| Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad 436 at Wheaton, Illinois, date and photographer unknown, my best guess is sometime after the 1940 reconditioning, scanned from a 2¾X4½ print, Chuck Zeiler collection. Number 436 was built by Niles Car and Manufacturing Company 1906 as CA&E 305, a 52 seat coach. When the steel Pullmans arrived in 1923, it became necessary to upgrade parlor cars as the old wood equipment would not train with the new steel cars. Number 305 was retired in 1923 and rebuilt in the CA&E Shops into buffet-parlor car number 600. At that time the couplers were changed and steel plate was added to the sides, covering the original wood sheathing. At one time it had taken four buffet employees and a parlor car conductor to man the diners, but that was reduced over time. By 1929, buffet-parlor service was discontinued and the 600 and "Florence" (the other parlor-buffet car) were returned to the shops and converted to 53 seat coaches, renumbered 436 and 435 respectively, retaining (for a while) two of the original four GE66B traction motors. During 1951 those two traction motors were removed and the two former parlor cars operated as control trailers until retired in 1954. |