Greetings fellow Milwaukee foamers. Two years back I mentioned to Boxcab that I was heading up to da U.P. (for those not familiar with Great Lakes Lexicon I shall educate: U.P.= You-pee...as in you drink a lot of beer.) Also known as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan..which we stole from Wisconsin because we lost a war we started with Ohio over possession of Toledo. Seriously. Anyway, as I have been up to da UP almost every year since '97...and as I became familiar with the CMStP I started to stop in the little towns that the Milwaukee Road traveled through. (Amasa has the best little depot!). Unfortunately, most of the old Milwaukee Line is owned by the E&LS RR and they DO NOT like railfans. They have a few signs on their property stating such, and my brief talk with a few employees over the years has EMPHASIZED this. "Get a life a-------!" seems to be a company required response to all railfans. Well....Boxcab was interested in what the interlocking at Sidnaw looked like now and if there had been a tower on the line. I shot some images back in '07, but just had them processed. Here they are: From L to R 1.Looking east from Sidnaw St.-abandon CNW line? 2.Looking east from Sidnaw St.-shot a little north of previous image 3.Looking east-southline (former MILW?) oil streaks on ties 4.Looking west from same location-the shack is still used-in the distance the line crosses Highway 25 and enters a pulp mill processing yard. 5.Downtown Sidnaw-yup, that water pump works and is used by the locals.
More Sidnaw Next we have shots from a location a little eastward (Pequet Lake Road)from the last shots: 1. looking east on the southline (MILW?) 2. looking west on the same 3. Between the two sets of tracks, looking west 4. looking west on CNW? line 5. looking west at same point-a little north of the previous shot.
Lastly we have: 1. looking east from the same point as images 4 + 5 above. 2. Signal head on the ground 3. Remains of water tower footings and signal mast Box, I could find no remains of a tower within the area. I did find an old concrete frieght platform, and a concrete outline of what may have been a depot or freight house. It appears that this crossing was smash board protected. Given the traffic that this area would have had, even in the old days, and the speed of that traffic, I don't think anything other than a smashboard was needed. -Mark
Looks like you had a good outing. Some interesting archaeology. Ever notice how many of these old water tower footings still exist? They must be an absolute horror to try digging out. We sure don't seem to hear much about the E&LS these days. They sort of faded from railfanning. Looks like they're still operating. No other RR at Sidnaw these days? Soo Line successors all gone? Boxcab E50
Digging out..yeah..did you see the concrete foundation for the signal mast. 5 feet of concrete. I knew this from years back when my friends Dad, "liberated" a concrete whistle post on an abandoned line being dug up. It was as deep as it was tall. Nothing on the railroad is done on a small scale. The E&LS-correct, I have it identified as the LS&I..which is actually nice to shoot. Yeah, The E&LS had some property stolen years back, so now most of the buildings have signs telling railfans to get. Not general NO TRESPASSING but specifically aimed at railfans...by name. This is funny because I just went to their website and they have a RAILFAN PHOTOS section. Who knows, maybe they have lightened up. Go to the site elsrr.com, Box, they have a depot shot in Railfan photos from Sidnaw I was not aware of. The Wisconsin Central was the only other rail ine I saw in action on the west side of the UP. It seems I catch the lone SOO LINE (Cheapy Rail) ancient GEEP patrol wandering on the old line on the east side almost every time I go through. It's always a SOO engine. I do not know what that building is. It may be a bar...it's hard to differentiate a bar from a residence from a hardware store from a jail in this section of the U.P. -Mark
It looks like one of the buildings in Mark's photos has been damaged by fire. It was indeed a tavern, but also likely a residence. I have been there, but it's been quite a few years. http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=376016
Yep, I know that building...or did. That's the building behind the hand water pump. I'd say it's a little more than damaged. Totalled-from the extent of the fire in the photo. Who knows, maybe the Chippewa are goign to drop a casino there, too. As with Wisconcin, deciding wether a building is a tavern or residence in the UP depends on the time of day and how many of the occupants are passed out or just can't drink anymore.
Bad news? Apparently there is a large plant soon to close in the Ontonagon area. (Along with a sister operation here in Montana). I'd bet this will be a heavy blow to E&LS operations in the U.P. I fear that remaining Milw tracks and facilities will now be in danger. Better get out and grab those photos, soon! Boxcab E50
