Matt finds the trains in TRAINS’ backyard: Photos made in the footsteps of Al Kalmbach

on Wednesday, September 7, 2011

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My final post in this series came from a wonderful conversation with Kevin Keefe, former Trains editor and now the vice president of Kalmbach's editorial division.

As we were talking about the blog, Kevin helped me find some photos that Al Kalmbach himself had made of trains in Waukesha and Milwaukee where the rail lines are still active today. Then I began searching for modern-day photographs of my own that might complement what Al Kalmbach had done six decades ago.

The results appear in this blog. Two of them are in the 10.27-mile sphere that has governed this series. The third photo is from Milwaukee, where Kalmbach, both the family and the company, has had a vibrant history.

It reminds me again of the timeless allure of railroading, and the value of going back to familiar places another time. The fascination with railroads that Al Kalmbach had when he started this company and Trains magazine is alive today among those of us who help put the magazine together each month. You'll recall the names of colleagues I've mentioned who helped me with this blog. I received a lot of support from others, too, including our Assistant Editor Angela Pusztai-Pasternak, who has been my ace editor on this project.

I've also appreciated all of the comments and notes from you, the audience, as well. I've really enjoyed getting to hear from you!

Oh yes, about those photos...

First pair: We're standing on a hill just west of Waukesha along Sunset Drive. Al Kalmbach came out this way in 1954 to photograph Chicago & North Western's morning passenger train from Milwaukee to Madison. The tracks in the foreground belong to the Milwaukee Road (also bound for Madison). Fast-forward to Aug. 16, 2011. The former North Western is a bike trail, but regional railroad Wisconsin & Southern still plies the Milwaukee Road line. Morning train T004 rolls west atop a new layer of ballast on its way to Janesville, Wis.

Second pair: The city of Milwaukee was the crucible that helped forge Kalmbach Publishing Co., and provided Al Kalmbach his earliest experiences with railroads. If the photos in our library are any indication, one of Al Kalmbach's favorite places to photograph was from the Bluemound Road overpass west of downtown Milwaukee, at the fringe of Milwaukee Road's terminal area. This bridge spans the Grand Avenue junction, where the main line to the Pacific Coast bears to the left and a line to Milwaukee's industrial north side (and on to Michigan's upper peninsula) branches off to the right. Al Kalmbach caught a local freight there in 1949, running north beneath the arched Wisconsin Avenue bridge. By Aug. 21, 2011, a new arch bridge had replaced the older one, and the tracks have shrunk in number. Still, Canadian Pacific puts on a great show. Train 283 thunders out of the terminal area for St. Paul, Minn.

Third pair: Here we are back in downtown Waukesha. If the stone depot looks familiar, it's because we began this blog here, our "milepost 0" for this project. Al Kalmbach was there in September 1950, back when four Soo Line trains a day called at Waukesha, on runs from Chicago to Duluth and St. Paul. I love the two boys (brothers, perhaps) walking hand in hand down the platform! By Aug. 26, 2011, all but one of the old coach tracks had been taken out, along with the platform canopy. Nevertheless, maintenance and local crews still report for work at the depot, which was built in 1886 and looks as handsome as ever. And railroading is still full of pleasant surprises, which is the only way to describe the appearance of a BC Rail C40-8M locomotive on the point of this southbound Canadian National freight.

Now that we're back where we started from, I'd like to say thank you to all of you for coming along with me on our search for the trains in TRAINS magazine's backyard.

If you're ever out this way and you come across a white Ford Explorer, it might very well be me. Feel free to stop and chat.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!