Milwaukee Road Historical Association
PO Box 307
Antioch, IL 60002-0307

Web: www.mrha.com


Contact Us

Jeff Goutcher, President
     milw01@earthlink.net 
Bob Strysick Vice President
      vicepresident@mrha.com
Leo Dorn, Treasurer
     leodorncpa@gmail.com 
Kipp Meyers, Secretary
    secretary@mrha.com
Kelsey Peterson, Company Store
    peterson03kelsey@gmail.com
Bob Storozuk, Curator
     museum@mrha.com
Wendy Storozuk, Office Manager
     office@mrha.com

Notice: Any email sent needs a subject and signature from the author or it will be deleted as incomplete. Thanks!
 

 



Photo courtesy of Warren Newhauser. 


New Metra Milwaukee Road Heritage paint scheme below!

 



Milw 756 Fairbanks Morse H12-44 in Portage, WI during Nov, 1965

 

 


Milw 901 Baldwin S12 switching at Redwing, MN during December of 1965 

 

 


The  following service marks and wording are the trademarked and registered property of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association.

 

 

These  marks may not be used without the consent of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association.

 


 

MRHA Convention Information 

The 2024 Annual Convention Information is now available.  Follow the Convention tab on the left to view!



 

 What is the Milwaukee Road?


Follow the link above to learn more about this storied railroad


MRHA on Facebook

Need more?  Join the discussion on our MRHA Facebook Page.

In Memorandum

George "Jay" Jacob Lentzner

November 14th, 1944 - January 1st, 2024


Missoula, Montana – Jay Lentzner died of natural causes January 1, 2024.  He was born on November 14, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois the son of George and Catherine Lentzner.  At an early age he developed a deep interest in railroads that lead to a life-long avocation and vocation.  He told his brother that his first memory of railroads dated to the late 1940s when he was standing on the platform of the Chicago & North Western passenger station at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin waiting for the arrival of the train with his Aunt Jane and being engulfed by a cloud steam as the locomotive pulled in.

He grew up near East Troy, Wisconsin where he attended grade school and high school.  The community owned a 10-mile electric railroad linking the town with the Soo Line Railroad at Mukwonago, hauling baby formula from Baker Laboratories, and building materials to the local lumber yard.  It was the last vestige of TMER&L, an interurban that ran from Milwaukee to East Troy.  Just a little oddity to most, but Jay loved it.  He also loved the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee interurban that linked Milwaukee with Chicago.  

Jay attended the University of Wisconsin where he earned a degree in civil engineering in January 1967.  The family raised chickens and Jay sold the eggs which paid for his first year of college.  He worked summers for the Milwaukee Road Engineering Dept. in Milwaukee,  Wisconsin that paid for the next year’s tuition.    

Following college, he enlisted in the US Army after being promised he would be assigned to the Army’s railroad division.  Instead, he was taught to drive a large army truck.  When they asked, “who can type?”, he raised his hand and became a clerk.  Jay soon learned he was to be included in the 25% of the base that was being sent to Vietnam.   During the Tet Offensive when his base was shelled, he survived unscathed.  A two-week R&R gave him the opportunity to visit Japan and experience railroading there.

With his military obligation fulfilled, he was employed as a civil engineer with the Milwaukee Road on April 1, 1970, and assigned to the Dubuque & Illinois Division at Savanna, Illinois thus beginning a 29-year career working a variety of positions in Perry, Iowa, Austin, Minnesota and Tacoma, Washington.  As Assistant Division Manager Maintenance Non-core West in Deer Lodge, Montana he supervised the closing of the western portion of the Milwaukee Road following its bankruptcy.  The Soo Line Railroad acquisition of the Milwaukee in 1985 saw him relocating to Minneapolis as Engineer-Environmental Control.  In January 1988 he accepted a position as Design & Maintenance Engineer with the newly formed Montana Rail Link, Inc. in Missoula, Montana.  Jay was named Assistant Chief Engineer In October 1991, a position that he held until taking an early retirement in 1999 at age 54.  For the next 25 years much of his time and energy were devoted to preserving railroad history and photography.  Jay traveled to many events throughout the US and Canada, took thousands of photographic images and in the process piled up more than 800,000 miles on two Toyota pickup trucks.

He will be missed by his many friends and acquaintances.  If Jay were here, there is no doubt he could tell us the locomotive type of the one that engulfed him in that cloud of steam 74 years ago.  His knowledge of trains was deep and wide.   Jay is survived by his brother Caleb Lentzner, his niece, Michelle Lentzner; and Naomi Kasen, a grandniece.  

No service is planned, but there will be a celebration of Jay’s life at a later date.

There are two kinds of people, people that are remembered and people that remember them.  Jay is one of those who will be remembered for a long time. 

                

 

Robert Storozuk Museum and Carolyn A. Helms
Library and Research Center Virtual Tour 

Our Vice President, Bob Strysick, has created a tour of the museum at Illinois Railway Museum. Take a minute (or ten) to see how the museum has evolved and plan to visit in person when the museum opens this Spring. 

MRHA Museum Tour

 

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                                    New Book! 

              By Mike Schafer - My Milwaukee Road

One man's adventures with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific: 1964-1985

This must-have book of memories of Milwaukee Road is available now in the Company Store for $59.99, including postage.

Mike Schafer, editor of The Milwaukee Roader magazine, has published a new book with the support of MRHA.  My Milwaukee Road, One man’s adventures with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific: 1964-1985.

This hardcover edition has 160-pages of full-color photographs and extensive descriptions about the places and people he saw while exploring the routes traveled by our beloved Milwaukee Road. The book covers Mike’s photo journeys through the years to hotspots in Chicago, Northern Illinois, Milwaukee, and a variety of locations in Wisconsin, and even a little C&NW and Burlington sneak into the story. It’s not just the great photos that make the book, but the fact that you may never see these scenes again, that make it a must-have for your collection. Order now before stock runs out.

 

 

 ______________________________________________________________________________________

New or Renewal Memberships



If you are looking to join MRHA or renew your membership CLICK HERE

and it will take you to our registration page.  From here, we can take care of your membership request quickly.  If you are RENEWING please check your 4Q magazine label to see when your membership expires.   Our membership year runs on a calendar year January 1 to December 31. Multiple year memberships are no longer accepted.

NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT YET RENEWED FOR 2024, PLEASE ADD $5 TO YOUR TOTAL TO COVER THE EXTRA COST OF MAILING THE MILWAUKEE RAILROADER MAGAZINE AS IT IS GOING TO PRESS.

THANK YOU! 

 ______________________________________________________________________________________


If you have forgotten to purchase a copy of the new Dubuque & Illinois Division book, it is still available. This would make a great addition to your library or gift for your favorite railroader friends.  You can order online at the Company Store on our website - www.mrha.com  or you can send in your check (made out to MRHA in the amount of $55.00 which includes postage) to:

MRHA - D & I Division Book

P. O. Box 307

Antioch, IL 60002-0307

 

Order now so you won't miss out on the great stories and information about one of the Milwaukee Road's most important Divisions!!

 


SAVE THE MILWAUKEE ROAD BUFFETERIA 126

The Illinois Railway Museum is fundraising to move Milwaukee Road "Buffeteria" 126 from Chamberlain, SD, to the museum in Union, IL.  Milwaukee Road 126 was built in 1948 by the Milwaukee Road's Milwaukee shops as a standard 48-seat diner. In 1964, 126 was rebuilt, along with two other cars, into a counter-service style cafeteria car. The name 'Buffeteria' stems from buffet-cafeteria, the service provided on the car. The 126 represents a major gap in the museum's collection of rail dining service, bridging the golden era with current Amtrak services, which this car pioneered. Car 126 features a stainless and glass buffet line, seats for 32 diners, and a full kitchen. In 1971, 126 was sold into private ownership, and the current owner is donating the car to IRM.

The car is in complete, unrestored, and original condition. $25,000 is needed to move the car by rail and begin restoration work once the car arrives in Union. 126 is a very unique car that has influenced passenger trains for over 50 years. Please consider a donation to help bring the car to its new home at the Illinois Railway Museum. The Illinois Railway Museum is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization, and all donations are tax deductible. 

https://www.irm.org/donations/milwaukee-road-126/ 

 


  Photo credits to be displayed next update.....


FOR YOUR INFORMATION: The Milwaukee Road Archives at the Milwaukee Public Library has a number of duplicate blueprints and drawings for sale. Go to the Milwaukee Public Library at the link below to see what materials are available.

Milwaukee Public Library-Milw Rd Drawings

 


 

MILWAUKEE ROAD STEAM SEARCH

 

How many of the Milwaukee Road's 3,000 plus steam locomotives are still viewable in photographs?  Seeking to answer this question is what the MRHA STEAM SEARCH is all about.  In pursuit of this goal; We SEARCH for rare or previously unseen photos of Milwaukee Road steam locomotives.  We ARCHIVE and RECORD the historic photos we find.  We SERVE as a clearing house for information about sources of steam locomotive photos.  We RESPECT the copyright of persons and institutions holding the rights to the materials.  We NEED YOUR HELP in the increasingly difficult work of finding, authenticating and obtaining the photos we are seeking.  We have found many but there are still more than 500 Milwaukee steam engines of which we have no photo.  Here is a list of our "10 Most Wanted" missing engines:  

Class       Road Numbers         Comment  

G8                       2601-1001                              Only unseen G8 of 42, retired 11/54

H5                       227-600-300                           First H5 of 162, built 1879, retired 1918

C5-a                   7242-1242                               Only unseen C5 of 50, retired 12/45

B3-x                   253-300-1600-4200                 Experimental Vauclain Compound 4-6-0, scrapped 1927

B3                      301-1601-4201                        First B3 of 25, built 1900, rebuilt 1918

B4                      367-1717-4317                        First of 66, "wide firebox" compound 4-6-0

4-4-0                   232 ( 1st)                                Ex-Chicago & Pacific No. 1 - Acquired 1880 

G1                      192                                          Ex-Milwaukee and Superior No. 4 - Our 1st 4-6-0

C1-d                   7076                                        Ex-CTH&SE 657, only missing C1-d of 10

4-4-0                  1                                              Former LaCrosse & Milw. No. 1, named Winneconne

We are seeking these and other Milwaukee Road steam locomotives and photo collections.  For more information, contact Ted Douglas, Steam Search Coordinator.


 

LOOKING FOR MRHA AT TRAIN SHOWS

 

Do you want to talk to someone from MRHA?  Would you like to see something that MRHA offers?  Each year MRHA representatives attend a number of shows in various parts of the country.  If you are near one of these sites,  stop by and say Hello! and ask your questions, or look at our materials (though not all our items are at every show)!   Here is a list of the shows that MRHA usually attends.  Show hours are generally 9 or 10 to 4PM.

 

JANUARY - While there are train shows during this month, MRHA does not normally attend  

FEBRUARY - Mad City Train Show - Alliant Center- Madison, Wisconsin (2nd or 3rd weekend)

MARCH - Rock Valley Train Show - Harlem High Sch. - MacChesney, IL (3rd weekend)

APRILLivingston Rail Show - Depot Center -Livingston, Montana (TBD)

                 Helena Railroad Fair - Helena Civic Center - Helena, Montana (last Sunday)

MAYDavenport Train Show - 2815 Locust St. - Davenport, Iowa (1st weekend)

JUNE - None attended

JULYSt. Louis Railroad Prototype Modelers Meet July 28-30 at the Collinsville, IL Convention center.

                LaCrosse Train Show - Copeland Park - LaCrosse, WIsconsin

AUGUST - Elkader Train Show - Johnson Reception Hall - Elkader, Iowa  (3rd weekend)

SEPTEMBER - Missoula Train Show - Big Sky H.S. - Missoula, Montana (2nd Sunday)

OCTOBER - Fall Train Show - County Fairgrounds - Spokane, Wash. (2nd Sunday)

NOVEMBER - Trainfest - State Fair Park - West Allis, Wisconsin (4th weekend)

                         November 23-24, 2024

Dubuque Train Show - Dubuque Fairgrounds -Dubuque, Iowa - (1st weekend)

DECEMBER - None attended