1913 Photo

Discussion in 'General' started by SooLineLar, Feb 27, 2019.

  1. SooLineLar

    SooLineLar Member

    At an estate auction here in northern Illinois I purchased a photo which at first just appealed to me as a nice railroad picture. However after getting it home and seriously examining it, I now would like to know the story behind the picture. It is 8" X 36" framed picture of a passenger train with the photo dated in the lower right corner 2/21/13 with the signature of Wheelus, B. The frame back is well sealed so I don't want to take it apart to see if there is some written information on the back of the photo. Using a strong light nothing shows through.

    The locomotive is # 682 followed by a Frisco combine, Baggage-express #863, and then six Pullman cars each with different window configurations. Lined up, in front of the train facing the camera, are automobiles (12+) and people (200-300 hundred) all dressed in their Sunday best. In checking the date this was a weekday so that must explain why no school age children appear in the picture. On the other side of the train there is a building of which you can only see the peaked roof with a rough estimate of being 70' - 80' parallel with the tracks, possibly a station.

    Now that you have read this you can see why I'm so interested in the story behind the picture. In trying to research some information on the internet I come up with no answer what this event was. Hopefully one of you Frisco fans out there would have some knowledge and help me sleep at night.
     
  2. Karl

    Karl 2008 Engineer of the Year Frisco.org Supporter

    Given its northern Ill. lineage, I am curious to know if any of the equipment has C&EI reporting marks.

    It would be helpful to see the image.
     
    Sirfoldalot, RogerRT and frisco1522 like this.
  3. gna

    gna Member Frisco.org Supporter

    I can't find pictures of 682, but I assume it was a ten-wheeler, like 680:
    [​IMG]
     
    mountaincreekar likes this.
  4. SooLineLar

    SooLineLar Member

    In answer to "Karl", I do not see any C&EI reporting marks. Being that the photo was taken in 1913, 105 years ago, it's hard to see the markings even under high magnification. What I can see I've listed. However I need to make a few corrections to my description of the train.

    The locomotive is a 4-6-0 # 682 followed by a Frisco combine, a Frisco Baggage-express #863, and then seven Pullman cars each with different window configurations.

    And to answer "gna", I've seen a SF-SL steam roster that showed #682 was one of twenty five 4-6-0's built in 1903 (#'s 669 - 693).

    The answer to this picture I'm seeking is what is this "special train or event" on 2/21/1913? There has to be some significance to this train seeing how everybody is all slicked up in their Sunday best.



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    rjthomas909 likes this.
  5. SLSF Freak

    SLSF Freak Staff Member Staff Member Frisco.org Supporter

    It looks like one of those "First Train" pictures where the town gathers to celebrate the arrival of the first train providing service to their town. That's not an answer but a possibility - so if we can determine that a particular Frisco station started service on or around that date, then match that location to the picture (using the station roof and position of telephone pole as reference markers) we might be able to figure this out.
     
    rjthomas909 likes this.
  6. john

    john FRISCO.org Supporter

    It's probably a special excursion train. They were quite common in the distant past. I have some other (non-Frisco) photos which are similar. Events might include things like special outings, reunions, ballgames, current political events etc... A check on newspapers.com failed to turn up any specific Frisco outing on that date.
     
    Last edited: Mar 1, 2019
    rjthomas909 likes this.
  7. palallin

    palallin Member

    Not to derail the thread, but what's the story on the transfer table #680 is on?
     

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