General
S-314 is basically a work train flat car with a crane mounted on it. It was used to move and transport rail and structural steel for repair projects on the CTA L system. The crane is a Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton 4000-pound capacity unit manufactured by the Austin-Western Construction Equipment Division in Aurora, Illinois and is powered by a four-cylinder Perkins industrial diesel engine driving a hydraulic pump.
History
Our work car has a very convoluted history starting out as a streetcar built by the Chicago City Railway in 1907. Later it was transferred to the Calumet & South Chicago Street Railway as streetcar #41 in 1909. In 1915 it was relegated to work car, renumbered W300 for the Chicago Surface Lines streetcar system which became part of the Chicago Transit Authority in 1947. It was transferred to the CTA Rapid Transit division Skokie Shops and lost any resemblance of ever being a streetcar as its frame was mounted on rapid transit car trucks salvaged from wooden L cars that were being scraped at the time and emerging as a service train flat car in November 1953. It is believed that the crane was mounted on it at a later date. As a service car it was unpowered and was towed by pairs of rapid transit cars demoted to work service. When the all-electric 6000 series cars were being down graded to work service the car received an air-compressor and was equipped with Ohio Brass Form 5 couplers which allowed it to be train lined with the more modern cars but has an interface with its air brakes and the control system of these all-electric cars. 600-volt DC power for the compressor was obtained by a pair of third rail shoes or “trolley blocks” in CTA parlance. Its use at the museum must be done carefully so that the boom does not come in contact with live 600-volt DC overhead, something that was not as issue on the third rail powered CTA L lines.
Narrative
As of this writing S-314 has a few defects which have put it out of service. It has been used to move a line pole, some rail, store parts for MS-65 and most recently to fly a large US flag from its raised boom during special events. When an immediate need arises for its use, the time will be taken to resolve the defects.
Author: Joseph Hazinski, curator