Union Pacific Photo Albums

Welcome to Union Pacific Photo Albums. This page exhibits several locations along the Union Pacific Railroad in southeastern Wisconsin, including: (click link to go to that section)

UP South Milwaukee Spur
UP Mitchell Yard
Loram Rail Grinder
UP Centennial 6936
UP 3300 "United Way"
CNW 8575
CNW 8646 and 8701
UP 1989 "Rio Grande"
Heritage Units at Rochelle Railroad Days
Seven units on MPRVP
Sheboygan Coal
Green Spur
WSOR on UP

Other UP-related photo albums on Fuzzy World 3:

More Union Pacific
Even More Union Pacific
UP 1988 "Miss Katy"
UP 1995 C&NW Heritage Unit
Metra in Milwaukee
Vulcan Gravel Train
Janesville
Janesville 6/27/06
UP Kenosha Sub Construction
UP Marsh Job
Union Pacific Derailments
Union Pacific 2008

UNION PACIFIC SOUTH MILWAUKEE SPUR


South Milwaukee spur


forgotten rails


rail transition joint


red board


FPAX 200923


ACFX 40623


NAHX 620139


SHPX 464102

As I was driving through South Milwaukee one day, I happened upon this short rail spur that delivers plastics in rail cars to a nearby industry. On March 23, 2004, I stopped near the rail spur and took several pictures. Upon further inspection, I discovered that the spur once went farther east, crossing WIS-32 and serving several other industries that no longer exist! The line, originally Chicago & North Western, is now a part of Union Pacific.

Here is more information on this spur, as posted on the Trains.com forum^ by dknelson:

At the risk of boring other readers I can tell you a little about that spur in South Milwaukee -- near Davis Ave. It is known to the railroaders as "Badger Siding" because originally the spur continued east across WIS-32/N. Chicago Ave to serve Badger Malleable, a factory that made things out of pig iron. Badger Malleable was built in the 1890s and operated to the mid 1960s. It was purchased by Bucyrus Erie in the late 1960s and they operated it for maybe another 5 years as a small foundry but rail service had ended by the mid 1960s -- there was a switch east of N Chicago and the track served both buildings of the foundry. There are apartment houses now where the factory was -- it ran parallel to Badger Avenue.

By the 1960s it was dirty and smelly. The headquarters building was small and dark and located right on N Chicago Avenue near a small creek bed that might still be there.

Right at North Chicago was an auto dealer, Tracy Rambler, that in its earlier days may have received autos by rail because there was a loading dock trackside, although I doubt it because Ramblers were made in Kenosha and Milwaukee, too close to make rail service economical. It is now a heating cooling dealer maybe called Strambowski?

At that same corner from around 1910 to around 1950 was a coal dealer that received cars by rail. I have never discovered if it was also an ice house -- lots of coal dealers dealt in ice during the summer months to make money.

Continuing west up the hill there was a tannery, I think called Rapco, that definitely received raw hides by rail until around 1970. I remember seeing a boxcar built in 1919 that served that tannery maybe around 1968 or so. Part of the building is still there but the part nearest the track is torn down.

Then there is the plastics plant you mention that gets pellets in center flow hoppers to make plastic bags. Leutzow I think is the name -- back in the 1930s this was a dry cleaning business of the same name. In the 1960s the center flow hoppers were labeled Rexall or El Rexene, and came from the chemical coast in Texas.

At that same spot a local lumber yard, Morisee Lumber, got box cars and flat cars of wood until the 1970s -- their store was further north on N. Chicago Avenue, across from the George Webb restaurant. I think they had a small loading dock next to the track for a fork lift truck to use. My memory on that is a little soft.

... Going west of Leutzow -- so towards the main line -- was another tannery, called I think Midwest (unless I have gotten Midwest and Rapco confused which is possible). In earlier days there was a ceramic tile plant and a soap plant near this location that had rail service -- around 1910 to 1920. I remember that second tannery getting hides by box car but they had no loading dock and loaded them on flat beds pulled by a tractor into the plant. When both tanneries were operating that was one of the smelliest spots in all of South Milwaukee.

To round out that spur, right where it curves towards the main line was a Deep Rock oil facility that received cars by rail into the 1960s -- look closely and you can still see the concrete supports for the oil tanks -- and there was no berm around them in case of leaks back in those days. The oil office and loading pipes for trucks were across the tracks. The tanks were there into the 1970s but I think rail service ended in the 1960s.

So count it up: over the years two tanneries, two lumber yards, a factory, an oil facility, a plastics plant all served by the same short section of rail. Not to mention the tile plant and soap factory that were also located there in years prior. I have thought about writing up an article about this short spur for a model railroad magazine from time to time but never got the ambition -- plus I have too few good photos of the old days.
Dave Nelson

Sign on the yard office at Mitchell Yard. Mark W. Hintz photo, 2/19/2004, Milwaukee WI

Mi-Jack crane at Union Pacific's Mitchell Yard

MiJack crane

RailGon GNTX 297179

Mitchell Yard transload

Norfolk Southern business car 21 "West Virginia"

Union Pacific tracks reflect late-day sun

SOO 4416

NS 21 West Virginia

UP rails

WSOR EMD SD40-2 4005 and HLCX EMD GP38-2 3842

WSOR 4005/HLCX 3842

LLPX 2202

LLPX 2202 and more

UP 398

UP 1242

NS 32

Rail Grinder!

After work Tuesday morning, I took a short drive down by the Union Pacific tracks in Oak Creek. I saw a red signal at Forest Hill Avenue and drove down to investigate. Sure enough, a set of headlights was headed my way! So I parked and set up the camera, expecting a fast westbound freight train, but the train seemed to be taking a long time. As I looked down the tracks, I noticed a large cloud of dust and smoke blowing away from the tracks, which could only mean one thing: Rail Grinder!

UP Centennial 6936

Union Pacific EMD DDA40X "Centennial" 6936 is the last operating example of the culmination of the railroad's quest for the ultimate motive power, and is used on many inspection and engineering specials system-wide. The unit, built in January 1971, is the equivalent of two GP40 locomotives, in that it has two engines, but on a single 95' frame, and riding on two four-axle trucks!

UP 6936

UP Idaho

UP 6936

UP Idaho

UP 3300 "Pulling for United Way"

In 1994, Union Pacific painted up EMD SD40-2 3300 in a special red, white, and blue paint scheme, with letterboards on the handrails marked "Pulling for United Way". (The locomotive was also used for the 1996 Republican convention with the United Way lettering removed, as seen in this photo^.) Thirteen years later, the unit (sometimes known as "Star Brite"!) still wears its unique paint scheme, though some of the lettering could use a bit of touch-up.

On Sunday, August 26, 2007, I got a call from Charles from Illinois tipping me off that the unit was headed my way, and I headed towards the tracks to try to catch it! This would actually be my third photographic encounter with the unit, but certainly my best by far. (Previous encounters: UP 3300 early morning at Butler, UP 3300 in Illinois)

UP 3300

CNW 8575
March 26, 2006

On Sunday, I spotted a train sneaking under Layton Avenue as I was dropping my wife off in Cudahy, and though I didn't see the locomotives, I decided I would try to catch the train in Wauwatosa. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the train was led by one of the last three remaining Chicago & North Western locomotives! C&NW disappeared into Union Pacific back in 1995, and many of their locomotives have been repainted into UP paint, and most of the rest have received a "patch" of UP paint with their new UP number.

CNW 8575

UP 9026

CNW 8575

UP 9026

CNW 8575-UP 9026

Telegraph pole, cut down

CNW 8575-UP 9026

CNW 8575

CNW 8646 and 8701

CNW 8646 & 8701

CNW 8646

UP 1989 "Rio Grande" under tarps

Union Pacific's Rio Grande (Denver & Rio Grande Western) heritage locomotive was painted by Wisconsin & Southern's Horicon paint shop and interchanged to the UP on June 9, 2006. On June 10, the unit – covered in blue tarps – headed out of Milwaukee on the SBUCB-10 behind EMD SD70M 4439 and in front of three UP executive cars, two fresh out of Avalon Rail!

I caught the short train from the 92nd Street bridge.

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UP 4439

UP 1989 "DRGW"

UP executive cars

Heritage Units at Rochelle Railroad Days
UP 1995-1983-1996-1982 • June 7, 2009

UP 1995

UP 1983

UP 1983

UP 1996

UP 1995 and fans

Seven Units on MPRVP
January 16, 2007

UP 2994

UP 2980

UP 3042

UP 837

HLCX 3833

UP 342

UP 716

Sheboygan Coal
March 25, 2007

UP 5972

Green Spur
June 7, 2007

LLPX 2238

CNW 10997

LLPX 2238

ABOX 52409

CNW 155074

LLPX 2238

February 13, 2008

I heard a local crew getting clearances to switch the Green Spur on Wednesday, and after looking at several of Eric Jacobi's shots of the "Recycle Train" on Flickr a few nights earlier, I felt inspired to get some photos of the train on this quirky little spur. Hope you like them!

UP EMD GP38-2 648 at the Green Spur switch

UP 648

Conductorgate!

UP 648

UP 648

WSOR on UP
August 25, 2007

Since July 2007, Wisconsin & Southern has been sending down unit trains (about 25-30 cars) of grain to the Nidera grain elevator near Jones Island. WSOR hands the trains off at Granville, complete with WSOR power, and UP delivers the trains to Nidera. The WSOR engine makes its way back to Mitchell Yard, as seen above, before picking up the train once again and returning to home rails.