In early spring or summer of 1951 or 1952 I witnessed a fire on a C&NW 400 passenger train somewhere north of Whitefish Bay (North side of Milwaukee). We were traveling North in the family car when we overtook a passenger train. The track was 100 to 200 yards east of the highway. The train was pulled by an EMD E or F unit (might have been a pair) and the engine(s) and cars were in the Yellow and Green "400" livery. The second to the last passenger car had its rear 1/4 engulfed in flames. The flames were shooting 15 to 20 feet into the air. The last car appeared to be unaffected. The train may have been stopping or moving very slow as we passed it very quickly and it disappeared from view. I asked my father every day for weeks what had happened and he said he didn't know because nothing had shown up in the local papers.
Does anyone know what happened - What caused the fire? Was anyone injured? What happened to the equipment? I would be forever grateful as this incident has stuck in my mind and I can remember it as if it were yesterday. My grandfather worked on the B&B crew for the C&NW out of Escanabe.
Thank you very much. Bob Klenner cbklenner@comcast.net