The “Moving” Story of LSE 38 – Part 2

After the Lake Shore Electric Railway closed down in 1938, its assets – including the cars – were sold. What’s surprising is how much is known about the fate of each car.

As Drew explains, “It’s amazing how much documentation there was on each car, who bought it and when. One of the guys who moved a lot of them kept a ledger of each car number, buyer, where it was hauled to, and how much he charged. And all this stuff has survived, and Dennis has collected it.”

Not surprisingly, Dennis was able to provide me with a copy of that ledger showing the entry about No. 38 (below). It's the last one on the page.

The ledger shows that No. 38 was sold to a Mr. Smith of Vermilion, who paid $35 to have it moved to its new home at the Vermilion Fish & Game club in March 1939.

Dennis noted, "Mr. Smith bought 38 and 39 from the LSE in Sandusky where the stripped bodies were selling cheap. 

“A complete interurban car, wheels and all was selling for around $250 ($4400 today). No. 39 went to Ruggles Beach, and No. 38 went to Vermilion Fish & Game. 

“The shipping cost of $35 would be about $600 today. (Cheap!)

"Vermilion Fish & Game did a great job of keeping the car painted and roof protected.  The club used the car for a storage shed for all their landscaping tools and equipment, and had it nicely rigged out as a workshop. 

Dennis provided me with this aerial photo (below) showing where No. 38 was situated on the Vermilion Fish & Game property on Thompson Rd. The yellow rectangle marks the spot.

Here are two shots of No. 38 taken in 1978, showing it at its home at the Vermilion Fish & Game club. (Photos are courtesy of Dennis Lamont.)

No. 38 continued to be used as an office and storage shed by the club until it was purchased by Thomas Patton and moved to Avon Lake.

Here are some shots from that 2008 move. (Photos courtesy of Dennis Lamont.)

And here’s No. 38 at its new home in Avon Lake in 2010, ready to be restored. (Photo courtesy of Drew Penfield.)

As Dennis notes, "Tom and his crew went over the entire body, sandblasting, replacing rusted out metal, new doors and windows, paint and lettering.”

You can see the results of their TLC.

There’s still some work that needs to be completed to get No. 38 ready for its place in the limelight in front of the planned LSE museum.

"Still to be done are the fabrications necessary to mount it on the trucks,” Dennis explains, "which are sitting right around the corner, and then moving the whole shebang out to the section of track that was installed in the parking lot out front."

It will be quite an impressive accomplishment when done.

As Drew notes, " Although it’s not a fully functional car, LSE 38 is the only Lake Shore Electric freight motor to have been restored to this extent. LSE 42 is awaiting restoration at the Northern Ohio Railway Museum near Chippewa Lake, and car 46 has been partially restored at the Mad River & Nickel Plate Museum in Bellevue, but 38 is the only freight motor to have been refurbished, repainted, and put on display thus far. The fact that it will be displayed in front of the Lake Shore Electric’s former Beach Park station makes it even more special.”

Here’s wishing much success to Thomas Patton and Dennis Lamont with their project. It will be a gift not only to Lake Shore Electric Railway fans, but to history lovers everywhere.

Special thanks to Dennis Lamont and Drew Penfield for their help in preparing these posts. 

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And while we’re waiting for the museum to open in Avon Lake, now is a good time to check out an online museum: namely, Drew Penfield’s Lake Shore Rail Maps website. Not only is it the most comprehensive online history of the Lake Shore Electric Railway available, it’s also a great historical resource for Northeast Ohio. It's extremely well-researched, and includes rarely seen photos, all in an easy-to-read narrative.