Shops: (
Satellite)
Muskego: (
Satellite)
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Marty Bernard posted
Another View of the Milwaukee Road Yard in Milwaukee, October 3, 1976.
Marty Bernard shared
Ray D. Nelson: Memories...worked the North Lot switchtender job several times in 1968. The little shanty at 9 o’clock was my office and the main track switches on right were the major responsibility. They were hand operated in those days and were kept lined for the yard to avoid the 5-min rule. They would have to be lined for main for psgr trains, of course. We had Milw and CNW trains back then. |
The 2005 SPV Map explicitly labels the buildings on the left the "MILW Shops." The bottom yard on the right is labeled "Airline Yd." The yard above Airline is labeled "Davis Yard."
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Dennis DeBruler commented on Marty's post
The red line down the middle is 35th Street. The one on the right is Layton Blvd.
1958 Milwaukee Quadrangle @ 1:24,000 |
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Edward Werner posted, rotated
Found this aerial photo of the Milwaukee Shops in the Menomonee River Valley. The only facility still running was the Wheel Shop so the photo was taken after the Soo Line bought the Milwaukee Road but before the Wheel Shop was closed in December 1986.
Mike Sommers: The wheel shop stood until around 2000.
I should also mention that the city tried to preserve the twin brick smoke stacks. Unfortunately one started to collapse and they had to remove both of them. ( middle 2000s - 2012ish?) There was a Landmark placed near the location before their demise.
Jack Douglas: Most of that is now a parking lot for the Brewers stadium. That area has changed so much that if I had not seen it with my own eyes I would never believe it was actually there.
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The above is looking East, the following is looking West.
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414 Milwaukee Mil Town posted
County Stadium
1952
Christopher Tappero II shared
From 414 Milwaukee Milltown page. 1952 view of county stadium under construction. In the foreground is the Milwaukee Road facilities. Amazing photo!
Bob Wundrock: When I sat in the upper grandstand, first-base side, I’d watch the trains instead of the game. |
Bryan Much
posted four images with the comment:
I attended a meeting today that was in the valley in Milwaukee. It reminded me of the extensive presence the Milwaukee Road had there with their shops and other buildings. The shops operated from 1879 to 1985. The railroad had to move the river and fill in wetlands to create an additional sixty acres they needed for their 160 acre facility. These guys made rail cars and locomotives for the Milwaukee Road - and a heck of a lot of them. They had metal forging, carpentry, welding, painting, and machine assembly operations going on. Back in 1907 these guys built 10 locomotives a month and 28 freight cars per day. By 1937 that had produced 668 locomotives and 67,000 freight cars. In 1922, this was the third largest railroad and rail car complex in the US. Between 1941 and 1950 the shops knocked out more than 20,000 freight cars, 165 cabooses, and 220 passenger cars including the cars for the Hiawatha trains. The shops closed down in 1985 and eventually the valley was reclaimed by things like stadium parking lots and new buildings for business.
Pete Kranz: Most of the Shops facilities, except the Car Dept, were inactive after 1983. That followed the closure of the hump and Bluemound yards in '81.
The diesel shop work was split between Bensenville and SY, with a new small 3 track fueling/sanding/inspection facility put into service near 5-rings.
The lumber yard was moved to Tomah (still there, now Tomah Lumber).
Most of the brass were moved to the Milwaukee station on St Paul Ave.
Oddly enough, most of the buildings remained in place until the early 2000's. The city of Milwaukee had been trying to purchase the Shops land to build a prison, as early as 1982. While Trustee Oglivie was willing to negotiate, politics got heavily involved, and the sale never went through.
Fast forward to 2003, when CMC Heartland was beginning to liquidate its largest holdings of former Milwaukee Road property, that a sale was finally arranged. After numerous lawsuits by CMC regarding valuation/compensation concerns. A side note about that - CMC was left with basically unsellable scraps of railroad property, much if it in need of environmental reclamation/rejuvenation. Face with millions in potential cleanup charges and environmental suits, CMC filed for bankruptcy and liquidation in 2010, 85 years after the Milwaukee's first bankruptcy, and 15 years after the Asset Purchase Agreement with CP.
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Dave Martens commented on Bryan's post
Shortly after the roundhouses at this location were built (early 1880s) |
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David Janin posted
Ok another Milwaukee Road magazine picture from 1953 zoom in ....
Dennis DeBruler shared |
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Mark Llanuza posted
Its a snowy day back in 1978 a view of Milwaukee Road Milwaukee Shops . This is where the got the reputation of Americas Resourceful Railroad where they built passenger cars and steam engines cabooses and box cars has a major repair shops that could fix everything .Unfortunately there is nothing left today of this major facility.
Mark F Krist: Literally Milw Road Valley
Brad Taylor: I probably was there working that day. Things were pretty grim that snowy frozen winter. [Those late 1970s winters were brutal. We record snow, then record cold, then record snow & cold.] |
The 2005 SPV Map labels the east/west yard as "Muskego Yd." The topo has four black circles for the gasometers shown in the photo below that was posted by 414 Milwaukee Mil Town.
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| 1958 Milwaukee Quadrangle @ 1:24,000 |
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Dick Linday posted
The Milwaukee Road at the time of this photo was three years from the closing of Lines West and eight years from the end. The Milwaukee was experiencing one of the most devastating winters in the history of the entire RR. Taken from the 35th street viaduct the view shows across section of the railroad equipment throughout the Milwaukee's entire 10,500 mile system.
Dick Linday shared |
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Greg Mross posted
The 35th Street viaduct in Milwaukee makes a fine vantage point to view a portion of the Milwaukee Road's sprawling shop facility. Shot in March of 1985, this scene would change greatly with the Soo Line (now Canadian Pacific) takeover. It would change even more when Milwaukee County Stadium was torn down to make room for a new stadium.
Jeffery Anderson: After it was cleared out, did a lot of soil boring down there for future construction and never seen such contaminated soil, you'd think we were drilling for oil on some of the holes we did. |
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David Ciepluch commented on Greg's post
1950 West end of the Valley. |
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David Ciepluch commented on Greg's post
1937 aerial of the west end of the Valley. |
I got the name "Menomonee Valley Shops" from this post.
Rick Dee
posted four images with the comment: "These snips of the Menomonee Valley Shops and Yards are from the 1967 aerial photo posted on the Milwaukee County GIS Data Site (Link below). Alex Sansone... If you scroll to the south on the GIS photo... you can zoom in on all of the areas of the Menomonee Belt Line in it's hay day!
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Rick Dee
posted four images with the comment: "For comparison... here are photo snips from the 1995 aerial photos of what was left of the the Menomonee Valley Shops. Here is the link to the 1995 Milwaukee County GIS Aerial Photo.
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414 Milwaukee Mil Town posted
A 1947 aerial view of the Menomonee Valley showing the Wisconsin Gas Company's coal gas processing and storage facility near 26th and St. Paul. |
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Gordy Schmitt posted
Milwaukee Road 775 at the Milwaukee shops, October 10, 1977. Taken by my stepdad, Leonard (Tom) Nagel. Nice looking Fairbanks Morse H10-44.
Dave Schneider: Johnston's Cookies in the background (where my Aunt Betty worked) and the huge malt plants off 43rd Street on the horizon. Most of them now gone.
James Steed: Dave Schneider I wondered if the pic was looking SW towards 43rd…thank you for confirming. |
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John J Kulidas posted
Looking east from the 35th St viaduct in Milwaukee WI in June 1967.
The Milwaukee Road yards.From a Kodachrome slide. Photographer unknown.
[Some comments discuss how railyards are cleaned up.] |
Rick Dee
posted 15 photos taken 1982-84 of the Airline Railyard.
Rick Dee
posted 34 photos taken 1982-84 of the diesel house.
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1 of 61 photos posted by Rick Dee
These are photos I snapped of the Menomonee Valley Shops between 1982 and 1984 - Part 2
[There are also photos of a roundhouse. Note the transfer table.] |
Is "West Milwaukee" another name for the "Menomonee Valley" shops?
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Catherinanne Graf posted
Milwaukee Road's West Milwaukee shops and yard. (Tom Forenco)
Geoffrey McCormick: That would be Tom Farence.... |
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Catherinanne Graf posted
Milwaukee Road in Milwaukee (Tom Farence) |
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Dick Linday posted
Milwaukee Road n/a at Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Center for Railroad Photography and Art High quality photograph of Milwaukee Road n/a # at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA |
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