Bennett (1843-1908), the Kilbourn City (now Wisconsin Dells) photographer known for his stereographs promoting railroad travel to the Dells and scenic locations along the Mississippi River. In 1963, the Milwaukee inaugurated the XL Special and Thunderhawk freights, for a short time the fastest between Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Pacific Northwest.Įarly views of the railroad in Milwaukee come from Henry H. Milwaukee Road main and branch lines, served by a large freight classification yard in the Menomonee Valley, provided efficient freight service and regional marketing and distribution systems. Werner, its supervisor, turned out the lights when he left at the end of the day, December 23, 1986, closing it permanently. The wheel shop was the last shop to operate.
Production under Soo Line ownership ended late in October 1986. Another sixty workers lost their jobs when the diesel house closed. Employment declined to about nine hundred in the late 1970s and further to 225 in 1983. About 3,500 worked there then, representing a dozen different crafts, not including yard and terminal personnel in the shops area.
Johnny works on railroad story series#
In a three-part series in 1947, the Milwaukee Magazine traced the history of the shops, which occupied 160 acres. Nystrom held about one hundred patents for car construction and was especially well known for developing and building smooth-riding passenger car trucks and welded, lightweight boxcars. While other railroads purchased passenger and freight cars from established builders, the Milwaukee Road constructed its own cars in its own shops. Nystrom (1881-1961), its chief mechanical officer. The shops were known for innovative work under the leadership of Karl F. In 1883, when 1,200 people worked at the shops, Merrill Park functioned as a separate community. Merrill Park, a neighborhood for shop workers, developed nearby. When the shops were opened, workers complained about the distance from the city center. Between the opening in 18, shop crews built almost 700 steam locomotives. The massive West Milwaukee Shops buildings with tall smokestacks dominated the skyline of the Menomonee Valley for years. Byram, chairman of the board, explained that the railroad employed nearly 8,000 people in Milwaukee, paying them $12,500,000 annually-which he said was the largest payroll of any single industry in the city. Addressing the Milwaukee Association of Commerce in 1927, Harry E. By the early 1900s, it was the largest employer in the city, with 5,500 people on its payroll.
A major extension to Puget Sound was completed in 1909.įor years, the railroad was a mainstay for the Milwaukee economy.
Growth continued in Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, and South Dakota. The general offices moved to Chicago in 1890. After opening a line to Chicago, the railroad added Chicago to its name in 1874. Paul Railway, which succeeded the La Crosse & Milwaukee, took over the Prairie du Chien line in 1867, and unified many Wisconsin railroads. Alexander Mitchell, a prominent Milwaukee banker, in 1863 organized the Milwaukee & St. The LaCrosse & Milwaukee Railroad Company completed a second route to the river in 1858. The Milwaukee & Waukesha turned into the Milwaukee & Mississippi Rail Road Company when it opened tracks to the Mississippi River in 1857, and then into the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Railroad Company.
Johnny works on railroad story full#
The railroad’s early history was full of reorganizations and name changes. The railroad never changed the name of its junction known as Grand Avenue, even after the street was renamed Wisconsin Avenue in 1926. The company was known informally for many years as “The Milwaukee Road” before the name was adopted as a trademark in 1953. The railroad always maintained close ties to the city of Milwaukee. The workers kept the railroad running until 1985. Its accomplishments included the first tracks connecting Lake Michigan at Milwaukee with the Mississippi River high-speed, luxurious, beautifully designed Hiawatha passenger trains efficient freight services an innovative shop in Milwaukee and a skilled workforce. The Milwaukee Road, incorporated in 1847 as the Milwaukee & Waukesha Railroad Company, operated a 10,200-mile system stretching from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest into the 1970s.
0 kommentar(er)
