My maternal grandmother never did learn how to operate an automobile; the hijinks which ensued when my mother attempted to teach her in the late 1950s are still a source of much amusement in our family. Still, as the wife of a railroad man with two young children she did occasionally have the need for products and services which could not be satisfied in the small railroad town of Dupo, Illinois...plus, I would imagine, an occasional need to just get away. She used to tell me stories of riding in to St. Louis for a day's shopping on a train that the other railroad families unofficially called "The Chippy". Now, it is very possible that the actual "Chippy" was a third-class train operated by the railroad for the benefit of employees, pass holders and their families which was not listed in the Official Guide. However, if it was a listed train then this motor-car service between Marion, Illinois and St. Louis is the only entry which fits her description. Enjoy.

The "Chippy", at least this service which was listed, had held on throughout the depression and the war years. However, by the end of the 1940s railroad wives who could not drive a car became a category of customers not common enough to cater to. The "Chippy" would be gone from the Official Guide by the middle of 1950.