East Troy Railroad operates the last remnant of the interurban rail system
By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
Although a popular attraction in the area, many still don’t know that the East Troy Railroad Museum runs the last remaining segment of the old Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light interurban rail system, offering trolley and interurban railroad cars rides each weekend.
The rail line between East Troy and Mukwonago was once part of more than 200 miles of track in Southeastern Wisconsin. Today, the 14-mile of track used by the railroad operates every weekend Memorial Day weekend through September.
For more information on the railroad’s history see the related story on this page.
The East Troy Railroad Museum is a non-profit organization, which is run by more than 100 volunteers and features historical railway cars that have been lovingly restored.
“We are restoring North Shore Care 761 right now and there is a lot of energy and excitement about getting it operational,” museum President Ryan Jonas said. “It’s totally stripped now and ready to paint and it’s looks like we’ll have it done by the end of the year.”
Jonas said the former owner of the railroad, Paul Averdung, has been volunteering at the museum to be part of the project.
“He ran the railroad for more than 30 years and he came back just for this, he has a real passion for it. He told me ‘I love coming out here and working and not having to deal with the administration of the railroad.’ I guess that’s what I’m for,” Jonas said with a laugh.
Changes this year
The railroad is celebrating its 113th year in 2020, but with the coronavirus pandemic, operations have seen some change.
The railroad required face masks for everyone on the trains and in the depot/museum before the state mandate. In addition, the railroad now requires reservations and contactless payment from its passengers.
“We’re trying to have all reserved seating and we’re encouraging people to go to our website or go on Facebook to get to our websites and make their reservations and payments. We also have a QR code at the depot people can use with their phone, but we’re not selling tickets inside the depot.”
This year, the trains are only departing and arriving at the East Troy Depot, 2002 Church St.
“We’re not taking on passengers at the Elegant Farmer or Indian Head Park in Mukwonago this year,” Feyerherm said. “The trains still stop at the Elegant Farmer for people to shop, but we don’t take on new passengers there.”
While passengers may leave the train to shop at the Elegant Farmer, they must take the same train back to the depot, which is another change. Eating is also not allowed on the trains, Jonas said.
As with many of the social distancing guidelines, Jonas said there has been some pushback, but for the most part, people have been good about considering the safety of the railroad volunteers and other passengers.
“But we do get some who just don’t care,” he said.
Crossing concerns
Another big concern at the railroad this year is the problems being caused by distracted drivers not stopping at the railroad crossings.
“I have never seen it so bad as it is this year,” Feyerherm said. “All of our operators, myself included, have seen a tremendous amount of near misses with cars this year. I don’t know if people are just so preoccupied they’re not paying attention or if everyone is just in such a rush, but it’s happening every day we’re running, sometimes more than once.”
Most of the crossings are in the East Troy area and the crossing on Highway 20 has lights, but people are still not stopping, Feyerherm said.
“The lights come on and people run right through them. It’s really scary. We’re taking 30 tons down the road and while a crash would kind of damage our cars, it’s going to destroy whomever it hits. We’re going slow, so I don’t think it would cause serious injury, but it will cause serous damage to a vehicle.”
Feyerherm said people need to be aware of their surroundings when driving in the East Troy/Mukwonago area near the train tracks. Some of the crossings have stop signs and others have yield signs, but Feyerherm said they are all controlled in some way and he can’t figure out what people are thinking by ignoring the warnings.
“Always expect a train when you see any railroad crossings,” he said. “I’m serious. Always, always expect a train. I’ve reported six near misses that I was able to get a license plate number for this year alone, and that’s not all of them. We blow the horn and it’s loud. Turn you music down, put down your phone and pay attention. Please!”
The railroad is operating on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with trains departing the East Troy Depot at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. on Friday and Sunday and 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
“We either use open cars or cars with the windows open, depending on the weather,” Feyerherm said. “Come and ride the train and support the railroad, we’re open and it’s a fun way to spend the day.”
For more information or to make a reservation, visit easttroyrr.org.
