MRHA Convention Information
The 2024 Annual Convention Information is now available. Follow the Convention tab on the left to view!
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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.
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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!
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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)
APRIL - Livingston Rail Show - Depot Center -Livingston, Montana (TBD)
Helena Railroad Fair - Helena Civic Center - Helena, Montana (last Sunday)
MAY - Davenport Train Show - 2815 Locust St. - Davenport, Iowa (1st weekend)
JUNE - None attended
JULY - St. 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