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STREAMLINERS OF A DIFFERENT KIND


BY STEVE “JUICED UP” BARRY/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR T


HE ROCKHILL TROLLEY MUSEUM held its annual Members’ Day on May 30, 2015, but this one had a bit of a twist. It turned into a “Red Arrow Day” of sorts, as the seldom-used “Liber- ty Liner” Independence Hall made sev- eral round trips to the delight of those in attendance at the museum located in Rockhill Furnace, Pa. Adding to the Red Arrow atmosphere was Brill Bullet car No. 205, itself a veteran of the suburban Philadelphia transit system. The dual-ended four-car Independence


Hall first entered service for the Chica- go, Milwaukee & North Shore in 1941 as “Electroliner” Nos. 803-804. Designed


for fast interurban service, it was one of two Electroliner sets built by the St. Louis Car Company; the 156-foot-long trainsets were capable of speeds up to 90 m.p.h. as they plied the rails between Chicago’s Loop and Milwaukee. Needing to be a bit of a hybrid, the trains had to do fast mainline running between the cities, and then become streetcars as they shared space with automobiles in Milwaukee. The trains were equipped with a galley and small dining area, fa- mous for serving up Electroburgers to hungry commuters on the ride home. By the time the Electroliners entered service, interurban and streetcar routes


were already in decline in the U.S., vic- tims of the automobile. The North Shore would last less than a quarter-decade after the Electroliners arrived, with the system shutting down in January 1963. That was not the end of the line for the Electroliners, however. They were pur- chased by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (Red Arrow Lines) and were shipped on their own wheels to Upper Darby, Pa., to work on the line between there and Norristown. Nos. 803-804 became the Independence Hall, while sister set Nos. 801-802 be- came the Valley Forge. The trolley poles used on the North Shore were traded


ABOVE: Liberty Liner Independence Hall has just left the station at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Rockhill Furnace, Pa., beginning its three-mile trip over museum trackage. The Liner has been at the museum since 1981; in 2011 it returned to service after a 15-year absence. OPPOSITE: The Liberty Liner pauses at the end of track at Blacklog Narrows. David Brightbill chats with conductor Steven Goehring and operator Stephen Lane.


66 JULY 2015 • RAILFAN.COM


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