Commonly referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" (or simply "The Road"), the origins of
this railroad began in 1847, when the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad was
incorporated. Three years later its first train operated between Milwaukee and
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and by 1857, its track reached Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In
February 1874, the name changed to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway as
it continued to expand throughout the Midwest. By 1887, it reached into Iowa and
South Dakota, as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, and north into the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan.
In 1905, the Milwaukee Road decided to expand west again, this time to Puget Sound in
Washington. The "Lines West" were built between 1906-1909, from the middle of South
Dakota to Seattle and Tacoma in Washington. Even though the lines were technological
marvels, they were never successful, and were a major contributor to the bankruptcy
in 1925. In 1928 the Road reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul &
Pacific Railroad, but went bankrupt again in 1935 and 1945. In 1977, in financial
trouble once more, it reorganized and sold off two-thirds of its trackage. It was
acquired by the Soo Line Corp. on February 21, 1985, which operated it as the
Milwaukee Road, Inc. until merging it with their own lines on January 1, 1986.
The Electrification Department was an important part of the Milwaukee Road from 1914
until 1974. The Milwaukee Road electrified their lines from Harlowton, Montana to
Avery, Idaho between 1914 and 1917 and from Othello to Tacoma, Washington between
1917 and 1920. A 10-mile stretch from Black River Junction, Washington to Seattle
was added in 1927. Each locomotive was powered by 3000-volt direct current. Reinier
Beeuwkes, electrical engineer of the Seattle headquarters from 1914 until 1947, was
an important figure in the early history of electrification. Many of the reports in
the collection were written by Mr. Beeuwkes, along with most of the early
correspondence and statistical data.
By the mid-1920s the Milwaukee Road had about 650 miles of electrified lines, making
it the longest electrified railroad in the world. Originally, the electrified lines
were intended to last for 30 years; instead, the lines lasted for nearly 60 years.
It wasn’t until June 16, 1974, that all electrified operations of the Milwaukee Road
were discontinued. The decision to change to fully dieselized services was made for
two major reasons: most of the remaining electric locomotives were aged and/or in a
state of disrepair; and because of the imminent heavy expenses needed to keep
upgrading the present electrification services.
