Starke County No. 41 Railroading
In his book, “Who pulled the plug on English Lake”, Bob Statchura has copied many old newspaper articles about different subjects in the Kankakee area. One subject is railroading. Here are a couple of those articles.
1930
Iceless Refrigeration Car—from the Feb. 8 issue of Prairie Farmer
The automatic iceless refrigerator car is operated from the axle of the car as it is in transit. The material
used for the reduction of temperature is ammonia and brine as is used in refrigerators in the home. The car is equipped for temperature control and can be set and left to maintain an even temperature as long as the car is moving. When the car stops the motor stops but the car will maintain its previous temperature for 72 hours. If it is desirable to keep the motor running, it has an electric motor that can be operated by plugging into an electric switch.
Some of the advantages are: the new car is lighter in weight; there is no stopping for ice, which will save
switching charges and labor bills of the train crews. Salt and brine used in the old cars has always done much damage to railroad property but this is eliminated in the new car.
The cars are being manufactured at North Judson, Indiana.
1931
Radio Pictures ―Danger Lights, first great railroad melodrama of the talkies comes to the Gayble Theatre [North Judson] as a stirring tribute to the stout hearts who keep the wheels moving.
Railroad men will appreciate the countless authentic touches of ―Danger Lights the roundhouse
operations; the emergency clearings of landslides and washouts; plunging long freights over mountain passes;
the headlong stride of the limited Greyhounds with their deluxe coaches; all the stirring glory of railroading
novel sound and talk.
Danger Lights was filmed over the right of way of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific road, and
the cast covering more than 30,000 miles before the film was completed.
A short movie of Danger Lights can be seen on youtube —–
Jim Shilling
Starke County Historical Society
http://www.starkehistory.com
http://www.scpl.lib.in.us/historical/
