THE MILWAUKEE ROAD
This page will cover the lines from Kansas City and Council Bluffs, IA to Chicago.
The Milwaukee Road shared their Kansas City Terminal yard with the Kansas City Southern.
The Milwaukee was an operating diesel museum in the late 1970's with Alco
switchers
and even rarer Fairbanks-Morse units still in service.
Several H12-44 switchers worked the yard as seen on March 20, 1976.
H16-44 435 is the bigger unit assigned here.
Fairbanks-Morse unit 736 has a rather odd work train at Council Bluffs, Iowa. March 19, 1976.
GP30 1015 is also at Council Bluffs. This was their main interchange point with the Union Pacific.
An EMD switcher is assigned to the Mason City, IA yard. March 18, 1976.
A pair of SD-9's cross over the Chicago & Northwestern at Albert Lea, MN.
Two sets of GP40 road units at Savanah, Illinois. Savanah is on the Illinois-Iowa border.
More unusual diesels, including this SW-1 with a rather bizarre exhaust stack and a F7B unit.
More Fairbanks-Morse units could also be found in Savanah. March 16, 1976.
About halfway between Savanah and Chicago was Davis Jct., Ill. This was
once the busy mainline
between Chicago and the Union Pacific interchange at Council Bluffs. At one time,
most of
the UP's famous passenger trains used the Milwaukee Road to reach Chicago.
On September 18, 1984 a pair of SD-40's led by 182 pass Davis Jct. heading east to Chicago.
In a view so classic of mid-western railroading, the train passes through the
Illinois farmland.
Note the pole line and the now removed second track. This is near Fairdale, Ill.
(176kb)
At Kirkland the train stopped to pick up a covered hopper.
This neat small wood frame depot was at Genoa, Illinois.
This was as far as that covered hopper got. Genoa, Ill. September 18, 1984.
The small depot at Hampshire was used by the MOW crews.
Our train has now entered the limits of the Chicago area commuter district at Elgin.
The Metra F40's have replaced the old Milwaukee E8's on the suburban trains.
Bartlett is the next station east of Elgin.
A rather unexciting station at Medinah.
A building similar to Hanover Park is the Itasca station.
Another brick depot at Wood Dale.
Just west of Bensonville, a Metra F40C # 50 charges west with an early afternoon rush hour train.
Another modern brick station is at Bensonville. Note the silver box with the "Railroad Mail Only"
Tower B-17 controlled movements out of the west end of the Bensonville yard and the
junction
with the freight bypass north to Wisconsin.
of Images from the Bensonville yard are on the Chicago area page.
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