Recalling pleasant things and taking the time to dwell on them.
RFRIC – The CRANDIC Interurban Railway – Picture Page.
On an earlier page, we gave you a complete overview of the CRANDIC Railway’s Interurban electrified trolley system that ran between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids for nearly fifty years (1904-1953). Here on this page, we’d love to give you a photographic overview of many of those trolleys that ran on those electrified tracks for so many years. In doing so, we want to thank Flickr’s very own Photolibrarian for his massive collection of CRANDIC photographs, of which many are used here.
So, let’s start here…
Interurban rail service is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. Interurban was very prevalent in North America between 1900 and 1925 and was used primarily for passenger travel between cities and their surrounding suburban and rural communities until the automobile became readily available. Below (left) is a map of Iowa showing the interurban rail service throughout the state, with Irving Weber’s commentary (right).Click here to read the full story of the CRANDIC Interurban Railway (1904-1954)CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #1 – Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Rail & Light Company – first “official run – August 13, 1904. Read more here.
We are presenting the Interurban trolleys here in numerical order, but keep in mind; 1) our list here is not inclusive, nor 2) the numerical order assigned to each trolley does not always reflect the actual time frame each trolley was in service. Whatever info we do have on each trolley will be listed with the photograph. Enjoy…
CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #50– photograph was taken July 14, 1940.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #51 – built by the St. Louis Car Co. in 1915 (Order #1060) and with its heavy-duty motor, she was capable of carrying express passengers or pulling freight cars.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #53 – was built in the company shops in 1923 using the trucks from Trolley #107. In 1954, she went to the Iowa Electric Light & Power Co. and in 1968, was sold to the Iowa Terminal RR for parts.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #54 – was built in the company shops in 1927 from a partially-completed body and equipment purchased from the Puget Sound Electric RR. She was scrapped in 1954.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #55 – was built by the Detroit United RR in 1927, and purchased by CRANDIC in 1935. In 1955, she was purchased for preservation by the Indiana Museum of Transportation.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #56 – was built by Baldwin-Westinghouse in December 1919 (Order #52669), and sold to Northeastern Oklahoma RR. CRANDIC purchased her in 1940, and was sold to the Kansas City Kaw Valley RR as #506 in 1954. In 1963, she became Iowa Terminal RR #52, but was lost in a fire on November 24, 1967.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #57 – was built by Baldwin-Westinghouse in May 1921 (Order #54748) as Northeast Oklahoma (NEO) RR #2. She was purchased by CRANDIC in 1940, and then sold to the Kansas City Kaw Valley RR as #505 in 1954. In 1963, she became lAT #51.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #58 – nothing more is known.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #59 – nothing more is known, withphotograph taken August 26. 1969.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #72 –was built by Oklahoma Railway in 1929 as #603, and 1946, sold to Union Electric Railway. In 1948, she was sold to the CRANDIC and was renumbered #72. In 1955, she was sold to the Chicago Aurora & Elgin RR as #4005.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #73 – nothing more is known.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #75 – nothing more is known, photograph taken September 5. 1953.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #78 – was built by the Cincinnati Car Co. in 1911 (Order #1350) going to the Oneonta & Mohawk Valley RR as #64. She was sold to CRANDlC in 1922, and renumbered #164 in 1923. She was rebuilt in 1934 and re-numbered again – #78, and finally retired in 1954.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #102 – was built by the Stephenson Car Co. in 1904 and rebuilt by the American Car Co. in 1928. She was scrapped in 1954.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #105 – was built by the Niles Car Co. in 1909 as #428. She was rebuilt in 1918 as #105, and then, rebuilt again – by the American Car Co – in 1928. She was scrapped in 1953.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #106 – was built by the Niles Car Co. in 1909 as #427, and rebuilt by the American Car Co. in 1928. She was scrapped in 1950.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #109– was built by the Cincinnati Car Co. in 1908 as #945, and then, with the Oneonta & Mohawk Valley RR was #62. She was sold to CRANDIC in 1922, and renumbered #162 in 1923. She was rebuilt and renumbered as #109 in 1939, and scrapped in 1947.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #110 – was built by the Cincinnati Car Co. in 1930 (Order #3055), and with the Cincinnati & Lake Erie RR was #110. She was sold to CRANDIC in 1939, kept the same number, and was retired in 1954, sold to a buyer to be converted into a summer cabin!CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #111– was built by the Cincinnati Car Co. in 1930 (Order #3055), and with the Cincinnati & Lake Erie RR was #111.She was sold to CRANDIC in 1939 and kept the same number. In 1954, she was sold to an individual, stored at Emporia. KS until 1973, and then donated to the Bay Area Electric Railway Association. Now CRANDIC #111 is fully restored and is alive & well, living at the Western Railway Museum in Suisun City, California. Read more here.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #116– was built by the Cincinnati Car Co. in 1930, and with the Cincinnati & Lake Erie RR was #116. She was sold to CRANDIC in 1939 and kept the same number. See her new paint job below…CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #117 – was built by the Cincinnati Car Co. in 1930, and with the Cincinnati & Lake Erie RR was #117. She was sold to CRANDIC in 1939 and kept the same number.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #118 – was built by the Cincinnati Car Co. in 1930, and with the Cincinnati & Lake Erie RR was #118.She was sold to CRANDIC in 1939 and kept the same number. In 1954, she was sold to The Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine and is presently part of their large collection. Read more here.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #119 – In 1939, CRANDIC bought six high-speed trolleys from the Cincinnati & Lake Erie RR. While no records remain, we believe #119 just might be that sixth trolley (along with #110, #111, #116, #117, and #118) – all built in 1930 by the Cincinnati Car Co. These six high-speed trolleys became quite famous as they swayed on the slightly uneven CRANDIC tracks. You can read more here.CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #120 – was built by Pullman in 1931 (Order #6399) and was first run by the Indiana Railroad as #65. She was sold to the CRANDIC in 1941 and was used on the last run – May 30, 1953. In 1954, #120 was purchased as the first car of the Illinois Electric Railway Museum and restored as IRR #65. Read more here.
If the Interurban had an official “spokes-person” trolley, without a doubt, #120 would be the winner. Maybe, because she was used as the final leg of the final run on May 30, 1953, her pictures have remained with us, but suffice to say CRANDIC Interurban Trolley #120takes the prize for the most photographed of all the CRANDIC trolleys…
In September 1994, the Illinois Electric Railway Museum in Union, Illinois (near Rockford) published their story: The Car That Started It All. As it turned out, their founder – Howard Odinius – had his collector’s eye on the CRANDIC’s classic Trolley #120 ever since it was first available in 1941 when its first owner – the Indiana Railroad in Ft. Wayne – closed up shop – (note, that our CRANDIC Trolley was known as IRR #65 at the time). So, that’s when Odinius – who worked for the North Shore Line in Chicago – talked the CRANDIC into purchasing the light-weight, high-speed trolley for use on its Iowa City-Cedar Rapids line…
Rare pictures from that 1994 publication show Trolley #120 when she (below left) first arrived in Cedar Rapids – July 26, 1942, and on its debut run (below right) – May 7, 1944…
This 1994 publication goes on to give us, not only one more great photo from #120’s debut run (below left – May 7, 1944), but it also has a photo (below right) from the May 30, 1953 final run of the CRANDIC, including all the long-lost trolley details* from that day!
*On May 30, 1953, there were four round-trip runs that morning, with six Red Devil Trolleys #111, #116, #117, #118, #119, and #120 taking their turns on the route. We know that the last trolley (#120) left Iowa City at 10:25 am, and from the article above, we see that she arrived in Cedar Rapids at 11:15 am. And with that, the Interurban era for the CRANDIC Railway came to an end.
Finally, we’ll close here with a few “Then & Now” Interurban photographs from Iowa City, courtesy of The Hawkeye Railfan on YouTube. Enjoy!
Here’s Trolley #120 running down Capitol Street with Old Cap in the background…
Here’s the Interurban Railway Office located on the southwest corner of Clinton & College Streets. Today, we’d be standing right in the center of the storefronts of Old Capitol Mall…
Here’s Trolley #117 running southward on a very busy Clinton Street in downtown Iowa City…
Here’s Trolleys #118 and #120 at the Interurban Yard – located near the intersection of Front & Court Streets – just east of the UI Power Plant…
Here’s Washington Street (looking east) in downtown Iowa City as it intersects with Clinton Street. Notice all the electrical wires above the street, and of course, the rails on the street below…
Here’s Trolley #116 in 1939, making its way up the hill on Washington Street as it passes by the south side of the Pentacrest. Note that #116 is one of the six high-speed Red Devil trolleys purchased by CRANDIC from the Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railway in 1939 and, in this pic, it hasn’t been re-painted yet.
Gone – but never forgotten!PW – March 16, 2025August 13, 1904 – The first “official” run of the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Rail & Light Company’s Interurban – carrying happy passengers over the 27-mile route from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City.
July 26, 1942 – No. 120 – the final modernized, high-speed electrified trolley purchased by the CRANDIC Interurban – sits in the CRANDIC yards, ready for its conversion to the CRANDIC Iowa City to Cedar Rapids line.
May 7, 1944 – No. 120 – the final modernized, high-speed electrified trolley purchased by the CRANDIC Interurban – makes its debut run on the CRANDIC Iowa City to Cedar Rapids line.
Kudos to the amazing resources below for the many quotes, photographs, etc. used on this page.
