List of formerly preserved Interurban/Rapid Transit rail cars

Once upon a time, the United States was covered with a large number of railroads known as "Interurban Railroads", railroads which would run in between large cities, relying primarily on running electric trains. Some of these would be off-shoots of pre-existing streetcar systems, while some tried to compete with and provide a cheaper alternative to the bigger "steam roads".
Sadly, most interurban railroads will end up being wiped out during the 1930s. The biggest killers for interurban railroads were "The Great Depression", the increasing reliance on automobiles and paved roads, and redundant mileage as, in most cases, the interurban railroads really only went to places where other railroads already connected, and really only served as a more localized form of transportation. Most interurban railroads did not last long enough to see World War 2, and those few that did were quickly wiped out after the war ended. The Illinois Terminal, Springfield Terminal, Central California Transportation, the Sacramento Northern, and the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City all converted to diesels, and some of them ended up lasting well into the latter half of the 20 century and onwards into the 21st century.
After the interurban railroads shut down, most ended up being cut up for scrap or (in the case of the wooden cars) burned to the ground where they sat. Some were sold at auction and later found other uses, such as storage barns on farms, diners or restaurants, or being converted into houses. Some of the Cincinnati & Lake Erie's box motors were even converted into diesel locomotives when they were sold to an aggregates company in Texas.
Given their fascinating and short lived nature, they were a prime subject for preservation in the middle part of the 20th century and many railroad preservation groups quickly jumped at the opportunity to preserve interurban and rapid transit equipment (subways, elevated railways, streetcars, etc.). Sadly, while some cars were preserved with good intentions, as time has passed on, some cars were neglected, left to rot, and once they reached a certain point, ended up being scrapped or burned anyways. The following lists are a compilation of interurban cars, subway cars, elevated rapid transit cars, and street cars that were initially preserved, but were later scrapped for various reasons. MOW equipment that was powered and freight equipment that aren't locomotives (i.e. GE Westinghouse 64-Ton Steeple Cab) will be included in the list. What is not included is electric equipment owned by major railroads, like the Pennsylvania Railroad or Illinois Central, or electric locomotives owned by private industrial operations or utility companies, like Commonwealth Edison. Also included is a list of cars that, while they weren't preserved by museums or enthusiasts, they did survive beyond World War 2 in some fashion, but ended up being scrapped, burned, or destroyed in the end.
== Interurban cars that were preserved but later scrapped ==
Photograph	Unit 	Type 	Build date	Manufacturer	Operator(s) 	Cause of scrapping 	Date it was Scrapped	Notes 	Refs.
 	Centerville, Albia, & Southern #100 	Wooden box motor 	 	 	Centerville, Albia, & Southern 	Poor condition 	Early 1990s 	 	
 	Chicago, Aurora, & Elgin #318 	Wooden Coach 	 	 	Chicago, Aurora, & Elgin 	Severely damaged in a wreck on Penn Central while being moved to the museum 	1977 	 	
 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee #3 	Double truck snow sweeper 	 	 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee	Poor condition, no trucks, just a body sitting on the ground 	1964 	 	
 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee #202 	Wooden Combine 	 	 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee	Poor condition 	1974 	It was the last surviving wooden car from the CNS&M 	
 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee #250 	Steel combine 	 	 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee	Poor condition; the Illinois Railway Museum owned two other combines from the same series that were in better condition 	1995 	 	
 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee #236 	Center door freight motor 	 	 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee	Poor condition 	1974 	 	
 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee #237 	Center door freight motor 	 	 	Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee	Poor condition 	1996 	 	
 	Lake Shore Electric #171 	Coach 	1918 	Jewett 	Lake Shore Electric #171 	Poor condition, had been converted into a diner and was gutted of anything it had from when it had been an interurban car	2024 	 	
 	Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern #36 	Wooden combine 	 	 	
* Terre Haute, Indianapolis, & Eastern
* Indiana Railroad	Gutted and badly rotted; nothing left to save 	1996 	Never moved to IRM; had been converted to a lakeside cabin at Lake Shafer	
 	Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern #53 	Wooden combine 	 	 	
* Terre Haute, Indianapolis, & Eastern
* Indiana Railroad	Badly deteriorated and rotted 	2015 	had been converted to a lakeside cabin at Lake Shafer 	
 	Waterloo, Cedar Falls, & Northern No. 100	Steel Combine-Open Platform Observation	 	 	
* Waterloo, Cedar Falls, & Northern Railroad	Burned in a fire 	 	Had been donated to the Iowa State Museum in Des Moines 	
===Streetcars/Elevated Cars/Subway cars that were preserved but later scrapped===
Photograph	Unit 	Model 	Build date	Manufacturer	Operator(s) 	Cause of scrapping 	Scrapped 	Notes 	Refs.
 	Chicago Transit Authority #53 	Lightweight Articulated car 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; impulse purchase 	2013 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #1279 	wood "L" trailer 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1991 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #1770 	wood "L" car 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1973 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #1775 	wood "L" car 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1973 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #1784 	wood "L" car 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1973 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4083 	center door 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1980 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4215 	center door 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1974 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4216 	center door 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1974 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4253 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1985 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4279 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1979 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4289 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1979 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4350 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1980 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4353 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1980 	Vestibule at one end was missing. The Missing end was salvaged to aid in the restoration of CTA "Baldy" #4146 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #4355 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Poor condition; parts salvaged off of it to keep other members of the class running 	1980 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority
#???? 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	Facility closed 	Late 2010s	Scrapped due to the Indiana Transportation Museum closing 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority #6057 	Half of 600 series "married pair	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	 	1985 	 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority S-350 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	It had been thoroughly gutted and restoration back to original condition would've been too expensive; scrapped so parts could be salvaged to keep better units running	1979 	Work train unit, scrapped so parts could be salvaged to keep better units running 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority S-351 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	It had been thoroughly gutted and restoration back to original condition would've been too expensive; scrapped so parts could be salvaged to keep better units running	1979 	Work train unit, scrapped so parts could be salvaged to keep better units running 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority S-366 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	It had been thoroughly gutted and restoration back to original condition would've been too expensive; scrapped so parts could be salvaged to keep better units running	1979 	Work train unit, scrapped so parts could be salvaged to keep better units running 	
 	Chicago Transit Authority S-368 	Standard 4000 	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority	It had been thoroughly gutted and restoration back to original condition would've been too expensive; scrapped so parts could be salvaged to keep better units running	1985 	Work train unit, scrapped so parts could be salvaged to keep better units running, vestibule at one end had been removed	
 	Kansas City Public Service Company. 767	 	 	 	
* Kansas City Public Service Company. 
* San Francisco Municipal Railway	Poor condition, museum acquired a better example of of a PCC later 	1987 	 	
== Interurban and Rapid Transit cars that were not preserved but survived and were later scrapped: ==
Photograph	Unit 	Model 	Build date	Manufacturer	Operator(s) 	Cause of scrapping	Scrapped	What it was converted into/became part of 	Notes	Refs.
 	Chicago Transit Authority S-370	Standard 4000	 	 	Chicago Transit Authority 	Remodel 	2007 	Was part of a McDonald's in Crystal Lake, IL	 	
 	Manhatten Elevated Railway #36 	 	1885 	Pullman 	Manhatten Elevated Railway	Diner closed 	1980 	Converted into a diner 	 	
 	Manhatten Elevated Railway #572	 	1878 	Pullman 	Manhatten Elevated Railway	Diner closed 	1970s 	Converted into a diner