Somehow MILK ended up with a line near Bedford IN in southern IN How did that happen?
To start off, it is MILW, not MILK!
Basically the Milwaukee wanted access to the Southern Indiana coal fields for cheap fuel and so took over the Chicago, Terre Haute & Southern in 1921 and the Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary in 1922. Both were heavily in debt though, which contributed to the MILW 1925 bankruptcy.
If you are interested…follow the following link
@ http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/10939.aspx
The Trains Forum discussion of the history of the MILW line in Indiana [Latta sub(?)] Some tme back there was a gentleman named Mike Dettmers who wrote a series of essays titled “Latta Laments” Stories of his travails and triumphs as an agent on duty at Latta,In.
The Forum link also has some more linked sites. Used to be a link from the Haley Tower Museum in Yerre Haute, In. that carried a link to the “Latta Laments”. Not sure how good the links are(?) but the tales are worth the investigations. [:-^]
Dead. The Haley Tower Historical and Technical Society spun off the Wabash Valley Railroader’s Museum, which is where the haleytower.org domain now maps. They have none of the Latta Laments linked, and they used the robots.txt flag, so the content is gone from the Wayback Machine.
Indeed.
Fortunately, Mike Dettmers contributed to the Yahoo heavy-haul Group, and some of the earlier Latta Laments are provided there (posted at the time they were written). Here is one example.
NOTE: Since the future of Groups is somewhat uncertain, and the content of archives may disappear just as the haleytower.org content has, here is the text of this Lament so you can get a feel for the joys. (Mike Dettmer retains all rights to the content, of course.)
For the week of October 1, 1998
The Frozen Tundra: Terre Haute to Bensenville
I still have a pounding headache. We’re talking Excedrin number 100. So
I get in the lower yesterday and I notice the chief is a health boiled
lobster color. Now, if it was the day after returning from vacation I
could understand it. The sun, the ocean breezes, the relaxation, all
resulting in a healthy sunburn. But not so in this case. I know that
boiled lobster look anywhere, and it doesn’t bode well for me. So as his
blood pressure crescendos into the stratosphere I know I’m in for a fun
evening. So as we discuss the turnover, I cannot help but believe that I
was destined for this night. You see, the entire operat
Samfp noted: "… but the tales [Latta Laments" ] are worth the investigations."
Overmod wrote about “Latta Laments” …“Indeed.”
"Fortunately, Mike Dettmers contributed to the Yahoo heavy-haul Group, and some of the earlier Latta Laments are provided there (posted at the time they were written). Here is one example.
NOTE: Since the future of Groups is somewhat uncertain, and the content of archives may disappear just as the haleytower.org content has, here is the text of this Lament so you can get a feel for the joys. (Mike Dettmer retains all rights to the content, of course.)"
Thank You, Overmod! [bow] I had hoped that someone here could ‘birddog’ the WEB whereabouts, currently, of “Latta Laments” by MIke Dettmers. I had discovered them back about 1999, or so, and thoroughly enjoyed them. As time passed they seemed to fade into obscurity. [:'(]
The whole body of “Latta Laments” was reading, that was easily read, and I thought very interesting to the rail fan community. Personally, I was disappointed that the fan-publishers missed an opportunity to publish, and get them out to a wider base of enthusiasts. They were, IMHO special recounts by a working railroad employee; TRAINS has had, over time, several who have contributed their stories to the magazine.
At one point I think I remember that Mike Detmers, had continued to work for the railroad, but in a different location, after the Latta Branch was sold off,{ MILW to CPR, to ??? and his position discontinued(?) OH! Well.
Thanks,
Latta Laments was great reading. Sorry to hear that it has disappeared. The author provided very detailed and entertaining insite to the operations of that railroad. Quite a bit of traffic moving.
Ed
OK, ED for you and anyone else… I got some time, and started Searching Google and Yahoo for “Latta Laments”. I know that the URL for Haley Tower seemed to have quit working, but I guess the Internet god came through for me this Sunday ! Here is the link that connected me to the Haley Tower site @ http://www.haleytower.org/x/laments/index.html
"…CP Rail dispatcher Mike Dettmers has graciously allowed us to archive his semi-regular “Latta Laments” journal here. Latta Laments provided a great insight into the trials and tribulations of keeping the Latta Subdivision moving, as well as play-by-play and color commentary on daily events.
Each entry is typically divided into at least three sections, one for each of the three distinct sections of railroad that CP Rail trains travel on their trek between Chicago, Illinois, and Louisville, Kentucky.
The Frozen Tundra: Terre Haute to Bensenville - The combination of the Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) and Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) in Chicago proper, UP’s Chicago Subdivision between Chicago and Wooland Jct, Illinois, and CSX’s CE&D Subdivision between Woodland Jct. and CP’s Spr
http://www.haleytower.org/x/laments/index.html
Two different ways, if the gods continue to smile on this effort… Good work, Sam!
Don’t miss the cool computer codes for the SD40B in #6.
If I am not mistaken at one point the Milwaukee Road had the “Louisville Slugger” baseball bat contract and I remember seeing a picture of their promotion about it but I am not sure what they hauled for the company but my guess is raw wood, aluminum and resin…maybe? I think they also served some coal mines in Southern Indiana.
Thanks for the links.
What an interesting railroad operation in Southern Indiana. The link will provide quite a bit of behind the scenes reading.
Ed
A sidelight on the Milwaukee’s Indiana line: this was one of the few US mainline railroads which never had scheduled passenger service over most of its length. There were a few locals at the south end, but never anything into the Chicago area.
I do know (and envy) two railfans who unexpectedly got to ride the line in the mid-Sixties as a result of a detour of the C&EI’s Hummingbird.
looking at a Milwaukee Road Map on American Rails.com, the line went from Chicago to Terre Haute and then to Westport IN. Railroad Historian George Dury H claimed purchasing the line into Indianna was one of many wrong decisions management made.
ATSF Guy:
If you are interested in an overview of the former MILW lines to the East of Chicago… I would suggest you [or anyone else who is interested, and might enjoy the reading] the lnks farther down this Thread…
The 'Latta Laments" of Mike Dettmers, contain many personal ‘snapshots’ of the daily operational grind there, from someone who was involved; on an almost daily basis. The later ‘Laments’ did have some of his personal photos, of points along the lines in Indiana(?).
It was gain access to sources to quality coal for the system. Other comments with held.
I thought I read in “The Nations Pays” (?) that this line was purchased for a direct connection to the east coast and was hardly utilized.