Historic South Shore Railroad Car Ready-to-Roll

Date: July 15, 2016

INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE:The National Park Service and East Troy Railroad Museum, in East Troy, Wisconsin, have announced that historic South Shore Railroad Car #33 has been fully restored and its official introduction to the museum’s rolling stock will be on Saturday, July 16, during the museum’s annual “Chicago Day” event.

Car #33 is one of 19 historic South Shore Railroad Cars which had been conveyed to the National Park Service in 1984 after they had been decommissioned by the Chicago, South Shore, & South Bend Railroad. Since 1984 the National Park Service worked with numerous organizations in an effort to preserve the historic cars, and finally succeeded in securing their preservation in 2010 by transferring them to seven railroad museums which specialize in telling the stories of our nation’s transportation history.

East Troy Railroad Museum was chosen as the recipient of eight of the 19 historic cars, because they demonstrated the ability to preserve, maintain, and operate the cars through a large contingent of dedicated volunteers.

Six restored historic South Shore Railroad Cars will be in operation during the museum’s annual “Chicago Day” onSaturday, July 16. This year will also be the first joint Interpretative program hosted by the museum and the National Park Service.

The historic South Shore Railroad Cars will depart the museum hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT. National Park Service Rangers will be at the museum, and volunteers will ride in each car, to answer questions about the National Park Service, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and the history of the South Shore Railroad.

East Troy Electric Railroad operates on 7.5 miles of electric rail line that has been in continuous operation for over 100 years. The museum has been in operation since 1972.It is the only museum in the country that regularly operates historic South Shore Railroad Cars on an electric interurban line. Their operating season extends from May through October with special holiday events in December. To learn more about the museum go to: easttroyrr.org

www.nps.gov/indu