MILW diesel types

[Charlie S]

Hi all,

Was wondering what models of MILW diesels were common on the Kingsbury/C&E/Lakewood/Goose Is. branches in the mid-50s to mid-60s time period?  EMD? Alco? Mix?

TIA,

Charlie

MLW North Line Fan since 1954

[Charlie S]

Forgot to add Baldwin to my original question above.

Charlie

MLW North Line Fan since 1954

[TBurke]

In talking to old-timers who worked the line they indicated that typically EMD SWs of various sorts were used in the diesel era on the C&E and Deering Lines.  Prior to the diesel era O-6-O steam locomotives were used.  

The locomotives had to be relatively small and able to negotiate the tight curves and light rails of the spurs and inside buildings along the line.

The Milwaukee Road Fairbanks-Morse engines were used mainly in transfer service from Galewood Yard to the Division Street yard via the Bloomingdale Line.

In the mid-1970s new MP-15s bumped the SWs on the C&E lines.  

In the 1980s and 1990s on rare occasions Soo Line/CP Rail would use GP-9s for switching, especially if there was a long train (>20 cars) with much of it for International Salt/AKZO Salt on Goose Island.

[Charlie S]

Thanks Tom!  Am starting to pull together plans for a small urban point-to-point layout and needed to develop a roster for locos and rolling stock.  Already have an BLI SW7 that needs to be MILW-ized and was wondering what else to run thru there.

Charlie

MLW North Line Fan since 1954

[TBurke]

Charlie:

After reading your post again I forgot to mention the Baldwin diesels.  Like the F-M units, they were used in transfer service between the Galewood and Division Street Yards, and not for switching service, according to my same sources.

Post pictures of what you put together.  

Tom Mann took photos of my Lakewood (finished) and Wrigleyville (under construction) N-scale Milwaukee Road layouts at the recent MRHA show.  Both are set more or less in the early 1970s though I fudged a bit by having Best Brewing still in operation at Fletcher and Lakewood-in reality it shut down in 1963 and now it\'s an apartment complex.

A pair of Lifelike Milwaukee Road SW N-scale locomotives do the work on these layouts.

They should be online soon.

[Charlie S]

I\'m working in HO and there\'s a dearth of models out there for early diesels.  I\'m going to be modeling 1955-65 (ish) so MP15\'s are out.  Considering Kingsbury or Goose Is. areas, so SW7/8/9/1200, BLW S2, S12 sounds ok to me.

On another note:

This may be elementary, but I wanted to know the reason/significance
for the white X\'s along the body frame edges, just below the hood side
walkways on some yard and road switchers. Seems I\'ve seen these only on some Alco pictures\'s browsing online? Safety stripes?  Some sort of ID? Curious...

Charlie

MLW North Line Fan since 1954

[TBurke]

Charlie:

According to the Morning Sun book The Milwaukee Road: Volume 1, The East End \"the white X markings on the switcher sill were added for increased visibility.\"  This caption and a photo of an S4 in Chicago are on page 65.  The photo dates from 1966.

On page 40 there\'s a picture of an RS3 with the white Xs also.

Bill Denton painted Xs on some of his switchers for his Kingsbury N-scale layout.

I\'ve seen the Xs on other switchers of that era on the Milwaukee Road.  I never saw them on the later MP15s though.

Tom

[Charlie S]

Thanks Tom.

Also got this reply to same question I posed in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MILWmodelers:

*******************************************************

The State of Wisconsin passed a law (I don\'t know the
year) that required any railroad locomotive or freight
car manufactured or rebuilt in the state to be given
reflective stripes or painted with a broken line along
the frame. This is to increase visibility at dark
rural grade crossings.

Most grade crossing accidents occur when the auto runs
into the side of the train. It is especially difficult
to see a train at a dark crossing at night when the
crossing is occupied by empty flat cars or gondolas.

So the MILW Shops put the \"X\'s\" on to comply with the
state law.

At Green Bay, the CNW used painted stripes. The GBW
used a checkerboard pattern along the frame. I don\'t
know what the SOO did at FDL.

Keith Kohlmann

*******************************************************

So it seems any diesel repaired or re-shopped in Milwaukee
got the \"X\" treatment.  I guess any Chgo Div locos would
come back the same way.  Not a bad thing from a safety
standpoint obviously.

Charlie



MLW North Line Fan since 1954