Union Traction interurban No. 429, built for intercity passenger travel via electric railway with frequent and numerous stops, is considered one of the last great electric railway cars built from steel. No. 429 was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1925 to hold 44 passengers and was given the name “Marion” for the small Indiana city along Union Traction’s route. At 500 horsepower, cars like No. 429 were said to be able to rapidly accelerate at 1.25 MPH, per second, making them well-suited for the frequent stops and starts of interurban travel.
This car was absorbed into the Indiana Railroad, a consolidation of numerous interurban lines by Samuel Insull. In 1936, the car was re-configured for one-man operation (previously two - a conductor and a motorman) in an effort to reduce staff costs in the face of growing competition from automobiles.
Interurban No. 429 hauls troops from Fort Benjamin Harrison in Lawrence to Downtown Indianapolis as part of the Indiana Railroad.
The car ran until approximately 1940, prior to the end of interurban service in Indiana in 1941, when the system dissolved. Number 429 is one of two cars remaining in existence of its kind - the other being Union Traction No. 437 “Marion”, which is also in the Hoosier Heartland Trolley Co. Collection. The car was acquired from the Indiana Transportation Museum in 2018.
Help Revive Hoosier History!
This car is currently under restoration as part of the Electrify 429 capital campaign to revive our world-renowned electric railway history and provide a community asset through entertainment, education, and opportunity.