Well I found out how the car made it to Mongo !wabash2800 wrote:I believe the interurban car you refer to found in a barn near Mongo is at the Illisnois Railway Museum now. I always thought it was a Fort Wayne & Wabash Valley car but I stand to be correct.
Ok, I looked it up and here is the link for a photo. They have restored it and it even has some stain glassed windows. I wish it could have stayed in the area. How the car got to Mongo, I don't know.
http://www.irm.org/cgi-bin/rsearch.cgi? ... Valley=504
Fort Wayne & Wabash Valley Traction Co. # 504
Named Talisman
Delivered May 14, 1906
Became the Smith Family Home-Dec 1933
Acquired by IRM-1993
Builder - Cincinnati Car Co.
Cost when new $12,500
They were 7 of these cars built and were as follows:
Ft Wayne & WVTC Co.
#501 Kenilworth
#502 Ivanhoe
#503 Woodstock
#504 Talisman
IUT
#297 Kokomo
#298 Peru
Lima & Toledo Traction CO.
#101 Van Wert
All these cars were delivered between March & July 1906 The railroads were under control of the Schoepf-McGowan investment syndicate at the time of the purchase
of these cars which accounts for essentially the same cars going to 3 different railroads.
Sometime around 1920 the car had it's multiple removed and installed on other cars being constructed being built by the railroad and # 504 was renumbered # 354 after a rebuild.
In the early 30's the car was retired and sit in Fort Wayne IN and that's when this story really starts.
December 1933 Mr & Mrs Charlie Smith pay $150.00 for the car and the moving cost to relocate the car to Mongo Indiana.
Spring 1934 A Carpenter from Hicksville OH boards with the Smith's in return for helping build a kitchen on the east side of the car. The original heater from the interurban was placed in the basement of the Smith home and reconnected to the heater coils in the car. Mrs, Smith states in her diary that she cleaned and varnished the interior of the interurban the same red color that it was.
1940 Mr. & Mrs. Smith buy 80 acres of land and log part of it, The lumber is used to add an addition on the interurban car, A living room, bedroom, and a dining room was added. The interurban was covered with asbestos's shingles like the addition. The house and the interurban were wired with electricity .
1941 The heater pipes were removed and the two bedrooms in the interurban were dry walled.
1979 Body of the car was seen Norman Krentel of the IRM while looking at the old ROW of the St Joe Valley Ry.
1993 IRM Members remove the body for the trip to the IRM in Union Ill,
May 1 1994 Work starts to rebuild # 504 @ IRM
Sept 16, 1995 The car is rolled out of the building by it's own trucks and pulled by it's own coupler for pictures and exterior work.
July 4, 1997 The car is once again on display and the exterior is finish painted and lettered.
I will work on this as time allows but I have much more to post on # 504 the Talisman !
follow link for more photo's
http://www.fwarailfan.net/community/vie ... 704#p17704