On Saturday Decmber 20, 2008 the East Troy Trolley museum brought out one of its motors to run a plow train to keep their line open. This was necessary since over 12" of snow fell the day before. The museum wants to keep the line open because they were running Holiday trains. Also they are expecting a couple loads of ties from the Canadian National which the East Troy has an interchange track with.
Unfortunately I missed most of the plow train due to my day not working out like it should have. But I did catch the end of run in Mukwonago, WI. Below are some shots from Saturday. Good thing they ran the plow train yesterday, Today Dec 21st in Milwaukee the temps have been below zero all day with winds blowing and wind chills in the -20 to 30 degree range and blowing snow. Plus talk of another several days of snow right up to Christmas.
Trolley lines can have problems with icing on the wires, which prevents contact (it doesn’t create a short). Those which operated in areas prone to this problem had special trolley shoes or wheels which were used in bad weather to break up the ice. Lines powered by uncovered third rails (like the Chicago ‘L’ and the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban line) also had this problem. The cars were equipped with scraping devices to clear the contact rail.
Thanks for some really interesting photos. During my youth in the 40’s and 50’s, Pittsburgh had an extensive trolley system, but I don’t recall snow plows. That’s not to say they didn’t have them, but either I never saw one, or time has clouded my memory. I guess I’ll spend some time searching the internet this evening.
Great pictures! Question: Did that line ever make it as far as Milwaukee? The reason I ask is I lived in Franklin, WI from 6th grade up through HS graduation. We lived near the small “hamlet” called St. Martins, over there near Hwy. 36. I remember seeing what I always thought may have been a former ROW near Hwy. 36, and I often wondered if this was the electrified line that ran in Mukwonago.
Yes, the East Troy - Mukwanago line used to go all the way to Milwaukee. It was part of an extensive interurban railroad system called The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company, with multiple lines operating from the Public Service Building in Milwaukee (still standing). In addition to the East Troy line, the sytem had lines to Sheboygan, Watertown, Burlington and Kenosha. St. Martins was a junction point for the East Troy and Burlington lines. Both of the latter lines were discontinued south and west of Hales Corners in 1939, as part of a general cutback of TM lines. At that time, the City of East Troy purchased the Mukwanago-East Troy segment to preserve its rail freight access to the Soo Line at Mukwanago. Final abandonment of the TM system occurred in 1951.
During the 1920’s, the TM constructed an impressive rapid transit access into Milwaukee for its western lines (including the East Troy line) with 3-4 tracks in some places (it also had plans for a downtown subway, which was never built). But, instead of being the core for a more extensive rapid transit system, most of the right-of-way became the route for I-94 west from Milwaukee following the railroad’s abandonment.
Now you may ask, why would anyone in their right mind have built an interurban rail line all the way from Milwaukee to terminate at a little hamlet like East Troy. The reason is that it wasn’t supposed to terminate in East Troy. The East T
Nice shots Keith, and what a rare catch in the 21st century. Not too long ago this museum railroad in East Troy would actually switch cars to some local industries, so it remained a common carrier and may yet be one today. Keith mentioned that it maintains an interchange track with the CN.
Where I work, in downtown Milwaukee, there is a manhole cover that says “TMER&T” – The Milwaukee Electric Railroad and Traction Company, the prior name of the TMER&L (where the L stood for “Light”). There are a few other scattered remnants of the large TM system here and there - bike paths, some buildings, some trolleys and engines at East Troy and at the Illinois RR Museum, bridge abutments, and even an old electric bus out in a farm field north and west of Milwaukee. But the East Troy museum is clearly the most intact remnant of this once-significant system.
Should any of you railfans come to Wisconsin to ride the trolleys at East Troy and Mukwonago, you may also want to make time in your schedule to ride the PCC cars in Kenosha WI – a newly built electric trolley line in a town which had a significant railroad heritage. Maybe Keith can re-post some of his old snow shots of the Kenosha PCCs.
The East Troy Electric Railroad is a common carrier and is subject to federal laws and regulations just as any other short line railroad. While there is no current freight movement on the line, an interchange agreement is maintained with the CN for the junction at Mukwonago.
Ice formed from freezing rain is a very poor conductor of electricity so when it accumulates on the contact wire or third rail, it breaks the electrical connection. I have witnessed some rather spectacular light shows from CTA trains trying to operate in ice storms as the electricity arcs over between clear sections of third rail and pickup shoes that have sliden up on ice. Ice storms have also shut down operations of Chicago’s Metra Electric (Formerly IC’s Electric Suburban Lines).
Thanks for all the information on the TM. Dave hopefully you have gotten some shots of that manhole cover near work.
Also the East Troy Museum ran another Plow Train today 12-24-08. I was out there and got some more shots plus it was snowing while the motor was plowing. I think I have my Christmas card for next year. I will get some shots up after Christmas
Cool pictures, I remember seeing snow sweepers on the trolley lines in the Philly. Pa. area when I was young. They had rotating brushes on each end, I always woundered if any were preserved.
As promised here are some shots from the Christmas Eve Plow Train on the East Troy Trolley museum. With snow falling it made from some interesting shots. With temperatures near 50 in Milwaukee as I type this on 12-27 the snow cover is fading quickly.
TMER&T = The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Transport Company . After the public utility act of 1933 the Power company and the transportation companys were split . The electric power end became WEPCo (Wisconsin Electric Power Co.) , a title that was used in the 20s to finance the building of the lakeside power plant. The Transportation end became TMER&T.
Prior to the utility act the entire company was the TMER&L (The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. ) .The interurbans were built and financed by the MLH&T ( Milwaukee Light Heat & Tracti
