Trackside with Erik and Mike, Vol. 66

[Bergie]

Bergie, your shot took me right back to my youth in Iowa... too bad the SD-40 wasn't the maroon and gold of the Rock Island!

You are TRULY outstanding in your field!


Get it...


Out standing in your field!

 

Yeah, I got it. I laughed, but I'm not sure I should have!

Bergie

[Bergie]

Hi guys,

I like both shots. Not sure I can analyze why?? So I will just vote.....it's Erik's this time.

Larry in Wauwatosa

You're a good man, Larry, and don't you let Mike tell you any differently!

Bergie

[zardoz]

A bit of a history lesson on the shoreline sub.

From Don Ross's website:

Prior to 1927, the line north from the Milwaukee depot split at Lake Shore Junction which was just south of Capital Drive. One branch went to Wiscona and then up the Fox Valley. The other line went north up the Lake Shore. The trackage from Lake Shore Junction to Fox Point was abandoned, and trains were routed via Wiscona. Dean Segal found this old photo of the station.

http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0001/cnwls.jpg

If you walk the line in the area covered by Mike's photo you can very slightly make out the spot where the lines merged, even though the track was torn up in, I think, 1929 and no trains ran after, I think, 1927.  Much of that line went right through what is now a totally residential part of Whitefish Bay WI, a very nice and expensive suburb.

Dave Nelson

Dave, do you know where that might have been?  I grew up around there, and do not ever recall seeing any tracks or structures other than the double-track along Wilson Drive.  The old bridge for the double-track over Capitol Drive is still in place, but I cannot imagine where the other track would have crossed Capitol (or Hampton or Silver Spring for that matter).

[zardoz]

Yeah, I got it. I laughed, but I'm not sure I should have!
Bergie

All I did was groan (but with a smile).

[dknelson]

A bit of a history lesson on the shoreline sub.

From Don Ross's website:

Prior to 1927, the line north from the Milwaukee depot split at Lake Shore Junction which was just south of Capital Drive. One branch went to Wiscona and then up the Fox Valley. The other line went north up the Lake Shore. The trackage from Lake Shore Junction to Fox Point was abandoned, and trains were routed via Wiscona. Dean Segal found this old photo of the station.

http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0001/cnwls.jpg

If you walk the line in the area covered by Mike's photo you can very slightly make out the spot where the lines merged, even though the track was torn up in, I think, 1929 and no trains ran after, I think, 1927.  Much of that line went right through what is now a totally residential part of Whitefish Bay WI, a very nice and expensive suburb.

Dave Nelson

Dave, do you know where that might have been?  I grew up around there, and do not ever recall seeing any tracks or structures other than the double-track along Wilson Drive.  The old bridge for the double-track over Capitol Drive is still in place, but I cannot imagine where the other track would have crossed Capitol (or Hampton or Silver Spring for that matter).

We are going so far back in the history of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay and Fox Point that there are almost no landmarks left.  But if I understand correctly the junction for this long torn out line was near Capitol Drive near where the bridge crosses.  Some of the streets east of that bridge are at rather odd angles and those MIGHT be holdover from the old line

I also have been told that in Whitefish Bay it was more or less near where Winkie's Variety store was and continued more or less due north to where it met with up the existing line

if you stand on the Santa Monica bridge that the line goes under and look west (this is where I think Mike Y shot his picture) the line met up on that curve.  The remains of the old ROW are extremely faint.   Sometimes I see them and sometimes I don't.

If you happen to have the April 1948 issue of Trains magazine (no I am not joking) there is a great article called Milwaukee, City of Streamliners by Al Kalmbach himself and Linn Westcott drew a sort of "all time" map of the city that includes dotted lines for abandoned track.  it includes this line. 

Dave Nelson

[asnjoe24]

My choice for this week's vote is Erik's BNSF cornfield shot for just the same reasons he mentions liking it in the column. Plus, it seems an inviting break from winter, gives kind of the "lonely rural slow train coming" feel, and is more relatable on my part with what I most often see on the Glorieta Sub (i.e., I see grain trains more than anything, usually empties being shipped back east from Mexico along the El Paso Sub). Most of the Dash 9 units and cars I see in the consists are really faded, weathered, and/or often look like they haven't been washed in weeks, harking back to Mike's UP photos at the start of the column.

On that note, I personally favor Mike's UP crossing shot more than the one he chose and would have preferred that one to have been chosen for the one. The first Belgium coal shot (of the lead UP units) he presents has a great "coming at ya" feel for me, complete with light and the wave of the engineer. His second Belgium shot of the lead engine has a great contrast effect! Rather than looking chilly, it looks to me with the colors of the water that Lake Michigan is on the coast in summer! That, against the snow on the ground, is quite the blend! Very nice shot, Mike!

- Bryan

[CTGreybeard]

This was really, really tough!  I liked both shots but had to go with Mike's.  I liked the detail from the zoom into the loco and that lake in the background did the trick.  The corn rows in Eric's were stunning, to be sure.  If that quonset hut hadn't been in front of the barn I might have gone the other way.

 Great job, guys!

 Bill W

[espeefoamer]

You guys make it tougher every week!I thought about it long and hard,constantle switching between Erik and Mike.Finally,Mike won.I like seeing a CLEAN! UP engine.Lake Michigan in the background had me shivering just thinking about it.Erik,your shot of a grain train passing through fields and past a farm was excellent,too.I wish I could have voted for both.

[DadH]

Sorry Guys... no cigars this go-around. Neither of the selected photos were that spectacular: but had the choice been either the United Way Spirit or the (Belgium) engine trio, that would have made a difficult choice. I think the farm scene was too sky expansive. Rather than the whole "field, farm, sky and train" scene, a tighter zoom would have done wonders to emphasize the train while leaving in some field, etc; and we're only shooting "Half-Engines" now?

[emmar]

They where both great shots this week. I went with Erik's because I thought that the cornfields added an additional challenge to the picture.  Should be interesting to see how this one turns out.  It should be a close one.

[bnsfkline]

Sorry Mikey, I had to go with Bergies Shot this week! Theres something about the BNSF Orange and Yellow that I find more appealing to me than the Standard Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Grey of Union Pacific!

 Stay Safe, and Bergie, Keep warm! Wouldn't want our favorite Moderator freezing his fingers so he can't eat those tiny Steak N Shake Fries!

[zardoz]

Dave, do you know where that might have been?  I grew up around there, and do not ever recall seeing any tracks or structures other than the double-track along Wilson Drive.  The old bridge for the double-track over Capitol Drive is still in place, but I cannot imagine where the other track would have crossed Capitol (or Hampton or Silver Spring for that matter).

[\quote]

We are going so far back in the history of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay and Fox Point that there are almost no landmarks left.  But if I understand correctly the junction for this long torn out line was near Capitol Drive near where the bridge crosses.  Some of the streets east of that bridge are at rather odd angles and those MIGHT be holdover from the old line

I also have been told that in Whitefish Bay it was more or less near where Winkie's Variety store was and continued more or less due north to where it met with up the existing line

if you stand on the Santa Monica bridge that the line goes under and look west (this is where I think Mike Y shot his picture) the line met up on that curve.  The remains of the old ROW are extremely faint.   Sometimes I see them and sometimes I don't.

If you happen to have the April 1948 issue of Trains magazine (no I am not joking) there is a great article called Milwaukee, City of Streamliners by Al Kalmbach himself and Linn Westcott drew a sort of "all time" map of the city that includes dotted lines for abandoned track.  it includes this line. 

Dave Nelson

Thanks, Dave.  

Winkies!  Man, does that bring back memories!! I used to buy my baseball cards there.

[UnionPacificVic]

Mike, I actually think you picked the wrong picture.  The one of the GE's coming down the track at you at Belgium was a far superior shot than the "cockeyed" shot at the weird angle with Lake Michigan in the background (IMV)!  With that, I went for the shot of the BNSF SD through the cornfield.  There's lots of "texture" in that photo.  Would have been even better just slightly compressed through a zoom lens.

[lhtalbot]

Hi guys,

I like both shots. Not sure I can analyze why?? So I will just vote.....it's Erik's this time.

Larry in Wauwatosa

You're a good man, Larry, and don't you let Mike tell you any differently!

Bergie

Thanks Bergie, but how did you know I've been talking to Mike?

Altho, I haven't heard from him since I voted for your pic. Hmmm? :)

Larry

[PBenham]

Hindsight department: Mike, I think, based upon the results so far ya shoulda gone with that crossing shot!

[gwjordan1950]

 

 I am a Die Hard A.T.S.F. fan. Ever since the big ruckus with UP of the rights on their patent,I lost respecft for them.  The picture aws good with the lake in the back ground. Keep up the good work.

   I really enjoy the Great shots!!

            Gale.

[Noah Hofrichter]

Hindsight department: Mike, I think, based upon the results so far ya shoulda gone with that crossing shot!

With all the times I've seen "I would have voted for the other shot you didn't put up for voting" posted in the forums, maybe you guys should do one week (or several weeks) where you each pick one of those "other shots" and put it up for voting. That way those photos finally get the chance they deserve!

Food for though anyway,

Noah