Milw Road Skytop Rolls thru Milwaukee

[kschmidt]

Greetings,

With Amtrak discontinuing the use of RoadRailers at the end of their trains the Friends of the 261 decided to run a Fall Excursion using their private cars the Cedar Rapids and Montana. So twice in one year the Skytop gets a chance to come home to Milwaukee.

Here is a shot of Amtrak #8 on Saturday Oct 2nd as it nears the Milwaukee Amtrak Station. With the Cedar Rapids and Montana making a great ending to the "Builder".


Passing underneath the new 6th Street bridge the Cedar Rapids is about to enter the Amtrak Station in Milwaukee.


Amtrak #7 heads northbound on Sunday Oct 3rd at Waterford Ave on the southside of Milwaukee, WI.



What a view out of the Skytop as #7 rounds the curve northbound into Milwaukee.



Keith Schmidt
www.geocities.com/kaschmidt626/index.html

[railman]

cool pics...neat to see Milwaukee stuff out on the road.

[dknelson]

Also on Sunday Oct. 3 Amtrak #8 had its own private car on the end: Arthur E. Pew's "Gritty Palace," a 1911 Rock Island business car/observation painted green. Presumably the two Empire Builders passed each other somewhere in the vicinity of the Illinois/Wisconsin border. Anybody get a shot of the meet?
Dave Nelson

[jeaton]

RATS!! Missed the anouncement of the trip. I have got to look at 261.com more often.

Thanks for the photos.

Jay

[zardoz]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson

Also on Sunday Oct. 3 Amtrak #8 had its own private car on the end: Arthur E. Pew's "Gritty Palace," a 1911 Rock Island business car/observation painted green. Presumably the two Empire Builders passed each other somewhere in the vicinity of the Illinois/Wisconsin border. Anybody get a shot of the meet?
Dave Nelson

Darn; the one day I decide to be lazy and stay home to watch the losers Packer--I mean the Packers lose.

I thought, "What are the odds something interesting will pass by on a Sunday afternoon?"

[AntonioFP45]

Wow! Great shot!

She's a beauty!

This may be the same car that I actually went inside and snapped photos back in 1981 when it was parked adjacent to the Amtrak station in Sanford Florida where the Auto Train yard is. I still have the photos!

Anyone know if this is the one! I think that at that time there were 3 or 4 of these cars still in existence. One is supposedly a resteraunt on a lake somewhere.

Cheers!

[Anonymous]

Very nice!!! Thanks for the photos!!

[Overmod]

Antonio, there were TWO in that 'restaurant on a lake', if you're thinking of the converted ferry Lansdowne. I'm currently tracing the current status of that project with the company that owns it.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by zardoz
I thought, "What are the odds something interesting will pass by on a Sunday afternoon?"

Answer: If you are:

1) waiting by the track for "something interesting" to pass by; Slim to none.

2) sitting at home watching football; Absolute certainty!

[kschmidt]

Greetings,

Thanks for the nice comments, and for those that missed it the Skytop will return. The Friends of the 261 is repeating the trip from Minneapolis to Chicago on Sat/Sun Oct 16-17. They originally planned 4 cars but these two were fine.

Like Dave mentioned the "Gritty Palace" shown below is owned by Arthur Pew III. I wonder if that was actually Arthur Pew III on the rear platform.

[jeaton]

Memo to wife: Saturday, October 16 would be an excellent day for a trip to Milwaukee for shopping in your favorite stores.

(Keith-Thanks for the info.)

Jay

[Modelcar]

...Very much enjoyed all the great photographs....!

[espeefoamer]

I saw the Cedar Rapids at Denver Union Station in the early 90s.[:)]

[dknelson]

Just to clarify, it it works Oct 16-17 like it did Oct 2-3, the cars come south on Amtrak 8 on Saturday and return to the Twin Cities Sunday on Amtrak 7.
Suggested photo spots: the depot at Sturtevant, Brookfield (west of Milwaukee), Waterford Avenue on Milwaukee's south side (that is where Keith got his coming and going shots) or the bridges at College Avenue or Grange on Milwaukee's south side for some overhead shots, the depot at Milwaukee either west (where Keith got the shots under the 6th St bridge) or east, such as the swing bridge over the KK River.
Happy photography!
Dave Nelson

[wcfan4ever]

In the first photo, which WC passenger car was that? Did anyone get a name off of it?

[kschmidt]

Greetings,

The WC painted car in front of the Skytop is the "Montana". Which I believe is a heavyweight Parlor car.

Keith

[Anonymous]

Is the skytop available for charter? I've had a difficult time finding information about Friends of the 261.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kschmidt

Greetings,

Thanks for the nice comments, and for those that missed it the Skytop will return. The Friends of the 261 is repeating the trip from Minneapolis to Chicago on Sat/Sun Oct 16-17. They originally planned 4 cars but these two were fine.

Like Dave mentioned the "Gritty Palace" shown below is owned by Arthur Pew III. I wonder if that was actually Arthur Pew III on the rear platform.

The picture is a little dark, or I might be able to tell you. I met Art a number of years ago when he worked for the BN here in St Paul.

All of these are cool pics. I guess every cloud does have a silver lining. [swg]

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

Wow! Great shot!

She's a beauty!

This may be the same car that I actually went inside and snapped photos back in 1981 when it was parked adjacent to the Amtrak station in Sanford Florida where the Auto Train yard is. I still have the photos!

Anyone know if this is the one! I think that at that time there were 3 or 4 of these cars still in existence. One is supposedly a resteraunt on a lake somewhere.

Cheers!

Antonio, there were only ever 10 skytops made for the Milwaukee Road. Six sleeper/lounges in the Creek series and four lounges in the Rapids series. The Dell Rapids is actually on display in Daytona Beach. The Coon Rapids is the only one that still rides the rails. The Creeks all went to the CN for a while, 3 still exist and at least one is being restored now. You can read all about them and all of the Milwaukee Road's passenger cars at this website.

http://www.trainweb.org/hiawatha/skytops.html

[Anonymous]

I was on that train Seattle-Chicago. Caught the skytop when I got off at Union Station. Beautiful car. Never saw one before (grew up in West Texas). Can't seem to get my photo to insert here. Help, and I'll share it. Dan

[kschmidt]

Here is a close-up brighter shot of the rear platform on the Gritty Palace. Maybe this can help to see of that was Arthur Pew.



Keith

[Big_Boy_4005]

Keith, that could very well be Art. It has been a long time since I've seen him. The man in the photo seems to be the right age and size to fit with my recollection of him. Ever since I said that I had met him in my previous post, I've been racking my brain as to the reason for our meeting.

It had to be back in the late 80's. Art was an exec for the BN back when their HQ was in St Paul. He was also a member of the Minnesota Transportation Museum. If I remember correctly it had something to do with the creation of a new display of MTM equipment using the concourse of the old St Paul Union Depot.

At the time, I was the vice president of the Twin City Model Railroad Club. The club was looking to become a part of the new venture, and return to it's original home at the depot. I distinctly recall having to go to his office, and pick up or drop off an envelope, as a part of the project involvement. In the end the project fell through.

I'll say 90% sure that it is indeed Art in the photo. After all, if you owned a private car rolling down the rails on a beautiful fall day, wouldn't that be your seat of choice?[swg]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by talbanese

Very nice!!! Thanks for the photos!!

[#ditto]


That would have been interesting to see. I hope many of the forum members up there got some good pics of it. [:D]

[Anonymous]

Lookin great! --- Milwaukee Roads Skytop Cedar Rapids rolls on!
A fabulous work of railroad beauty.. Hope to catch a photo on October 16 -- 17 at Wisconsin Dells.

Milwaukee Road Skytop Cedar Rapids and Montana at Wisconsin Dells on the rear of Amtrak #7, Empire Builder on October 17.

click link below for photo's.............[:)]

http://www.railimages.com/gallery/bobcada

[dknelson]

Yes as a reminder, according to schedule this weekend the cars run again on the Empire Builder. Oct 16 (east) and 17 (west).
Dave Nelson

[Big_Boy_4005]

Big Girl and I had wanted to get out and grab some shots, but it is very doubtful that we will, given our location and the schedule. The best lighting will all be east of Tomah. You guys in Milwaukee have all the luck.[swg]

[kschmidt]

REMINDER:

The Milwaukee Road Skytop plus other private cars are scheduled to be on the rear of the Empire Builder Amtrak #8 today between Minneapolis and Chicago, IL

As of about 9:45am according to the Amtrak webpage Amtrak #8 was 26 minutes late into Red Wing, MN. However they are saying that the train was expected in Milwaukee on time or early. The weather may not be the greatest around Milwaukee, but it is still neat to see.

[kschmidt]

Bobcada,

The only way that I found to post pictures on this forum is that each photo must have its own webpage address. The way I found to do that was I signed up for a FREE account on RailImages.com. On Rail Images each picture that is uploaded gets its own webpage address. Then all that needs to be done is to type . Then the photo will be seen in the posting.

I know, now that it is as clear as mud, but it was the easiest way I found to do it. If you click on the link on my signature "Keith Schmidt Rail Images" you will see all of the photos that I have posted on Rail Images and it is free.

Keith

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately 2 of the skytops are in sad shape in Erie, Pa. Check the following site to see for yourself. http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?board=WestPenn;action=display;num=1068859964

[Anonymous]

Another site dealing with these beautiful cars can be seen at:

http://www.trainweb.org/hiawatha/skytops.html