The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company 1129




Facts and Figures


Current Number1129
Railway RepresentedThe Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company
BuilderMilwaukee Electric Railway & Light
Built In1924
Builder's order id
Currently in (State)Illinois
--(Locality)Union
Totally out of svc date1955
(Initial retirement date)
Car Typeinterurban
-subtypecoach
-designation
Statusdisplayed inoperable
More infohttp://www.irm.org/player/tmerl1129
Gauge4'8.5"
Constructionsteel
Roof typeRR
EndedSE
Length54'3"
Width8'7"
Height12'10"
Weight89000
#Seats48
#Wheels/Conf.8
Total HP420
TrucksBaldwin 84-35AA
BrakesAML (M24C)
Compressor[WABCO DH25]
Control[GE M (C74A)]
Motors[WH 548C7 (4)]
Voltage (if not 600DC)
NotesRebuilt from Wisconsin Traction Light Heat & Power #104 (Kuhlman, 1909) in 1924; lettered #1111

Car 1129 on display at IRM in 2010
Illinois Railway Museum
photo: https://www.irm.org/gallery/TMERL1129/aab

Car 1129 on display at IRM in 2010
Illinois Railway Museum
photo: https://www.irm.org/gallery/TMERL1129/aac

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


OwnerCar NumFromToPreservation?Loan?
The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (Wisconsin, Milwaukee)11291924 1938 NO NO
The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transport Company (Wisconsin, Milwaukee)11291938 1941 NO NO
London & Port Stanley (Ontario, London)211941 1955 NO NO
Illinois Railway Museum (Illinois, Union)11291955 present YES NO