Pictures 14A-27 and 14A-28.
In 1908, the Danville Car Co. built a group of closed cars numbered
in the 700s for the ITS, which assigned them as needed to the various city
systems it owned. No. 701 was assigned to Champaign-Urbana, and was
the first steel-sided city car in the Twin Cities. It was probably
also the first car in the community to have air brakes, and the first to have roll
signs in a vestibule window rather than on the car roof. These cars
were also the last single-truck non-Pay As You Enter cars in the Urbana-Champaign fleet.
The upper picture shows the car in its original configuration; note the
lack of a right front door. It is shown in the lower picture in 1921
in front of the Neil Street car barn after having been rebuilt for Pay
As You Enter service, with the addition of a right front door and a dash
sign saying “Have Exact Fare Ready/Pay As You Enter.” Note the home
made black-on-white “Owl Car” destination sign.
— Illinois Power Co. Archives (lower) (detail from a larger picture)
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