The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company 978

Facts and Figures

Current Number	978
Railway Represented	The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company
Builder	St. Louis Car Company
Built In	1928
Builder's order id	1485
Currently in (State)	Wisconsin
--(Locality)	Milwaukee
Totally out of svc date	1958
(Initial retirement date)
Car Type	streetcar
-subtype	lightweight safety car
-designation
Status	stored inoperable
More info
Gauge	4'8.5"
Construction	steel
Roof type	AR
Ended	DE
Length	45'0"
Width	8'8"
Height	12'0"
Weight	39020
#Seats	55
#Wheels/Conf.	8
Total HP
Trucks	St Louis 64EIB
Brakes	SME
Compressor	WABCO DH16
Control	K-35JJ
Motors	GE 265J60 (4)
Voltage (if not 600DC)

Car 978 in storage in Milwaukee in 2021
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Car 978 in storage in Milwaukee in 2020
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photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10230761937934714&set=a.10230762112819086

Car History by Frank Hicks

The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company 978 This standard Milwaukee streetcar had an interesting and varied post-preservation life. One of about 200 lightweight steel cars built for Milwaukee during the 1920's, 978 operated until the end of streetcar service in 1958. It was then acquired by a railfan named Al Buetschle, who had the car moved to Wauwatosa where it was put on display at the Kiwanis Club. Buetschle moved away and interest in the car waned until at some point during the 1960's it was sold to the Mid-Continent Railroad Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin. At the time MCRR was establishing a small collection of electric railway cars, but in 1970 the decision was made to deaccess the traction collection. The Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society, then being established, assumed ownership of 978 and moved the car to East Troy, Wisconsin. It was stored there until 1982, when it was sold to a new group in Appleton known as Trolley 86 (later known as the Appleton Trolley Museum & Railway). That organization worked on restoring the car to operation, and during the late 1980's 978 was made operational. It was shipped to San Francisco to participate in one of the Trolley Parades that were being held in that city at the time, but an accident occurred en route that resulted in severe frame damage to the 978. It was shipped back to Appleton, but the frame damage was deemed too serious to warrant repairing and the car was put into dead storage. Trolley 86, by now known as ATM&R, merged with the East Troy Electric Railroad in 2002 and most of its equipment was moved to East Troy. Car 978 stayed behind, though, and work is currently being done by the former ATM&R volunteers to restore it.

Ownership History

Owner	Car Num	From	To	Preservation?	Loan?
The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (Wisconsin, Milwaukee)	978	1928	1938	NO	NO
The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transport Company (Wisconsin, Milwaukee)	978	1938	1953	NO	NO
Milwaukee & Suburban Transport (Wisconsin, Milwaukee)	978	1953	1958	NO	NO
Wauwatosa Kiwanis Club (Wisconsin, Wauwatosa)	978	1958	1960	YES	NO
Mid-Continent Railroad Museum (Wisconsin, North Freedom)	978	1960	1967	YES	NO
The Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society (Wisconsin, East Troy)	978	1967	1982	YES	NO
Appleton Trolley Museum & Railway (Wisconsin, Appleton)	978	1982	2002	YES	NO
East Troy Electric Railroad (Wisconsin, East Troy)	978	2002	present	YES	NO