Mystery Vehicle
I took this image almost precisely forty-five years ago: we’re standing over the Rock Island on Roosevelt Road. Stumbling upon it in my slides, I had no idea of what this mystery vehicle might be, but some folks in a knowledgeable Facebook group tipped me off that it’s an Aln 668 Fiat Italian Railcar.
Apparently the Rock Island experimented with this for a year or so, trying to find an inexpensive alternative to a commuter trains with full crew. Off subject: it’s nice to see the Chicago Board of Trade Building so prominent here, and the areas on either side of the tracks are completely built over. To see how it looks today, I have a post with the same tracks and surrounding area in 2018.
One image by Richard Koenig; taken October 10th 1977.