Kettle Moraine Scenic Ry. Tonnage Engine #M3
Image ©2015, David McCoy
 
 

This evening, I became encapsulated in conversation with some Facebook users on the old Kettle Moraine Scenic Railway that once ran in North Lake, Wisconsin. A scenic railway along the former SOO Line's "Bug Line." Named for the excessive amounts of bugs encountered during its construction (At least that is one telling of its origin story).

The Kettle Moraine Railway ran steam locomotives on a stretch of track from North Lake to Merton in South-Central Wisconsin until 2001. Local politics, citizen complaints, and ridership would push them to close their doors and liquidate their assets. The area would remain untouched after the final auction until around 2017. A local oil distributor would purchase the land and raze everything to store tanks.

There is a companion YouTube video, by user Steam Heritage Video, which captures the last run of trains on the Kettle Moraine Railway which I've linked within the description of today's topic of this entry.

In 2017, I would take my then-second drone (A DJI Mavic3 Pro) to the site and get a better view of the old railway's property.

The results of my discussions with the gentleman on Facebook prompted me to share some of the photos taken at that time & to do a speed edit of the drone footage I had taken. I will post the images I shared in this conversation and others on the Spiritbridge Facebook Page as an Album.

This gentleman I traded conversation with turns out to be formerly associated with the old locomotive shop that once sat on the property & he had much history and info to offer on the fate of the equipment & the old railcar still resting under the nearby trees. The railcar was given to the neighbor of the railway and they would gut the inside and use it for storage. I have now learned that this railcar was a former SOO Line RPO (Railway Post Office) car. Its trucks were removed for a project elsewhere in the USA.

So, please. Enjoy a trip back in time and a final look at the Kettle Moraine Scenic Railway property. 

https://youtu.be/9BoHK_ChVRo