook. | |
This one's interesting too - a list of all stations on the IC, plus junction points and railroad ID codes. It has an excellent fold-out map of the whole IC system. | |
And finally, I found this 1981 Condensed Profile of the Iowa Division. 245 pages of track charts. Wow! |
Last Edited 28 January, 2018