1950s era photos of the Milwaukee Road depot in Milwaukee, WI show a small turntable at the west end of the depot train shed, in front of the a Railway Express Agency building. Does anyone know what this turntable was used for?
I believe that was used for turning smaller steam locomotives on some of the Chicago to Milwaukee runs, they also had a water tube and coaling apparatus at that end of the station I believe. I do not think they used it after Dieselization that much if at all as the Diesels could be paired back to back.
One really cool item lost to time:
If you look at a 1930's map of that area of Milwaukee on the East end of the old Depot, they had a track that branched west just after crossing the river and led to a WYE with the freight cutoff further South, which they probably used for turning a complete passenger train...........which they would have needed to do with the Milwaukee section of the Southwestern to Kansas City. That track alignment which is now gone would have allowed the turning of passenger trains without much interference of incomming trains to the station. The track alignment was probably torn up around 1965 if not earlier.
About where the current Amtrak station is now used to be a freight transload area as well as coach yard but had one through track that continued on to join the Milwaukee to Chicago main. After the trains were moved to the 1965 station (which back then was built with State money as well), they used the regular Menominee Frieght servicing area for turning trains and locomotives if they needed to. In most cases they would just uncouple the diesel from the coaches and run around the train in the Depot as was the Everett Street Station practice after the cutover from steam.
Also, BTW, the first Milwaukee Road Depot was located on 2nd Street just to the East of Everett Street Depot. It was called the Reed Street Depot. Notice the track in the streets which you can still see in one of the AFTER pictures. Kind of cool eh? Just pointing out that part of the track was there longer than Everett Street Depot. Reed Street Depot was the first Milwaukee and Missisippi Road Depot in Milwaukee. They built initially to Brookfield initially then west on the Brookfield Waukesha branch to Prarie Du Chien on the Missisippi River. Brookfield became Brookfield Junction when they constructed the new mainline to Watertown and points NW.
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=N:4294963828-4294955414&dsRecordDetails=R:IM34408
Best before and after photo.
http://oldmilwaukee.net/blog/?p=1382
The Park that used to be in Center front of the Everett Street depot is now called Ziedler Park and still exists at the corner of 4th and Michigan you can still see it on the street maps of Milwaukee as a tiny patch of green (and use for reference).
Everett Street Depot served: Milwaukee Road, Wisconsin Central and Milwaukee and Northern Railroad trains (merged in 1893 into the Milwaukee Road and became it's Milwaukee to Green Bay and then UP branch)
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