The Galesburg & Great Eastern, like many other short line railroads, had to rely upon the talents of its shop staff to effect repairs and to solve operating problems. For the G&GE, this is evident with the two different "utility gas auto with flanged wheels" that the road operated over the years. Both got their job done with a certain sense of native American mechanical ingenuity. Although both were passenger autos, it is not clear if the G&GE used these cars in revenue passenger service.

Photo courtesy William Raia, taken by Paul Stringham at Victoria, October 9, 1931.

   This 12-cylinder, seven-passenger, Lincoln was purchased from a dentist in nearby Galesburg. It was destroyed in a grade crossing altercation in 1933. This grade crossing collision would precipitate financial problems which would lead to the sale of the railroad to the Central Indiana Coal Company. The replacement vehicle would be much more colorful.

Photo courtesy William Raia, taken at Victoria, July 21, 1937.

     The G&GE would replace the Lincoln in a few years with this 1935 Chevrolet. The Chevy was lettered "Baby Zephyr", complete with stream lines on the name, connoting speed. The Zephyr name choice was interesting, for the G&GE interchanged with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy at Wataga, Illinois. The CB&Q was home to many famous Zephyrs, including the original Silver Streak, the Pioneer Zephyr. Not immediately apparent in this photograph is that the Baby Zephyr is sitting on the tracks at a grade crossing rather than across the tracks.

Photo courtesy California State Railroad Museum, Robert M. Hanft Collection.

This shot shows the Baby Zephyr in comparison to a forty foot box car on an adjacent track at Wataga, January, 1938. Also visible on the car's running board is the hydraulic pump mechanism that operated the lifting turntable which allowed the Baby Zephyr to be turned around without leaving the railroad right of way.

Photo courtesy William Raia, taken by Paul Stringham.

     This final shot of the rail auto was taken at the Little John Mine coal breaker south of Victoria on November 12, 1954, in the last years of the Galesburg & Great Eastern. The auto appears to be being used in Maintenance of Way service. The "Baby Zephyr" logo has been removed from the Chevy's sides, and the front has been bashed in a bit, possibly in a collision with the car's trailer flat (left side of photo). In a few more years, the Baby Z and the G&GE will be gone to history.