- The shell of a fake Milwaukee Road class A:
Link to original photo: https://www.ogrforum.com/topic/milwaukee-road-modeling-pictures?page=2
Does anyone know if this shell still exists today? or was it destroyed? Because I tried looking for it on Google Maps, and couldn’t find it.
- Abandoned tender in Ingomar, Montana:
Coordinates: 46.57878744666664, -107.37474108449955
Not sure if this is a tender from a 4-8-4 “Northern” or a 4-6-4 “Hudson”/“Baltic”, let me know what you think it is in the replies.
That’s all I could find for now.
-LB&SCR E2
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The 1/2 size scale model of a Milwaukee Road Class A Hiawatha locomotive, built on a 1940 Dodge truck chassis for promotional parades, was reported to be in rough shape and located on private property in Iowa around 2007-2013. While rumors of restoration or relocation to a museum existed, its current exact status remains unconfirmed.
- Origin: It is believed to be a parade float built by the Milwaukee Road to advertise the new, full-sized, streamlined Hiawatha train.
- Structure: The model was constructed on a 1940s truck chassis, featuring rubber tires rather than flanged wheels, and was powered by an internal combustion engine.
- Location: Discussions in 2007 and 2013 indicated the unit was found in a “field in Iowa”.
- Condition: Reports indicated it was in very poor condition.
While some in the rail preservation community hoped it could be restored (potentially for the Illinois Railway Museum), no definitive confirmation of its rescue or restoration has been widely documented since it was found in the late 2000s.
From what I gather it was owned by Ray Sweeney owner of a clock museum in Waucon, Iowa.
Hiawatha Popular Speedliner by Edmund, on Flickr
More Milwaukee beauty treatments:
Milwaukee Matrons by Edmund, on Flickr
What would one of those hats go for on eBay?
Cheers, Ed
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I have never seen anything saying the stranded tender is from anything but a 4-8-4. I suspect that someone knowledgeable could do a forensic examination even at this relatively late date that might narrow the provenance down somewhat.