Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad 25
Restored as Diner #25 - The Ravenswood

 

25Type: Steel Interurban; Interurban Diner
Built: 1927, 1991; Pullman Car Co., ETER
Acquired: 1983
Motors: Four 210hp
Length: 80'
Seats: 50
Weight: 80 tons

In 1989, Museum volunteers led by Paul Averdung  began an ambitious experiment. South Shore Car 25 was found to be in acceptably good running condition, so its interior was removed and an extensive adaptive renovation was begun that took three years. In order to expand the offering of services to the patrons of the line, it was made into a self-contained diner car, still self-propelled, with a tiny bar at one end and a caterer’s galley at the other. A beautiful Art Deco interior was designed by volunteer Matt Gleason, with an easily changed table layout to accommodate many types of parties and events. An exterior color scheme featuring the East Troy Electric Railroad colors of red and silver was applied to complement the grays and mahogany tones of the interior.

Completed in the spring of 1992, it was named the Ravenswood. The first trip was a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary party for one of the volunteer couples. This kicked off a busy and highly successful run of numerous luncheons, public dinner trains, and parties of all kinds, including wedding receptions. It also won the Tourist Railroad Association 1995 award for creative adaptation.

The East Troy Electric Railroad is proud to offer you our first class dining service on the Ravenswood and Beverly Shores. Click here to navigate to our dinner train page.

Photos of 25

Videos of 25

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Last Update: Last modified: May 14 2010 12:46:31. All of the material in this site, except as specifically noted, is copyright 1998-2007
by East Troy Railroad Museum, Inc.
PO Box 943, East Troy, WI 53120-0943
Information: 262-642-3263
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