Illinois Terminal 1575




Facts and Figures


Current Number1575
Railway RepresentedIllinois Terminal
BuilderIllinois Traction System
Built In1910
Builder's order id
Currently in (State)Missouri
--(Locality)Kirkwood
Totally out of svc date1963
(Initial retirement date)
Car Typelocomotive
-subtypeboxcab
-designationClass B
Statusdisplayed inoperable
More info
Gauge4'8.5"
Constructionsteel
Roof typeAR
EndedDE
Length34'0"
Width9'3"
Height13'0"
Weight120000
#Seatsn/a
#Wheels/Conf.8
Total HP
TrucksAlco RM63B
Brakes14EL
CompressorD4-P (2)
ControlGE M
MotorsGE 69C (4)
Voltage (if not 600DC)

Locomotive 1575 on display at NMOT in 2023
Deviant Art
photo: https://www.deviantart.com/rlkitterman/art/Illinois-Terminal-1575-DSCN4732-954360905

Locomotive 1575 on display at NMOT in 2016
Railroad Picture Archives
photo: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4549480

Car History by Frank Hicks


Illinois Terminal 1575
The country's second largest interurban network was the Illinois Traction System - the McKinley lines - that stretched across much of the state of Illinois and lasted into the late 1950's. The ITS shops in Decatur, where literally hundreds of cars were maintained and rebuilt, was perhaps best known for the large fleet of boxcab locomotives that were designed and built entirely in-house. The earliest of these homebuilt units were the Class B's, of which the ITS built 18 between 1910 and 1918. One of two Class B locomotives preserved is 1575, one of the last B's built which used a cast steel underframe. It operated in freight service across the ITS, and later Illinois Terminal, until it was sold to the St. Louis Car Company during the dieselization of the IT's freight operations in the mid-1950's. SLCC used it as a shop switcher at their North Broadway plant until 1963, when MoT acquired it; it has been on display ever since.


Ownership History


OwnerCar NumFromToPreservation?Loan?
Illinois Traction System (Missouri, St. Louis)15751910 1928 NO NO
Illinois Terminal (Missouri, St. Louis)15751928 1959 NO NO
St. Louis Car Company (Missouri, St. Louis)91959 1963 NO NO
National Museum of Transportation (Missouri, Kirkwood)15751963 present YES NO


Additional Media

[No preview available]

Walkaround tour of locomotive 1575 from 2022
YouTube
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-NqLGxuuYE