NORTH WESTERN MOTOR

COMPANY

550, 560 SERIES MOTOR COACH

Nick Pull

The North Western Motor Company of Eau Claire Wisconsin built motor cars and motor coaches from the 1920's until 1961 under the Casey Jones brand name. In1961, Fairmont Railway Motors purchased North Western and converted their production to Fairmont cars and a variety of non- railroad equipment.

The Casey Jones De Luxe passenger car No.560 was produced in the early 1920's. This 2 1/2 ton capacity 32 passenger coach had a 40 h.p. 4 cylinder engine. The cone clutch turned a short drive shaft connected to a North Western built 4 speed forward and reverse transmission. The transmission, in turn drove a second drive shaft to the rear axle's bevel drive gears.

The standard vehicle had a 12.5 foot wheel base and a 22 foot overall length (the body was 15.6 feet long). The 20" artillery wheels (wooden spoked) had demountable steel rims. All steel wheels could be supplied at extra cost. This vehicle was not a converted truck or bus.

The 551, 551-C and 551-D models were offered for sale in the mid 1920's. From this model on, nearly all of North Western's large motor coaches and motor cars were powered by Ford automobile engines. Later versions used Fords transmissions, but these early models could not survive with Ford's 2 speed planetary transmission that was standard equipment on the Model T engine. Instead, a 3 speed all gear transmission was used. The 551-D was advertised as being for similar service as the earlier 560, but was a much simpler and cheaper vehicle, built on the basic 551 chassis. By this time, the mid 1920's, railroads came to realize that fancy motor coaches could not save their passenger business. They switched to using as simple and as small a model motor car as possible.

The 551H-A shown below is the same as the standard 551 (not shown)except for the foot boards and wheel protectors. These pieces were used by every motor car maker on extra gang and hump cars and trailers. For these uses, many men had to be moved. They were carried on trailers or sat on the floor of a large motor car. The foot boards and wheel protectors protected their legs and feet as they sat on the deck of the motor car.

The 551 model cars had a 44" wheel base and used 20" pressed steel wheels. The 551D was 90" high, 64" wide and traveled from 3 to 40 m.p.h. The standard paint scheme was a coach green body with black running gear.

The 555 model cars were similar to the 551 except for a longer wheel base. The wheel base was about 70".

The 555-C (above) was a 10 passenger open inspection coach. Side curtains could be drawn for some protection from the weather. The 555-D (below) was nearly the same except for the addition of four doors per side.