Little Milwaukee Loco *PIC*

Boyd Owens · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2003 10:01 am

Found the below photos, with the caption "This little electric locomotive was last used as the Milwaukee's shop switcher at Harlow, MT. It was also used to push the snow plow to clear the snow at the Harlowton depot."
A couple of questions maybe someone could answer:
It doesn't have a pan or trolley pole in the photos. Is it an electric loco?
Would it actually be powerful enough to push a plow through deep snow?
I don't know a lot about little "critters" like this, so any info about it would be appreciated.

Boyd

Another Photo

bowens@rypn.org

Dave Crosby · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2003 10:21 am

Might be a Battery-Electric loco, as they were quite common at one time. From the side shot it looks like a cut-down Baldwin switcher of sorts. Steamtown has a similar (cabless) unit, given to them by New Jersey Transit some time ago. It was built on an old ALCo S-1 switcher frame and rides on a heavily ballested single blunt truck.

Dave crosby

bing@epix.net

Paul D. · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2003 11:31 am

The book with the answer is "Milwaukeee Electrics" by Holley.

I think that is was a cable type. I will look tonight.

Yup · **Posted:** Tue May 27, 2003 7:42 pm

Yup . . . it ran with an extension cord plugged into the roundhouse.

> I think that is was a cable type. I will
> look tonight.

Frank Hicks · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2003 12:58 am

I didn't know that thing was still around! Does anyone know where it is? Harlowton has a "real" Milwaukee Road electric switcher, one of the boxcabs, on display.

Frank Hicks

Preserved North American Electric Railway Cars
fullparallel@wideopenwest.com

Paul D. · **Posted:** Wed May 28, 2003 9:06 am

Yes it was an extension cord type. one photo looks like it was attached to the tower on the turntable.

> The book with the answer is "Milwaukeee
> Electrics" by Holley.

> I think that is was a cable type. I will
> look tonight.

Michael Seitz · **Posted:** Thu May 29, 2003 12:40 am

The locomotive, as identified in Noel Holley's "The Milwaukee Electrics" is the former Deer Lodge shop switcher. The engine was acquired/donated in the early 1990's to the Wheatland County Historical Museum. The county musuem uses the former Harlowton, Montana depot for at least of portion of their exhibits.

The depot, and former Milwaukee roundhouse and surviving yard facilities, are at the south end of Central Avenue ("main street"), where E57B, one of only three surviving boxcabs, is next to U.S. Highway 12. The original railroad hotel/beanery I believe still survives a block north of the depot.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

> I didn't know that thing was still around!
> Does anyone know where it is? Harlowton has
> a "real" Milwaukee Road electric
> switcher, one of the boxcabs, on display.

> Frank Hicks

mikefrommontana@juno.com