Trolleys and Trains

[Kenneth and Tracie Josephson]

Robert E. Rathke wrote:

> >> A few days ago I answered  offline some questions about trolleys and
> >> miniature railroads, and though they might be of interest to readers
> >of
> >> this e-mail list:
> >>
> >> I rode the miniature railroads at Kennywood and West View Parks many
> >> times.  Both parks had gasoline engine powered trains, although
> >> Kennywood's locomotives were designed to look like bullet-nose steam
> >> locomotives.  My uncle Ray Rathke lived in West View, and after
> >> retirement from the B&O, he was engineer on the miniature train at
> >West
> >> View Park, probably right up to the time the park closed.  The West
> >View
> >> Park train station was near the Dips loading station, and the train
> >> tracks paralleled the roller coaster line, weaving in and out of the
> >Dips
> >> wooden structure on the way out to the end of the roller coaster
> >line at
> >> the fence along Rt. 19.   I spent many days and nights photographing
> >the
> >> 10-West View line in 1963-65, including time at the West View Park
> >stops
> >> trying to get the roller coaster and other park buildings in the
> >photos.

I may have some Roberta Hill photos of the West View miniture train. I
will check.

> >> Last week I visited the Riverside & Great Northern RR at Wisconsin
> >Dells,
> >> Wisconsin.  What's interesting about this 15" gauge railroad is that
> >it
> >> was originally a manufacturing plant for the trains, and its
> >1-1/4-mile
> >> line was built as a demonstration railroad for prospective amusement
> >> park/zoo customers. It's built on the former Milwaukee Road right of
> >way,
> >> and is parallel to the current Soo Line (Amtrak) route to the Twin
> >> Cities. 

A minor correction. The current Soo Line right of way *is* the old
Milwaukee Road right of way. The 15" railroad was in operation when the
Milwaukee Road still owned the Milwaukee- Twin Cities line. No former
Milwaukee right of way was abandoned. The Soo Line simple took over the
Milwaukee Road line and spun off the old Soo Line line to the Wisconsin
Central.


They also built the miniture railroad at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Ken J.