Massive 300 Car Trains

December 10, 2012

Jim sent in this railroading memory to share:

The main experience that fueled my interest in modeling railroads was NOT the sight of massive 300 car trains racing through a crossing, majestic as that may be. Instead it was a daily activity that to some may seem boring and insignificant. When I was growing up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Road still served the midwest. There was a small 30 mile route that essentially ran between Eau Claire and Durand, WI. Although it was not THE major railyard in the area, one of the locations where small sections of cars were shuffled around was located next to the main post office downtown. In the summers I frequently went with my father to pick up the mail and would see this small but sturdy Milwaukee Road Switch Engine "kicking cars." It was almost a daily activity and it should be NO surprise that there is a vague recreation of that same scene on my n scale model railroad layout. An exact replica of that particular Milwaukee Road engine is seen shuffling a few cars back and forth on a siding.

The scant remains of the former Milwaukee Road now serve as a very pleasant biking and walking trail, but I almost always think of that dutiful little switch engine hauling short cuts of cars from one end of town to another as I walk on it.