East Troy Electric Railroad
Ex-Milwaukee streetcar 846
operating on the East Troy line in 2006
LocaleEast Troy, Walworth County, Wisconsin
ConnectionsCanadian National Railway
Commercial operations
Built byThe Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company
Original gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Reporting markETER - Formerly METW
Stations3
Length7 miles (11 km)
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved electrification600 V DC
Preservation history
HeadquartersEast Troy, Wisconsin
Website
easttroyrr.org
Route map
 CN Waukesha Subdivision
 Indianhead Park
 Elegant Farmer
 Beulah Siding
 Army Lake Siding
 Trent Spur
 East Troy Railroad Museum
A steeplecab electric locomotive shown outside of the storage barn in East Troy

The East Troy Electric Railroad (reporting mark ETER) is an interurban heritage railroad owned and operated by the East Troy Railroad Museum. Passenger excursions run on a 7-mile (11 km) stretch of track[1] from East Troy to Mukwonago, Wisconsin.

History

The line dates back to 1907, when it was a part of The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company line from East Troy to Milwaukee.[2][3][4]

The East Troy-Mukwonago segment was purchased by the Village of East Troy in 1939, when the remainder of the line to Hales Corners was abandoned.[4][5] Under terms of the purchase, it was operated by TMER&L crews for ten years.[6] In 1949, TMER&L declined to renew the agreement for another ten years and the village hired its own crew and operated the railroad from 1950 until 1985. This is when the railroad became the Municipality of East Troy Wisconsin Railroad and adopted the reporting symbol METW. In 1985 the village approached the Wisconsin Trolley Museum and asked them to take over the operation of the railroad. They agreed to do so, and moved their collection of trolleys to East Troy.[1][4]

Museum operations began over the line as early as 1967 when The Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society (TWERHS) relocated its collection of electric railway equipment from North Freedom, Wisconsin, to East Troy. TWERHS operated over the line using a trackage rights agreement with the village until 1984,[7] when the trackage rights agreement ended and the Wisconsin Trolley Museum began to operate the line as the East Troy Electric Railroad. The Friends of East Troy Railroad Museum, Inc. purchased the rail line from the village and also purchased the trolley collection of Paul Averdung between 1995 and 2000 in stages.[8]

Current operation

The East Troy Railroad Museum operates a museum and just over 7 miles (11 km) of track offering rides on a weekly basis during the spring through fall season.[9] The original substation building in East Troy, Wisconsin, is used as a ticket office and museum, and visitors can purchase rides to the Elegant Farmer[10] store at Phantom Woods, and to Indianhead Park in Mukwonago. A collection of approximately 30 pieces of electric railway equipment[11] is kept in storage barns in downtown East Troy and at Phantom Woods. The museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational corporation run by volunteers. The substation, located at 2002 Church Street in East Troy, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Route description

The railway itself is a standard gauge common carrier railroad that operates in interchange with Canadian National Railway (formerly a connection to Wisconsin Central Ltd.). This gives the East Troy electric railroad the ability to pick up and deliver freight (including fertilizer for the Farmers Co-op, sand for the local Ready-Mix, and lumber and steel tubing) to the village of East Troy. However, the railroad has not been used to carry freight for at least ten years.

Much of the track is original and the railbed was refurbished during the mid-1990s. The line is completely electric, utilizing a 600 V direct current system. Power is supplied to trolleys and interurban railroad cars through overhead wires. The original 500 kW rotary converter motor-generator is no longer used and is on display at the museum.

Notable equipment

Original ownerNumberBuiltNotes
Sheboygan Light, Power and Railway Company261908Fully restored wooden interurban car
The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company8461920Milwaukee streetcar
Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee7611930Fully restored interurban car
The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light CompanyD-231907Line Car used to maintain overhead wire, supports
Chicago South Shore and South Bend24, 251927Former interurban coaches converted by the museum to dining cars "Ravenswood" and "Beverly Shores"
The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light CompanyL-61911Utility Crane Car
The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light CompanyL-81935Electric locomotive used for hauling freight
The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Traction CompanyL-91944Electric locomotive used for hauling freight
Chicago South Shore and South Bend6, 9, 13, 23, 30, 33, 1071926 1929Steel interurban coaches
Twin City Rapid Transit Company15831913Double-truck street car from Minneapolis-St. Paul

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wisconsin Department of Transportation (2014). "chap. 3". Wisconsin Rail Plan 2030 (PDF). Madison, WI. p. 26.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ↑ "East Troy Line". The Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society, Inc. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Wineke, William R. (June 14, 1998). "Clang! Clang! East Troy trolley links passengers to the past". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, WI. p. 56 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. 1 2 3 Gribble, Roger A. (June 27, 1994). "Trolley service, as it used to be". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, WI. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ↑ "East Troy Electric Railroad To Hold First Railroad Fair". The Lake Geneva Regional News. April 21, 1988. p. 48 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ↑ Canfield, Joseph M. (1972). "The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company". Bulletin 112 of Central Electric Railfans Association, Inc, Chicago. p. 519.
  7. ↑ The East Troy News. July 18, 1984. p. 1. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ Walker, Mike; Walker, Sigi. "2013 Badger Rails" (PDF). Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc.
  9. ↑ "Schedule". easttroyrr.org. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  10. ↑ Rocheleau, Jake. "Elegant Farmer". elegantfarmer.com. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  11. ↑ "Car Roster". easttroyrr.org. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
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