Beer Line - Milwaukee

[METRO]

Anyone living in the Milwaukee area can easily explore the remains of one of the most interesting urban lines in America:

The Milwaukee River Parkway, starting at bit north of Riverside Park (a couple blocks north of Kenwood and just west of the UWM campus) there are the ruins of the old Beer Line that used to join Milwaukee and La Crosse, Wisconsin, as well as the lineside industries. A series of mountain biking and hiking trails snake all through the ruins of old industrial complexes that used to line the Milwaukee River. The rail line itself is now a paved cross-country bike trail that goes all the way down to the Lakefront where the old CNW station used to be.

From the start of the ruins south to Riverside Park, all of the ruins are in city-owned public parkland, so trespassing is not an issue as it's fully legal for people to be there during open park hours. South of the park, the rail-become-trail follows the old cutting through the East Side of Milwaukee, and past the old factories, most of which have been turned into condos.

One of the most interesting is the Kenilworth Building, which was built in 1914 as a Ford Model-T plant. It was also used in WW-II as a torpedo factory, and now is used by the University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as art studios and student apartments.

For more on it here's a link to a community newspaper from Milwaukee that ran a short about the line last year:
http://www.riverwestcurrents.org/2004/May/001657.html

Cheers!
~Astral

[csmith9474]

Thanks for the info!! Next time me and the wife head up to Green Bay or Yooper land, I think we will take the bikes through Milwaukee.

[james saunders]

well if im ever in the US i'll check it out

[Anonymous]

There was also a book that was released by the Milwaukee Road Historical Society that was entitled "The beer line" It was a very good book. It was more like a large magazine but still had some great facts and information.

I still remember the day they imploded the Schlitz grain elevator in 1998. It was neat it took 2 explosions (Each one equating 1megaton bomb if Im not mistaken), and almost needed a third. Its a shame this line was dying/dead when I was young.

DON

[jpmorrison]

hey metro i use to live 3 blocks from the yard on humbolt and i remember watching the trains their

jeff

[Paul W. Beverung]

Hi Metro: I was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Shorewood. I used to enjoy watching the beer line in action. It was a very interesting operation. I remember the crossing shantys down town. I wounder if one was saved for posterety? Do you know if anyone is modeling the line? It had such a wide veriaty of industries besides beer that it would be a good candidate for a model railroad. I've been thinking about doing a small layout based on the line but I don't think that I'll have the time.

[Markgro]

QUOTE: Originally posted by METRO

Anyone living in the Milwaukee area can easily explore the remains of one of the most interesting urban lines in America:

The Milwaukee River Parkway, starting at bit north of Riverside Park (a couple blocks north of Kenwood and just west of the UWM campus) there are the ruins of the old Beer Line that used to join Milwaukee and La Crosse, Wisconsin, as well as the lineside industries. A series of mountain biking and hiking trails snake all through the ruins of old industrial complexes that used to line the Milwaukee River. The rail line itself is now a paved cross-country bike trail that goes all the way down to the Lakefront where the old CNW station used to be.

From the start of the ruins south to Riverside Park, all of the ruins are in city-owned public parkland, so trespassing is not an issue as it's fully legal for people to be there during open park hours. South of the park, the rail-become-trail follows the old cutting through the East Side of Milwaukee, and past the old factories, most of which have been turned into condos.

One of the most interesting is the Kenilworth Building, which was built in 1914 as a Ford Model-T plant. It was also used in WW-II as a torpedo factory, and now is used by the University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as art studios and student apartments.

Just to clear things up a bit, you've got two railroad lines mixed up into one.

The old railroad line described above was actually part of the Chicago & North Western's Airline Subdivision (which ran along the eastern bank of the Milwaukee River, past the Kenolworth Building, etc. and cut over to the Downtown lakefront). It has since been converted into the biking/hiking trail between Estabrook Park/Shorewood and the Downtown Lakefront.

The Milwaukee Road's "Beer Line," on the other hand, was on the west side of the river leading to Downtown (but not the Lakefront) where the Schlitz, Blatz, and Pabst breweries were located. This is the line described in the Riverwest Currents newspaper article liked above. The northern-most part of the Beer Line is still somewhat in tact, but used very very little by the Wisconsin & Southern. Everything south of about Keefe Avenue has been ripped out; some of it has already been converted into another recreational trail (with more segments planned for the future), while other parts have been built over with condos.

Both are great lines for studying good old fashioned urban industrial railroading--but the Beer Line slightly moreso because it served many more industries.

Here is a website with a vintage photo-tour of the C&NW Air Line Subdivision: http://www.jimyanke.com/rrjim/

The Beer Line has been covered to some extent in some different
publications. It is serving as an inspiration for a yet-to-be-built
layout of my own, and it's linear arrangement works perfectly for a
shelf layout. Here are the sources I've come across in my own
research, both in magazines and books:

1) "The Beer Line that made Milwaukee famous," by Wallace W. Abbey,
Trains magazine (August 1952)

Lots of great shots from around the line (including Humboldt Yard and
switchback ramp along Commerce Street), good images of unloading
grain from boxcars, and intersting statistics about the branch.

2) "Milwaukee Road's Beer Line: The branch that helped make Milwaukee
famous," from the book Classic Railroads You Can Model (later
reprinted as More Railroads You Can Model), published by Kalmbach

Many more great photos from along the line, including elevated shots
(taken from the Holton Street Bridge) looking down the tracks. Text
includes a history, despription of operations/equipment, a map, a 4x8
HO trackplan, and a shelf layout trackplan.

3) "The North Side," by Art Harnack, The Milwaukee Railraoder (March-
June 1985), magazine published by the Milwaukee Road Historical
Association

Even more photographs of the line--including elevated and street-
level shots of Cherry Street Yard. Text includes a detailed
description of operations and equipment used plus an annotated map of
the entire railroad in Milwaukee.

4) The Beer Line, by Art Harnack, book published by the Milwaukee
Road Historical Association

Another great collection of photographs from all along the line; lots
of stuff from around the breweries, plus other parts of the line that
aren't covered in any of the other books/magazines. There is a pretty
detailed map of the Beer Line, showing most of the industries and
spurs. The text is very detailed, describing the entire line, with
specifics on the major industires, a lok at some of the rolling stock
and locomotives commonly used, plus a detailed outline of how the line
was typically operated.