North Milwaukee Tower Order Book

C&NW 5026A Wiscona (Butler), WI
From Ray Weart’s Flickr page, this is C&NW train 153 for Green Bay in 1966. This northbound is passing Canco and about to exit the North Milwaukee tower operator’s CTC. The photographer is standing on the former C&NW passenger main; the train will now enter C&NW trackage just beyond the overpass at the newly built connection to the Shoreline. The other newly built connection to the C&NW’s Air Line and Adams Line is the track to the right. The American Can plant is at the far right.

North Milwaukee Canco Map

MILW North Milwaukee Tower Operator Book 2-17 to 3-21-1968

One Last Hurrah

In May of 1966, Chicago & North Western passenger trains began using the Milwaukee Road between the station downtown and Canco / Wiscona on Milwaukee’s north side.  As part of this, new connections were built and the track between North Milwaukee and Canco became CTC.  The North Milwaukee tower operator controlled this new CTC under the direction of the Milwaukee Road dispatcher in Milwaukee.

This brought 8 new passenger trains a day through North Milwaukee, and for an all too brief time, the line was hopping.  North Milwaukee Tower would see the 8 C&NW passenger trains, the MILW’s Copper Country Limited, freights in each direction on the Green Bay and on the Horicon Line, the pair of Soo Line run throughs to Milwaukee on the Horicon Line, and transfers to and from the Beer Line.  Add it all up and there were probably more than 20 trains a day passing the operator at North Milwaukee.

The Late Evening Northbound Parade

Each evening, the second shift tower operator would end his shift with “No. 121X No. 9 and No. 69 may enter CTC at North Milwaukee.” Train 121X was a C&NW train to Green Bay, Train 9 was the northbound Copper Country Limited, and Train 69 was the Milwaukee time freight to Green Bay.  This daily ritual, mostly unobserved in the darkness, would prove to be short lived.

The End of the Copper Country Limited

Trains 9 and 10 were The Milwaukee Road’s Chicago toCalumet, MI Copper Country Limited.  On March 7th, the westbound train 9 made its last run.  This equipment returned as train 10 for the last time in the dreary predawn hours of March 9th.  Time freight 69 to Green Bay would never again chase the Limited out of town.  And the imminent arrival of Amtrak marked the end of the C&NW passenger trains.  The glory days of North Milwaukee Tower were over.

 

MILW ETT page one 6-1-1967

MLIW ETT page two 6-1-1967

 

CNW Milwaukee to Green Bay PTT 10-30-1966
Chicago & North Western Public Timetable dated October 30, 1966.