East Troy Electric Railroad
Encyclopedia
East Troy, Wisconsin
East Troy is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,564 at the 2000 census. The village is located southeast of the Town of East Troy. A small portion extends into the adjacent Town of Troy...
to Mukwonago, Wisconsin
Mukwonago, Wisconsin
-Geography:Mukwonago is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.8 square miles , of which, 4.7 square miles of it is land and 0.1 square miles of it is water.It is situated at the southwestern flank of the sprawling Vernon...
.
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.The East Troy-Mukwonago segment was transferred to the Village of East Troy in 1939, when the remainder of the line to Milwaukee was abandoned, and was operated by the village until 1985 when the Wisconsin Trolley Museum took over the operation of the railroad.
The Friends of East Troy Railroad Museum, Inc. purchased the rail line and rolling stock between 1995 and 2000 in stages. 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
North Freedom, Wisconsin
North Freedom is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Baraboo River. The population was 649 at the 2000 census.-Geography:North Freedom is located at ....
to East Troy. TWERHS operated over the line using a trackage rights agreement with the village until 1985, when the trackage rights agreement ended upon the sale of the line. In 1989 the TWERHS collection was sold and the museum disbanded. By this time WTM, which had become the East Troy Electric Railroad, was operating historic interurbans and streetcars on the line.
Current operation
The East Troy Electric Railroad Museum operates a museum and several miles of the track offering rides on a weekly basis during the spring through fall season. The original substation building in East Troy, WisconsinEast Troy, Wisconsin
East Troy is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,564 at the 2000 census. The village is located southeast of the Town of East Troy. A small portion extends into the adjacent Town of Troy...
is used as a ticket office and museum, and visitors can purchase rides to the Elegant Farmer store at Phantom Woods, near Mukwonago. A collection of approximately 40 pieces of electric railway equipment is kept in storage barns in downtown East Troy and at Phantom Woods.
Route description
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The railway itself is a standard gauge common carrier railroad that operates in interchange with Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
(formerly a connection to Wisconsin Central Ltd.
Wisconsin Central Transportation
Wisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada , the United Kingdom , New Zealand , and Australia .- Overview...
).
Much of the track is original and the railbed was refurbished during the mid-1990s. The line is completely electric, utilizing a 600V direct current system. Power is supplied to trolleys through overhead wires. The original 500 kW rotary converter motor-generator is no longer used and is on display at the museum.
Notable Equipment
- Sheboygan Light Power and Railway 26Sheboygan Light, Power and Railway Company CarSheboygan Light, Power and Railway Company Car #26 is a historic interurban railway car.The car was built in 1908 by the Cincinnati Car Company. It operated around Sheboygan, Wisconsin until the 1930s....
, a fully restored 1908 wooden interurban car - East Troy Electric Railroad 64, a Philadelphia rapid transit car converted into a buffet/party car by the museum
- The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company 846, a 1920 Milwaukee streetcar
- Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee 761, a 1930 interurban coach undergoing rebuilding
- The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company 200, the body of an 1887 street railway parlor car
- East Troy Electric Railroad "Ravenswood" and "Beverly Shores," former Chicago South Shore and South BendSouth Shore Line (NICTD)The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana...
interurban coaches converted for dining train service by the museum
Management
- Norman Carlson, President, and Scrap-Master General
- Beverly Bobholz, Executive Director
Filmography
- The Trolley at East Troy - 1986 Documentary Film, Directed by Louis Rugani. Through the use of archival footage John I. BeggsJohn I. BeggsJohn Irvin Beggs was an American entrepreneur, industrialist and financier associated closely with the electric utility boom under Thomas Edison. He was also associated with Milwaukee, St. Louis, Missouri and other regional rail and interurban trolley systems...
'stars' in this look at the history and survival efforts of this small anachronistic Wisconsin trolley line since 1907, and an overview of its relationship to the surrounding area, the now-dissolved parent company which built it, and the vanished traction empire of which it was a small part.