The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company 1129
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Dave's Electric Railroads |
Built in:1924 by Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light
Out-of-service/Retired:1955
Type of car:interurban (coach)
Current Owner:Illinois Railway Museum(Union, Illinois)
Car History by Frank Hicks
The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company 1129
This car is one of only two interurban cars still extant from Wisconsin's great interurban system, The Milwaukee Electric (also known as the "TM"). It was actually originally built for a TM subsidiary company, WTLH&P, that ran out of Appleton, Wisconsin. As built it was a wooden-bodied deck-roof car that looked more like a large streetcar than most interurbans of the day; but in the early 1920's the TM began heavily rebuilding most of its wooden interurbans into more modern-looking cars. Car 1129 was rebuilt at the Cold Spring Shops with a steel-sheathed body, heavily rebuilt roof and ends, and new interior - practically a newly-constructed car. It ran like this until 1941, when it was retired due to abandonment of some of the TM interurban lines that radiated from Milwaukee; at that time it was sold to the L&PS, a high-voltage interurban line in Ontario. The L&PS removed 1129's motors and converted it into a control trailer; in this capacity it survived another 14 years, outliving the TM cars that were retained in Wisconsin and finished out service there in the early 1950's. The car was bought by the Illinois Electric Railway Museum (later IRM) with the purpose of restoring it as a Milwaukee Electric car; though the car has been repainted in TM colors (and inaccurately lettered 1111), it is in structurally poor shape and would need a major rebuilding to make it operational.
Ownership History:The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company #1129 1924-1938 / The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transport Company #1129 1938-1941 / London & Port Stanley #21 1941-1955 / Illinois Railway Museum(Union, Illinois) 1955-present
Facts and Figures
| Status:displayed inoperable | Gauge:4'8.5" |
| Construction:steel | Roof type:RR | Ended:SE |
| Length:54'3" | Width:8'7" | Weight:89000# |
| #Seats:48 | #Wheels/Conf.:8 (B-B) | Total HP:420 |
| Trucks:Baldwin 84-34AA | Brakes:AML (M24C) | Compressor:[DH-25] |
| Motors:[WH 548C7 (4)] | Voltage (if not 600DC): |
Notes
Rebuilt from Wisconsin Traction Light Heat & Power #104 (Kuhlman, 1909) in 1924; lettered #1111
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