When did the CNW o RTA stop service between Kenosha and Milwaukee and why. Milwaukee is wanting a new form of transportation these days.
Hi - I believe passenger service on the CNW north of Kenosha ended with the start up of Amtrak in May of 1971.
Art
C&NW’s suburban service on the North Line always ended at Kenosha. Everything north of there was considered intercity service even though it was shown in North Line timetables and was discontinued on April 30, 1971.
Was and is this a CTC single track line?
What was the timing from CHI - MKE on C&NW best and at Amtrak day?
How much improvement will the soon to happen UP upgrading of this line have on speeds?
Is there much push to have this as a second route to MKE?
Just prior to Amtrak, Chicago-Milwaukee timings were running at about 95 minutes, including 3 or 4 intermediate stops. It wouldn’t work too well as a second route since there isn’t any way of getting into Chicago Union Station from this route.
Given that Ogilvie (ex-North Western Madison St. Terminal) is a short two block walk to Union, I’m not sure that, in and of itself would be so terrible.
How about a connection of
1. Kenosha - Ranney? or
2. North Chicago - Rondout (CN?) or
3. Renew connection at Clinton Street since Grand Ave Yard (C&NW) had a convoluted connection to Union Station?
Suggestions 1 and 2 defeat the purpose of using the C&NW route since the trips would still bypass the North Shore suburbs, service to which seems to be one of the goals of re-establishing this route. Suggestion 3 may not be practicable since this would require the upgrading of what is now little more than an industrial lead from near the Clybourn station.
COMMENT: I have read where the State of Wisconsin would like to establish communter rail service connecting Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee. The U.P. Kenosha Subdivision, given its proximity to population centers, would be the logical choice.
-
ATS Double track with a parallel freight-only line.
-
Looking at several old timetables, it appears the best time on the C&NW (in 1949!!) was 75 minutes for the 85 mile run, with only one stop in Evanston, avg speed 68 mph.
Actually, It’s not completely double tracked past Kenosha [:(]. that’d be the big cost of it all. It’d be hard to double the track in Milwaukee with the highway right next to ya. However, with hard work, lots of money, and investing that money wisely, it could be done.
Used to be double-track, so i would think the RoW could still handle double-track. However, I see what you mean in Milwaukee.
Biggest problem I see in restoring service is getting the political will to fund the service. Personally, the ex-C&NW route makes more sense to me because it serves more communities. Amtrak goes through Glenview and Sturtevant, the latter being mostly populated by cows. Okay, I’m kidding if only slightly, but the larger populations live closer to Lake Michigan. A few years back, many of the communities were willing to kick in money for the service, but the county manager for Kenosha balked at it and no wonder. He got his service for free. One day it may happen, but one of the problems is in equipment. Use Metra cars and locos? Gotta have their permission. The only reason trains go to Kenosha is because there are yard facilities here. If they had a yard in Winthrop Harbor, I guarantee no Metra train would turn a wheel in Wisconsin. FWIW, I work as an engineer on one of the Kenosha scoots. I’d like to see restoration of service to Milwaukee, but I’m not holding my breath.
The threshold question I would have about using the CNW line for a Milwaukee-Chicago service is how much demand would there actually be for such a service. Metra commuter trains already operate from Kenosha to Chicago over CNW and Amtrak runs from Milwaukee to Chicago (over the CP, which is probably a better route for passengers traveling between the two end points). That leaves only Racine as a new source for Chicago traffic, but it would be such a long trip that it’s doubtful it would be used much as a commuter route (besides, anyone in Racine interested in taking a commuter train to Chicago can easity drive a few miles to Kenosha and catch one). The State of Wisconsin apparently believes (or, at least, believed until the last election) that there is sufficient demand for a commuter rail between Kenosha and Milwaukee to warrant such a service. I find this
Well, let’s get one thing straight: there is no C&NW anymore. It belongs to the Union Pacific. I agree with the idea that there should be some kind of through service, not an interchange at Kenosha between trains. I don’t understand why there can’t be some sort of lease agreement on Metra’s equipment, but I’m not a company lawyer. The further scuttlebutt was that Wisconsin wanted some sort of contract operator to run it over UP’s track, to which I say, “Over my dead body!” That’s our track and our seniority district and I’ll be damned if I want to share it with some scab outfit. That said, I know that if the service were available, people would use it. I’ve been doing this for over 15 years and I firmly believe they would.