Lake Shore Electric 810



Facts and Figures


Current Number810
Railway RepresentedLake Shore Electric
BuilderG.C. Kuhlman Car Company
Built In1924
Builder's order id899
Currently in (State)Illinois
--(Locality)Union
Totally out of svc date1938
(Initial retirement date)
Car Typefreight trailer
-subtypeinterurban trailer
-designation
Statusoperated occasionally
More infohttp://www.irm.org/player/lse810
Gauge4'8.5"
Constructionwood
Roof typeAR
EndedDE
Length50'4"
Width8'10"
Height12'9"
Weight39000
#Seatsn/a
#Wheels/Conf.8
Total HP0
TrucksArch Bar
BrakesHC1012
Compressor
Control
Motors
Voltage (if not 600DC)

Car 810 in operation at IRM in 2023
Flickr
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/76677346@N04/53047950690/

Car 810 during switching at IRM in 2016
Illinois Railway Museum
photo: https://www.irm.org/gallery/LSE810/aae
Car History by Frank Hicks


Lake Shore Electric 810
The vast Indiana-Ohio interurban network was built to carry passengers, and most of the lines in the Midwest lived and died on the strength of their passenger service. However, by the 1920's, it was obvious to some of the stronger lines that financial salvation lay in carrying freight. Most interurbans owned specially-built interurban freight cars designed to take the sharp curves of street running, and hundreds of interurban freight trailers plied the interurban lines that survived into the 1920's and 1930's. LSE 810 was built as a typical interurban freight trailer and, though its construction predated the Central Electric Railway Association's standardized design, it closely resembled a CERA standard center-door freight trailer. When Michigan Electric went bankrupt in 1929 the LSE, which was then expanding its freight business, bought several ME freight trailers. Car 810, which was in the ME 1600-series, was one of them, and it ran on the LSE until that system was abandoned in 1938. Its body then became a hog shed until rescued by IRM in 1984. One of very few interurban freight trailers preserved, it is undergoing restoration to operational condition.

Ownership History


OwnerCar NumFromToPreservation?Loan?
Michigan Electric 16301924 1929 NO NO
Lake Shore Electric (Ohio, Sandusky)8101929 1938 NO NO
Illinois Railway Museum (Illinois, Union)8101984 present YES NO