The Milwaukee Road (officially known as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad) operated from 1847 until 1986. The Milwaukee Road started as the Milwaukee & Waukesha Rail Road. In 1901, the Milwaukee Road began to look at the possibility of expanding west by duplicating the Northern Pacific’s line and in 1905 the company began construction of a line west to Tacoma and Seattle, Washington. By 1908, the railroad was open to Butte, Montana.
In 1909, the last spike of the Milwaukee Road was driven near Gold Creek, Montana which connected Chicago to Seattle.
Shown above is the Last Spike monument in Deer Lodge, Montana.
In 1912, the Milwaukee Road began to electrify much of the Pacific Expansion and by 1916 electric operation was in place from Harlowton, Montana to Avery, Idaho, a distance of 212 miles. The decision to electrify the operation in the mountains was based on a number of factors. First, steam operations in the mountains were difficult partially because of the cold winters—temperatures down to 40 degrees below zero. Secondly, hydroelectric power was relatively cheap and readily available in the area. In addition, Butte, Montana (designated as the richest hill on earth due to the large copper deposits) provided copper ore to the smelter in nearby Anaconda, which meant that copper wire for electricity was readily available. By 1917, the electrified operation was so successful that the railroad decided to electrify the operation between Othello and Tacoma, Washington.
Electric locomotives had an interesting benefit: the braking system is regenerative. This means that the electric motors are reversed for braking and this means that they become electric generators. About 12% of the power used by the trains was recovered during braking.
The downside to the westward expansion and electrification was that it actually cost about four times the original estimate. As a result, the company’s debt soared. The debt went from $115 million in 1909 to $331 million in 1914. Then in 1917, the United States entered World War I and took over the operations of the railroads. For the next two years the Milwaukee Road ran at capacity, but maintenance was deferred. Following World War I automobiles became more popular and more common, resulting in a decrease in railroad passenger traffic. The Milwaukee Road’s annual passenger traffic dropped from 16 million in 1920 to only 6.7 million in 1930.
During the Depression, the Milwaukee Road began experimenting with high speed passenger trains. On July 20, 1934 a five-car steel train left Chicago. It soon hit 87 miles per hour, then 90, then 92, and at Oakwood, Wisconsin it was clocked at 103 miles per hour. The run set a new world’s record for sustained speed by a passenger train with an average of nearly 93 miles per hour for a distance of 61 miles.
In 1935, the Milwaukee Road began its Twin Cities Hiawatha service between Chicago and St. Paul, a distance of 410 miles. The Hiawatha made the 85-mile Chicago to Milwaukee run in 75 minutes, attaining speeds of 100 miles per hour at some points. The new trains were a success and in 1939 a Morning Hiawatha and an Afternoon Hiawatha were started. In 1947, the Olympian Hiawathas offered service between Chicago and Seattle. In 1971, the Milwaukee Road ended its passenger operations.
Shown above are two locomotives which are adjacent to the Old Prison Museums in Deer Lodge, Montana. The E70 Electric Locomotive shown above was built by General Electric Company for the Soviet Trans-Siberian Railroad in 1947. In 1950 it became part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad and operated between Harlowton, Montana to Avery, Idaho from 1950 until 1974.
In 1946, General Electric was contracted to build 20 electric locomotives for the Soviet Union. However, the Cold War intervened and the United States prohibited delivery of these locomotives. Track size in the Soviet Union is 5 feet, while in the United States it is 4 feet 8.5 inches. Thus, General Electric had to convert the locomotives to be used by American railroads. The electric locomotives were equipped with eight GE 750 motors with a rating of 5,500 horsepower. They had a maximum speed of 68 mph and, being gear low, were designed for mountainous terrain. The Milwaukee Road purchased 12 of the 20 locomotives. Because the locomotives had originally been built for the Soviets, Milwaukee Road employees nicknamed them Little Joes in reference to Joseph Stalin.
In 1955, the last regularly scheduled steam locomotive run was made in and steam locomotives continued to be used as standby locomotives until 1957.
Shown above is a bay window caboose on display in Deer Lodge, Montana. According to the display:
“A caboose is a manned, rail, transportation vehicle coupled to the end of a train. The vehicle supplied the freight crew shelter and a place to ride. Train conductors would often have a desk in the caboose to conduct business and store documents.”
In 1977 the Milwaukee Road voluntarily entered reorganization and everything west of Miles City, Montana was amputated. In 1985, the Soo Line bought what was left of the Milwaukee Road.