Sand Springs Railway

Last updated

Sand Springs Railway
Sand Springs Interurban Railway
Sand Springs Railway 1919 Electric Railway Journal.jpg
A Sand Springs Railway freight train in 1919
Overview
Parent company OmniTRAX
Reporting mark SS
Dates of operation1911
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge [1]
Electrification 1912-1955
Length32 miles (51 km)
Other
Website Official website

The Sand Springs Railway( reporting mark SS) (originally the Sand Springs Interurban Railway) is a class III railroad operating in Oklahoma. It was formed in 1911 by industrialist Charles Page to connect his newly formed city of Sand Springs to Tulsa, operating both as a passenger-carrying interurban and a freight carrier. At Sand Springs, the company also served his children's home, and Page directed all railroad profits to support the home's operations.

Contents

Passenger service was discontinued January 2, 1955, but the railroad has continued to operate to the present. Following a federal requirement to divest the railroad, in 1987 HMK Inc became the company's new owner, via subsidiary Sheffield Steel, operator of a steel plant served by the railroad. Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation took over the company in 2006. Gerdau sold the railway to shortline railroad holding company OmniTRAX on July 1, 2014, having previously shut down its steel plant in 2009.

History

Formation and construction

Charles Page, seen with two orphans at his children's home, was the founder of the Sand Springs Railway Charles Page American Magazine.jpg
Charles Page, seen with two orphans at his children's home, was the founder of the Sand Springs Railway

The Sand Springs Interurban Railway was incorporated on February 6, 1911 by Charles Page, a wealthy industrialist. [2] Page had previously started a home for needy children at Sand Springs, Oklahoma, in 1908, and the railroad served both the home and the "model city" he planned to build. [3] Page additionally offered incentives for factories to build in Sand Springs, including $200,000 and free supplies of gas. [3] From the beginning, the railroad was officially designated as a funding source for the Sand Springs Home, and was to terminate at an amusement park in Sand Springs also to be built by Page. [4]

Construction of the line, which was to connect Sand Springs to Tulsa, began in earnest on February 20, 1911. [5] The route roughly followed the Arkansas River, and was described as "mostly level". In February, it was reported that two bridges were to be built along the route, including "one 30-foot steel bridge and one 120-foot trestle". [6] By March, this had changed to a 20 foot long bridge, and two shorter trestles of 30 feet in length each. [7] Contracts for the grading of the line were issued by March, reported to require the movement of 7,000 cubic yards of earth per mile. [7]

A local newspaper reported that "the equipment to be used on the road is to be... the best and most expensive obtainable". [8] In addition to two "elegantly equipped" gas powered interurban cars from the McKeen Motor Car Company, the company also purchased a steam locomotive to haul freight traffic. [8] Significant portions of the line were completed by early April, with the remaining obstacles being securing a route into downtown Tulsa, and delays in the arrival of sufficient spikes to install the remaining rails. [9] Following trains which were run for the press and Tulsa officials on May 11, the Sand Springs Railroad officially opened to passenger traffic on May 14, 1911. [10] The company later claimed that "when the railway was first established, only 40 people lived along the entire length of the line". [11]

Interurban operations (1911–1955)

The interior of one of the gas-powered interurban cars Sand Springs Railway interurban interior.png
The interior of one of the gas-powered interurban cars

The opening of the railroad played a role in attracting residents and businesses to Sand Springs. "The best equipped interurban in the southwest" was one of the benefits touted in advertising for the city. [12] By September 1911, passenger business was reportedly so strong that the line's regularly-scheduled service could not meet demand. As a result, service frequencies were increased, with the company's steam locomotive and passenger cars used to supplement the two interurban cars. [10]

In addition to robust passenger business, the Sand Springs Railway advertised its freight business, offering connections to four other railroads in downtown Tulsa. A number of industries had already opened or begun building factories in Sand Springs, including manufacturers of oil well supplies, glass, and cotton goods. [13] The company also served a waterworks facility on the western outskirts of Tulsa, connecting it to the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (known as the Frisco) in downtown. [14] Besides the Frisco, the Sand Springs Railway also connected to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (the Santa Fe), the Midland Valley Railroad, and the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (known by its initials MKT or as the "Katy"). [15]

One of the company's trolley cars in 1912 Sand Springs Trolley Car.png
One of the company's trolley cars in 1912

Electrification of the line rapidly progressed in 1912, with the railroad ordering seven electric cars to supplement the two McKeen gasoline cars, which were to be retained as well. A new power plant was constructed to power the railroad, as well as the city of Sand Springs. [5] The company formally changed its name to drop the word "interurban" from its name in April 1912. [16] It maintained corporate headquarters at the First National Bank Building in Tulsa, with a repair shop located in Sand Springs. [2]

A 1939 map of the Sand Springs Railway Sand Springs Railway Map.jpg
A 1939 map of the Sand Springs Railway

The city of Tulsa voted overwhelmingly to grant the Sand Springs Railway authority to construct a route within the city on May 29, 1911, securing it access to downtown. At the time, trains were running from a temporary terminal at Third Street. With the extension granted, the new terminus was to be located at the intersection of Main and Archer Streets, with the Brady Hotel to be used as a waiting room for passengers. The Sand Springs Railway planned to complete the extension within three weeks. [17]

Within a few years of electrification, the two McKeen gas cars were sold to two other lines in Texas and Oklahoma, as the units were found to be inadequate for the Sand Springs Railway's needs. [15] In March 1914, the Sand Springs Railway purchased a unique 50 ton, 400 horsepower Baldwin-Westinghouse electric locomotive to handle increasing freight traffic. [18] A double-tracking project was launched in 1916 to increase the line's capacity between Sand Springs and Tulsa. The Sand Springs Railway began hauling mail traffic between the two cities on June 1, 1916. Mail service initially made one round trip per day, later increased to three round trips daily. [15] The company's offices were relocated to a new building in Sand Springs in 1920. [15]

By 1940, the Sand Springs Railway handled a total of more than 1 million passengers each year, along with approximately 11,000 freight cars. [19] The company counted 125 employees, and served 85 different customers along its line. In 1940, the fare for a trip between Sand Springs and Tulsa was ten cents, and five cents for shorter trips, unchanged from the fares charged when the company started operations in 1911. Fares were further discounted by half for many groups, including schoolchildren and scouts, while first responders and mail carriers were granted free fares. [19] Interurban service ran day and night, with so-called "owl cars" running after dark. Every day, 136 passenger trips were scheduled to operate, on a rush hour frequency of every ten minutes, with service every 20 minutes at all other times. [19]

Freight-only operations (1955–1987)

In September 1954, the company announced it was discontinuing its interurban service, selling the rights to a bus company and ending its passenger runs as soon as sufficient bus equipment arrived. [20] When the final passenger train ran on January 2, 1955, it was the last interurban operated in Oklahoma. [21] Writing in 1961, a local newspaper opined that the "line might still be running today if the company could have secured a more direct entry into downtown Tulsa". [22] Freight business remained busy on the Sand Springs Railway, despite the end of passenger operations. [22] Dieselization took place around the same time as electric operations ended, with the company replacing steam power with three new EMD SW900s in 1956. [23] [24]

Traffic continued to be strong in the 1970s, with the company identified as one of the most profitable railroads in the United States. [23] All profit from the company was used to support the children's home built by Page, which fully owned the railroad company. In 1975, the Sand Springs Railway counted over 70 customers along its line, and also benefitted from an exclusive franchise originally established by Page. [23] The railroad's president also cited the dedication of its employees, which while being fully unionized had never gone on strike, to supporting the children's home. [23]

The Sand Springs Home was required to sell the Sand Springs Railway in December 1986, citing federal tax laws. [25]

Steel mill ownership (1987–2014)

Three EMD SW900 switchers, such as these operated by Montana Rail Link, are the Sand Springs Railway's motive power SRY SW900.jpg
Three EMD SW900 switchers, such as these operated by Montana Rail Link, are the Sand Springs Railway's motive power

The railroad was acquired by HMK Incorporated in 1987. [26] The Sand Springs Railway joined nine other railroads operating in Oklahoma in a lawsuit against the State of Oklahoma and Governor Henry Bellmon in 1989, alleging that the state was unfairly taxing railroad companies. [27]

Railroad operations were temporarily halted on April 18, 1991, by a nationwide railroad strike, with the majority of the company's workforce (21 employees, of which 18 were union members) joining the strike. The company's manager told The Daily Oklahoman "We won't operate until they go back to work". [28] The strike was forced by the federal government to end within 24 hours of it starting. [29]

In 1993, the railroad was bought by Sheffield Steel, which operated a melt shop and rolling mill in the city of Sand Springs, later declaring bankruptcy. The railroad was then bought by a subsidiary of Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation in 2006. [30] The steel mill was shuttered by Gerdau in 2009, but rail operations continued for other customers. [26]

OmniTRAX (2014–present)

Shortline railroad holding company OmniTRAX purchased the Sand Springs Railway in June 2014, with OmniTRAX's CEO citing the diverse mix of industry in the Tulsa area as a reason for the purchase. [31] OmniTRAX began operations on July 1, 2014, marking the first time in several decades the railroad was run by a railroad company, rather than a steel mill. [26] As of 2021, the Sand Springs Railway operates 32 miles (51 km) of track. [32] The company is classified as a class III railroad by the Surface Transportation Board. [33]

Preservation

Sand Springs 68, an interurban car built by the Cincinnati Car Company, operated on the Sand Springs Railway from 1932 until the end of passenger operations in 1955. The car was rescued from a Tulsa area scrapyard by Illinois Railway Museum volunteers and taken to that museum in 1967 on a flatcar. [34] [35] Initially only the shell of the car remained, but following a 40-year-long restoration effort by museum volunteer Bob Kutella, Sand Springs 68 operated under its own power in 2004 and has operated at the museum since. [35] [36]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Electric</span> Southern California transit company

The Pacific Electric Railway Company, nicknamed the Red Cars, was a privately owned mass transit system in Southern California consisting of electrically powered streetcars, interurban cars, and buses and was the largest electric railway system in the world in the 1920s. Organized around the city centers of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, it connected cities in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County and Riverside County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interurban</span> Type of electric railway which runs within and between cities or towns

The interurban is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms used outside it. They were very prevalent in many parts of the world before the Second World War and were used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities. Interurban as a term encompassed the companies, their infrastructure, their cars that ran on the rails, and their service. In the United States, the early 1900s interurban was a valuable economic institution, when most roads between towns, many town streets were unpaved, and transportation and haulage was by horse-drawn carriages and carts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad</span> American Class III freight railroad

The Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, also known as the South Shore Line, is a Class III freight railroad operating between Chicago, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana. The railroad serves as a link between Class I railroads and local industries in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana. It built the South Shore Line electric interurban and operated it until 1990, when the South Shore transferred its passenger operations to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. The freight railroad is owned by the Anacostia Rail Holdings Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Bay Railway (1997)</span> Canadian short line railway

Hudson Bay Railway is a Canadian short line railway operating over 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of track in northeastern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winchester and Western Railroad</span> Railroad in the eastern United States

The Winchester and Western Railroad is a shortline railroad operating from Gore, Virginia to Hagerstown, Maryland. It also operates several lines in southern New Jersey, connecting to Conrail Shared Assets Operations at Millville and Vineland.

Established in 1908, the Stockton Terminal and Eastern Railroad provides service to several companies around the Stockton area, in San Joaquin County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Bay Electric Lines</span> Former local railway services in the San Francisco Bay Area

The East Bay Electric Lines were a unit of the Southern Pacific Railroad that operated electric interurban-type trains in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning in 1862, the SP and its predecessors operated local steam-drawn ferry-train passenger service in the East Bay on an expanding system of lines, but in 1902 the Key System started a competing system of electric lines and ferries. The SP then drew up plans to expand and electrify its system of lines and this new service began in 1911. The trains served the cities of Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville, Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro transporting commuters to and from the large Oakland Pier and SP Alameda Pier. A fleet of ferry boats ran between these piers and the docks of the Ferry Building on the San Francisco Embarcadero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacramento Northern Railway</span> Former electric railway in California

The Sacramento Northern Railway was a 183-mile (295 km) electric interurban railway that connected Chico in northern California with Oakland via the state capital, Sacramento. In its operation it ran directly on the streets of Oakland, Sacramento, Yuba City, Chico, and Woodland. This involved multiple car trains making sharp turns at street corners and obeying traffic signals. Once in open country, SN's passenger trains ran at fairly fast speeds. With its shorter route and lower fares, the SN provided strong competition to the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific Railroad for passenger business and freight business between those two cities. North of Sacramento, both passenger and freight business was less due to the small town agricultural nature of the region and due to competition from the paralleling Southern Pacific Railroad.

OmniTRAX, Inc. is a transportation and transportation infrastructure holding company based in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. It primarily owns or operates railroads, with a network of 25 regional and shortline railroads in 12 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. It is one of the largest privately owned railroad companies in the United States. The firm also invests in, develops, and operates ports, multimodal transportation terminals, and industrial parks.

The Indiana Railroad (IR) was the last of the typical Midwestern United States interurban lines. It was formed in 1930–31 by combining the operations of the five major interurban systems in central Indiana into one entity. The predecessor companies came under the control of Midland Utilities, owned by Samuel Insull. His plan was to modernize the profitable routes and abandon the unprofitable ones. With the onset of the Great Depression, the Insull empire collapsed and the Indiana Railroad was left with a decaying infrastructure and little hope of overcoming the growing competition of the automobile for passenger business and the truck for freight business. The IR faced bankruptcy in 1933, and Bowman Elder was designated as the receiver to run the company. Payments on bonded debt were suspended. Elder was able to keep the system virtually intact for four years, and IR operated about 600 miles (970 km) of interurban lines throughout Indiana during this period. During the late 1930s, the routes were abandoned one by one until a 1941 wreck with fatalities south of Indianapolis put an abrupt end to the Indiana Railroad's last passenger operations.

The Arkansas Valley Interurban Railway (AVI) was an interurban railway that operated in Kansas, United States, from 1910 to 1938 for passengers and to 1942 for freight, running between Wichita, Newton, and Hutchinson. It operated a small fleet of electrically powered passenger and freight equipment. Service was suspended during World War II and never resumed, except on a small portion owned the Hutchinson and Northern Railroad which is still in operation. (2020)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Tulsa, Oklahoma</span>

Transportation in Tulsa, Oklahoma includes a bus network and a system of raised highways and primary thoroughfares, laid out in mile-by-mile increments. In addition, throughout its entire length in Tulsa, historic Route 66 is a drivable road, with motels and restaurants reminiscent of the route's heyday era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway</span> Railroad in California, United States

The San Francisco, Napa and Calistoga Railway, later briefly reorganized as the San Francisco and Napa Valley Railroad, was an electric interurban railroad in the U.S. state of California. In conjunction with the Monticello Steamship Company, the railway offered a combined rail- and ferry-service called the "Napa Valley Route."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Valley Transit Company</span> Company in Allentown, Pennsylvania, US (1905–1972)

The Lehigh Valley Transit Company (LVT) was a regional transport company that was headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company began operations in 1901, as an urban trolley and interurban rail transport company. It operated successfully into the 1930s, but struggled financially during the Great Depression, and was saved from abandonment by a dramatic ridership increase during and following World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Monica Air Line</span> Former train service from Los Angeles to Santa Monica

The Santa Monica Air Line was an interurban railroad operated by the Pacific Electric between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles. Electric passenger service operated over the line between 1908 and 1953. After abandonment as a freight railroad, most of the route was converted to light rail for use by the Metro E Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad</span>

The Jamestown, Westfield and Northwestern Railroad (JW&NW) was an electric interurban railroad that served the New York towns of Jamestown and Westfield from 1914 to 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Erie and Northern Railway</span> Former interurban railway in Ontario, Canada

The Lake Erie and Northern Railway was an interurban electric railway which operated in the Grand River Valley in Ontario, Canada. The railway owned and operated a north–south mainline which ran from Galt in the north to Port Dover on the shore of Lake Erie in the south. Along the way, it ran through rural areas of Waterloo County, Brant County, and Norfolk County, as well as the city of Brantford, where it had an interchange with the Brantford and Hamilton Electric Railway. Construction on the mainline began in 1913. The railway began operations in 1916 as a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), which had purchased the line before construction had finished. In 1931, it was consolidated with the Grand River Railway under a single CPR subsidiary, the Canadian Pacific Electric Lines (CPEL), which managed both interurban railways, though they continued to exist as legally separate entities. Passenger service was discontinued in 1955 but electric freight operations continued until 1961, when the LE&N's electric locomotives were replaced by diesel CPR locomotives and the line was de-electrified. In the same year, service on the mainline from Simcoe to Port Dover was discontinued, but the remainder continued to operate as a branchline which as early as 1975 was known as the CP Simcoe Subdivision. The remainder of the line was officially abandoned in the early 1990s, ending almost seventy-five years of operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redlands Line</span> Former interurban railway line in California, US

The Redlands Line is a former Pacific Electric interurban railway line in the Inland Empire. The route provided suburban service between San Bernardino and Redlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulsa–Sapulpa Union Railway</span> Railroad in US state of Oklahoma

Tulsa–Sapulpa Union Railway Company, L.L.C. is a Class III shortline rail carrier which operates freight service between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Sapulpa, Oklahoma over 10 miles of track known as the Sapulpa Lead, and which also leases and operates a 12.9 mile section of Union Pacific track known as the Jenks Industrial Lead between Tulsa and Jenks, Oklahoma. The line connects with two Class I railroads, being the Union Pacific at Tulsa and the BNSF at Sapulpa, and additionally connects to its fellow Class III shortline, the Sand Springs Railway, in Tulsa. It is owned by the Collins Family Trust. Major customers on the Sapulpa Lead include Technotherm, Prescor, and Ardagh Glass, and on the Jenks Industrial Lead, the HF Sinclair oil refinery, Kentube, Word Industries, Pepsi Cola, and Kimberly-Clark.

The Muskogee Electric Traction Company (“Traction”) was an electrified streetcar line operating in and around Muskogee, Oklahoma from 1904 to 1941, with bus passenger service continuing under that name to 1958.

References

  1. McGraw Electrical Trade Directory: Railway edition. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1911. p. 126.
  2. 1 2 McGraw Electric Railway Manual. McGraw Publishing Company. 1911. p. 284.
  3. 1 2 "Page Has Bonus Money Waiting". The Morning Tulsa Daily World. 1911-04-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  4. Electrical Review. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. February 4, 1911. p. 259.
  5. 1 2 "Prosperity of the New Manufacturing City of Sand Springs, Oklahoma". The Morning Tulsa Daily World. 1912-03-31. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  6. "Interurban Railway". The Cleveland Leader. 1911-02-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  7. 1 2 Railway Track and Structures. Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. March 1911. p. 158.
  8. 1 2 "New Inter-Urban To Sand Springs". The Oklahoma Critic. 1911-03-03. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  9. "To Collinsville by Interurban?". The Morning Tulsa Daily World. 1911-04-12. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  10. 1 2 "Surely A Wonder City". Tulsa Daily Democrat. 1911-10-01. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  11. "Save Your Tires!". The Sand Springs Sun. 1943-04-22. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  12. "$350,000 Expended". Tulsa Daily Democrat. 1911-10-01. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  13. "Keep Your Eye On Sand Springs, Oklahoma". Tulsa Daily Democrat. 1911-09-10. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  14. "Interurban to Waterworks". The Morning Tulsa Daily World. 1911-05-03. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Sand Springs Railway". Sand Springs Leader. 1958-05-29. p. 19. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  16. "Interurban Goes Here No Longer". Sand Springs Review. 1912-04-27. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  17. "Franchise Vote Is But One Way". The Morning Tulsa Daily World. 1911-05-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  18. "Interesting Equipment Features of Oklahoma Interurban". Electric Traction. September 1914. pp. 543–546. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  19. 1 2 3 "Million Passengers, 11,000 Cars Freight, Annual Railway Volume". The Sand Springs Sun. 1940-11-21. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  20. "Interurban Service Will Be Abandoned". The Altus Times-Democrat. Associated Press. September 30, 1954. p. 6. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  21. Gregory, Carl E. "Sand Springs". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  22. 1 2 Sebree, Mac (October 1, 1961). "Interurbans Die Hard". The Altus Times-Democrat. p. 4. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Mini Rail System '7 Miles of Profit'". The Albany Herald. UPI. May 7, 1975. p. 2D. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  24. "Tulsa, Okla". Trains. July 6, 2006. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  25. "Charitable foundation maintaining operations". Sapulpa Daily Herald. Associated Press. 1986-12-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  26. 1 2 3 Tuttle, D. Ray (July 15, 2014). "Clients get on board with new Sand Springs Railway owners". The Journal Record. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  27. "10 Railroads Sue Bellmon, State in Protest of Taxes". The Daily Oklahoman. 1989-12-07. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  28. "Reaction". The Daily Oklahoman. 1991-04-18. p. 49. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  29. Belsie, Lauren (1991-04-19). "Congress Ends Rail Strike, But Unions Feel They Lost". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN   0882-7729 . Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  30. Gerdau Ameristeel Corporation press release. "Gerdau Ameristeel Announces Closing of Sheffield Steel Acquisition." June 12, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  31. Stagl, Jeff (June 2014). "OmniTRAX lands Oklahoma short line, lines up contract to operate Texas railroad". Progressive Railroading. Retrieved August 4, 2019.
  32. "Rail News–OmniTRAX extends 'rail-ready' program to Sand Springs Railway". Progressive Railroading. February 11, 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-10.
  33. Oklahoma Department of Transportation (May 2012). "Oklahoma Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan" (PDF). pp. 2-1–2-2, 3–20. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  34. "Illinois Railway Museum celebrates rail history". Northwest Herald. 2007-07-01. p. 52. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  35. 1 2 "Trolley: Car has gone 50 miles since 2004". Chicago Tribune. 2007-08-13. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  36. "Sand Springs 68". Illinois Railway Museum. Retrieved 2022-08-10.