Metra in Milwaukee

There has been plenty of discussion over the past few years about a new commuter operation starting up in southeastern Wisconsin, which would operate as part of Chicago's Metra system and run from the current end of Metra operations at Kenosha to the depot in Milwaukee.  But this page is about a somewhat lesser-known operation of Metra in Milwaukee...

Union Pacific regularly ships batches of brand-new Metra bilevel commuter cars out of Milwaukee via Mitchell Yard.  Union Pacific has two locomotives, UPY EMD GP15-1s 728 and 729, equipped with special couplers to handle the shipments of the Metra cars.  My first encounter with this interesting shipment came in February 2004, when I spotted the shiny new cars at Mitchell Yard.  Two men that were involved with the construction of the bright, shiny new cars were also taking pictures of the train, though I didn't ask what company they were from.

After some time, I found out that the cars were manufactured in Japan and shipped in by flatcar to Super Steel on the north side of Milwaukee, where Super Steel did the final assembly on the cars.  On a visit to the Super Steel plant, I found several shiny new cars parked north of the building, and several more unfinished cars wrapped in blue tarps and on blocks atop flatcars around the south and west sides of the plant.

Related links: (will open in new window)
Union Pacific Railroad
Metra
Super Steel

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Metra 8533

Metra 6067

Metra 6069

UPY 729

UPY 729

UP 577 w/new Metra cars

UP 577

Metra 8579

UPY 728

Metra 6137

UPY 728

UPY 728,
new Metra cars

Metra 8591

Future Metra 6170
on JTTX 960046