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For our 10th anniversary in October 2011,
my wife and I went to Wisconsin and Illinois for a long weekend. One of
the main places we stopped was the
East Troy Electric Railroad. Ever
since I became a member of the Minnesota Streetcar Museum, I wanted to
visit this railroad. Not only did they have a lot of great
equipment, they had one of only two Minnesota streetcars operating outside
of Minnesota. Twin City Lines #1583 ended up as a cabin in Wisconsin
and it was returned to service by the members of East Troy. It's the
only steel sheathed streetcar TCL had that's been preserved. We got
to ride a number of different cars on their five mile mainline the day we
visited, and rode their dinner train that night as well. Even though
TCL #1583 wasn't running, they let me into the carbarn that night after
the dinner train to check her out. Click on the picture
for the full size photo if you like.
Daytime operation
During the day, we got to ride a
number of fun electric streetcars and interurbans. First, we rode a
pair of Chicago South Shore interurbans numbers #30 & #13. South
Shore #30 was built in 1929 while #13 was built in 1926 and subsequently
rebuilt in the 1940s. Then we rode a single-truck open car, #21
built in 1975 for the East Troy Electric, based on the old open air cars
from the early days of electric streetcars. Finally, we rode a pair
of Chicago Elevated "L" cars, numbered #4420 and #4453, both built in
1924. It was a fun mix of different types of traction equipment that
day. They also had Milwaukee Electric #846 out that day for a
private charter that I got some shots of. It was a gorgeous
streetcar!
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Outside the depot
Old School Wig-Wag Signal
Milwaukee Electric #846 on the Layout
Getting ready to board South Shore #30
South Shore #30's controls
South Shore #13 next to Steeplecab #L9
Milwaukee Electric #846
Milwaukee Electric #846
Milwaukee Electric Steeplecab #L9
East Troy Electric Railroad #21
Passing the South Shore Interurbans
Chicago Elevated "L" cars #4420 and #4453 |
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Entrance to their Depot/Substation
Great little Traction Layout in
the Museum
More O Scale Traction
Kathy on South Shore #30
South Shore #30's interior
South Shore #13
Milwaukee Electric #846
Milwaukee Electric #846
Milwaukee Road Transfer Caboose #01738
Riding East Troy Electric Railroad #21
East Troy Electric #21 at the Elegant Farmer
Kathy inside #4420
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Dinner Train
East Troy took a pair of South
Shore Interurbans (#24 and #25) and converted them into dinner cars.
The interiors are all Art Deco and are very, very nice. These are
the only "self-propelled" dining cars around. For their dinner
train, each date has a different meal. Being October, ours was the
Octoberfest with stuffed boneless pork chops, spaetzel, and German
chocolate cake for dessert. Topped off with a nice Octoberfest
beer from the New Glarus Brewing Company, it was a wonderful meal and a
wonderful evening on the train.
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South Shore #24, the "Beverly
Shores"
An anniversary toast on the
Beverly Shores
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South Shore #24, the "Beverly
Shores"
Twilight on the Train |
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The Carbarn
After dinner, the volunteers
allowed Kathy and I a little peak in the carbarn since I'm a member of
the Minnesota Streetcar Museum. I guess being a member of a
Traction Museum has it's perks! Their carbarn is enormous!
They definitely have a wonderful museum and a lot of great equipment and
amazing volunteers making it all happen. Got to see TCL #1583, and
also got a little peak inside Sheboygan #26. It was great to
finally see TCL #1583. Hopefully, next time we're there we'll be
able to go for a ride on her. The interior on Sheboygan #26 was
incredible.
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Twin City Lines #1583
TCL #1583's front controls
TCL #1583's interior headboard
Twin City Lines logo |
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Rear end of TCL #1583
TCL #1583's rear controls
TCL #1583's front end
Sheboygan #26's interior
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