I’m building an interlocking tower (from an American Model Builders kit) for my roughly Milwaukee based model railroad, and am looking for good photo references of wooden interlocking towers that may have existeed or may still exist in or around Milwaukee. I’d like my model to resenble either and ex-Milwaukee Road or ex-CNW tower, but I don’t know what colors were used by either road to paint their towers. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Keegan, If you’re talking about a “typical” two-story, wood frame interlocking tower, the Milwaukee Road painted them light gray, with a dark gray or black roof. However, to the best of my knowledge (I’m not a Milwaukee native), there was only one of those in the Milwaukee area, Grand Avenue Tower. It was in a valley below the Wisconsin Avenue bridge (Grand Avenue was an earlier name for Wisconsin Avenue), just north of the avenue. It controlled the junction of the main line to the north (to Portage and Green Bay) with the main line to the west (to the Twin Cities via LaCrosse). By the time I first moved to Milwaukee, 1979, it had been replaced with a one-story concrete-block “cabin.” The other towers in the Milwaukke area were either brick, like Duplaineville Tower (west of the city where the Twin Cities main crossed the Soo Line) and Cutoff Tower (in the Menominee Valley just east of the West Milwaukee Shops), or like Lake Tower (seven miles south of downtown on the main line to Chicago) had brick first stories and second stories covered with white shingle siding. As far as I know, none of these former Milwaukee Road towers still stands. So long, Andy
Thanks for the info, I have found photos of Cutoff, and one in IL. I didn’t know there was ever one in near Wisconsin Ave. Am I correct in thinking this was near Miller Brewing, just east and north of the valley? I actually work near the former Tower Automotive (former A.O. Smith) plant on Milwaukee’s North side near the Gleandale yard, currently WSOR territory. So I am pretty familiar with the area where the Green Bay/Portage Line actually splits and heads towards Green Bay and Portage seperately.
Did they paint the trim around windows and doors a different color, or was the whole tower just gray?
Hi Keegan, Yes, Grand Avenue Tower was just west of the Miller Brewery, in what I think is called the Pigsville neighborhood. It was on the east side of the tracks, right at the junction, and at least into the 1960s it had separate train order signals for the main lines going north and west. I recall seeing the concrete block building that replaced it from the Wisconsisn Ave. bridge. There are a few color photos of Grand Avenue Tower in the the Morning Sun book, “The Milwaukee Road in Color, Vol. 2, the City of Milwaukee,” by Jeffrey M. Koeller. They don’t show any contrasting trim, just solid light gray. Those photos date from the 1960s, though, and I don’t know how it might have been painted in earlier times. So long, Andy
I think I’ve seen that book in the library when I was looking for other local stuff. I’ll have to take another look. I’m modelling the present, so technically I could just do away with the tower all together, but that wouldn’t be as much fun to look at, and I just felt like building the AMB kit =) I’ve tossed around the idea of boarding up the windows and perhaps some graffiti on the side. If the kit goes together nicely maybe I’ll build two one circa 1960 and one fictional circa 2006 that I can just swap on and off the layout.
I meant to ask in my last reply, when did you see it from Wis. Ave. is there anything left there today?
Hi Keegan, No, I don’t think there is anything left there today. When the deep tunnel sewer project was being built, there were “mine shaft” structures at that location, and the construction project probably obliterated whatever was left of the railroad structures. My memories of seeing the concrete block cabin are from '79 and the early '80s. So long, Andy
Keegan (and Andy S.)
The best internet source I know for photos of interlocking towers in the Milwaukee area is the website maintained by retired railroader Don Ross.
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/
Milwaukee Road
Lake Tower was a Milwaukee Road interlocking at the south side of town, torn down maybe 25 years ago. Combo of brick and wood.
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/milwlk.jpg
The tower at North Milwaukee appears to be all brick
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/milwnm.jpg
On the C&NW in Milwaukee a classic interlocking tower was at Belton Junction in West Allis where the line to Madison WI met the freight belt line that went west from St Francis and then turned north toward Butler Yard. I never saw it in person. In this photo it looks all brick.
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0001/cnwbe.jpg
Thus far I am unable to find an internet photo of the CNW wood tower at St Francis WI where the “old” passenger line and “new” freight line met, then split off to the belt line west to Mitchell Yard and Butler Yard versus the line north to Jones Island and the CNW lakeshore passenger depot. However it, as well as BA tower at Jones Island where the CNW and Milwaukee crossed, and Chase Tower were photographed in the Spring 1988 issue of North Western Lines of the C&NW historical society. Obviously if you are not a subscriber or if your public library does not have this publication that migth not be of much help. Both BA and St Francis where rather narrow (I mean, longer than they are wide) wood two story towers, dingy gray in color as I recall and to judge from the B&W photos in the magazine. They wer