Milwaukee Road Hiawatha

[cbqjohn]

I'd like to get the prototypical locomotives and passenger cars for the train that went to Eagle River, WI in the 40's and 50's. Believe it left Chicago from Dearborn Station. Also the same for the train that went to Rice Lake, WI in '56, believe it went to Union Station. Pretty sure it was Milwaukee Road Hiawatha for Eagle River run, not sure of Rice Lake train. Same question (prototypical equipment) locos and freight cars for Milwaukee Road "beer train".

Thanks,

John

[Anonymous]

Eagle River was on the "Watersmeet" Branch of the C&NW. The junction with the Ashland Division main line was located at Monico.

The branch was served by a seasonal daytime train, the "Flambeau", beginning in the 1930s. By 1950, the branch was served by a section of the "Flambeau 400." Consists then included 2 or more streamlined coaches, one or more streamlined parlors, a one-of-a-kind streamlined cafe-coach, and heavyweight head-end cars. Typically an R-1 Ten Wheeler or a boiler-equipped GP7 provided the power. Service was curtailed pretty quickly, and by 1956 (the last year of operation), the train was down to a baggage car and coach train operated only on the branch (i.e., no through cars to Chicago). A GP7, a Walthers Trainline 60' baggage, a Con-Cor streamlined coach and a Walthers Trainline 60' heavyweight coach would make a good consist for the mid-50s.

The Watersmeet Branch also was served by the "Wisconsin Lakes Special", an overnight train. I don't have power or consist info on those trains.

Rice Lake was served by the Omaha Road (a C&NW subsidiary) and by a branch line of the Soo Line. Sorry, but I don't have info on Rice Lake passenger service just now.

C&NW trains used North Western Terminal in Chicago.

[cbqjohn]

Thanks, fiverings I appreciate the info. I model N scale, would those cars you suggested be for N or HO?

[jimrice4449]

The Dearborn Station is a "you can't get there from here" situation as none of the RRs out of Dbrn went to wisc., and the C&NW trains all left from C&NW stn (the only one, other than the interurbans that only had 1 RR)
I can help you w/ the beer train though. Durring WWII my parents sent me to a YMCA camp near Burlington Wisc whose chief attraction from my point of view was the south property line which abutted the Milw Sturtevant-Savana line. They ran a psgr train out every morning about 10AM on whose block followed the Beer Train. The big attraction was that it was powered by one of those new fangled frt diesls (EMD Fts). The train itself was pretty much all reefers folowed by one of the Milwuakee's rib side bay window cabooses. Given the priority status of the cargo (this was before the Eastern breweries set up branch plants in the West) I would imagine that it got whatever the current "state of the art" power was.

[Anonymous]

The equipment I listed is in HO, but there CNW GP7s available in N (IIRC), and more importantly, very nice N scale CNW streamlined coaches --- from Des Plaines Hobbies.

The Sturtevant - Savanna line was known as the Racine & Southwestern, and the freight trains on it were known as "RSWs" or "beer trains" , because that's mostly what they carried. The FT diesels were replaced by newer F3 and F7 diesels, which in turn were replaced by GP30s, usually run in 4-unit sets. The grades on this line were reputed to be the most difficult on the east end of the Milwaukee Road.

Milwaukee Road also had a "beer line", more formally known as the "Chestnut Street Line", located within the City of Milwaukee. This line ran in a generally southeasterly direction from North Milwaukee, terminating just south of Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee. This line served the Schlitz, Pabst and Blatz breweries, the American Motors assembly plant, Continental Can Co., and many other industries. During the diesel era, Fairbanks - Morse H10-44 and H12-44 swithcers were the most common power.

[cbqjohn]

Thanks to both fiverings and jimrice, your info like the other knowledgable members is a great help to a to me. Are there any color photos of the Flambeau and the "beer train"?