East Troy railroad experience

Spending July Fourth in East Troy, Wis., with a close friend and her family turned in to an unbelievable adventure. I was able to journey on the original trolley cars for the remaining seven miles of East Troy Railroad. You really begin to feel like you have had the honor to turn back time to the 1920s or 30s. 

The volunteers made the experience all the better with their presentation of the history interspersed with a few lighthearted stories and comments. The first stop was to feed anyone complaining to the alligators. I thought an idle threat only to be proven wrong when alligators, the plastic species, appeared in the water at the first stop.

I took pictures -- take a look. J.Laubers is next door to the station and for a Friday afternoon, it was jam-packed.

History ¹

The East Troy Railroad Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation with a mission to preserve the rail heritage of Wisconsin and America. We own, maintain and operate historic electric trolley and interurban railroad cars on track completed by The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (TMER&L) in 1907. Our rail line between Mukwonago and East Troy is the last remnant of The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light (TMER&L) interurban rail system, which once operated over 200 miles of track in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Since the East Troy line was the only form of public transportation in the area in 1907, it was designated as a U.S. Mail route. And since there were no competing railroads serving East Troy, TMER&L decided to offer freight service on the line. This was profitable for the railroad and led to the growth of several businesses in the area, including a Standard Oil Distribution Center, East Troy Lumber, a United Milk Products Plant, and Equity Co-op's feed and fuel plant.

With the development of better roads and highways, interurban lines gradually lost passengers as more and more people drove their own cars. By the late 1930s, the lines to Watertown, East Troy and Burlington were all experiencing financial difficulties. In October of 1938, TMER&L Co. was broken up into two separate companies. The Wisconsin Electric Power Company operated the power plants and handled electrical distribution; the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Transport Company (TMER&T) operated its transportation properties. In 1939, TMER&T petitioned the Public Service Commission to abandon the lines to Watertown, Burlington and East Troy.

The other lines were approved for abandonment, but the Village of East Troy and a group of concerned citizens opposed the abandonment of their line because the freight service was so important to area businesses. After several hearings and almost a year of negotiations, TMER&T agreed to sell the line from Mukwonago to East Troy to the Village of East Troy for $10,000. The agreement included an interchange with the Soo Line Railroad, which would allow freight traffic to continue. The Village of East Troy passed a referendum approving the purchase by a vote of 321 to 11. 

TMER&T crews continued to operate and maintain the electric railroad from Mukwonago to East Troy five days a week. Throughout the 1940s the railroad carried between 800 and 1,000 cars of freight each year. But due to increasing maintenance expenses and its desire to get out of the railroad business, TMER&T declined to renew its operating agreement in 1949, forcing the Village of East Troy to take over operation of the railroad in 1950. At this time the railroad officially became known as the Municipality of East Troy Wisconsin Railroad (METW).

In the early 1970's, The Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society began operating weekend trolley rides on the line using its own restored trolley equipment. In 1984, the Village cancelled the Historical Society's operating lease and began looking for an organization to lease and operate the entire railroad. The Village approached the Wisconsin Trolley Museum, which had a strong core of volunteers restoring trolleys at the old Milwaukee Road depot in North Prairie, WI. The Village asked if they would move to East Troy and take over the line.

The Wisconsin Trolley Museum agreed, entering into a 25-year operating lease. In the spring of 1985, it moved its collection of seven trolleys to East Troy and took over operation of the railroad. A new trolley car barn was built in East Troy, and a new power supply was installed to provide power to the overhead catenary system.

In 1993, the Friends of the East Troy Railroad began to negotiate with the Village of East Troy to purchase the property outright. The sale was completed on January 13, 1995. So, since 1985 the East Troy Railroad Museum has operated and maintained the East Troy Electric Railroad (ETER) and since 1995 the non-profit corporation has owned the railroad as well. The line no longer handles freight but maintains an interchange with the Canadian National Railroad at Mukwonago.

1. Information under "History" provided by https://www.easttroyrr.org/history.html