Former CSS&SB line car 1100, which was retired in late 2003 and had been in storage at a steel mill since April 2004, returned to South Shore rails in order to be moved to a new home. After hearing that it was supposed to be moved by crane into its new owner's barn in Michigan City, I headed out early in the morning to catch the action.
I arrived shortly after sunrise to find the 1100 and its reel car sitting on the team track east of Power Yard. Michigan City police had been guarding the car all night to ward off vandals and thieves.
The ancient car glows in the early morning sun while the NIPSCO cooling tower looms in the background.
After a few hours, the moving crew arrived and quickly set to work preparing the reel car to be trucked to South Bend for storage.
After separating the reel car from the line car, the movers checked that the flat car body was ready to be lifted off its trucks.
Before lifting the car, though, it first had to be emptied. There were a bunch of wheels and other miscellaneous parts inside that would be carried separately to South Bend. Here, a member of the foundation that owns the line car looks on while the moving crew empties the reel car.
The work halted momentarily while a SouthShore Freight crew rolled by with a few covered hoppers.
With the freight train safely out of the way, the truckers went back to work securing the wheels on the flatbed.
