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The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company

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This article is about the railroad. For the public utility, see Wisconsin Energy Corporation.
The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company
Preserved 1920 vintage Milwaukee streetcar 846 at the East Troy Electric Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Reporting markTMERL
LocaleWisconsin
Dates of operation1896–1938
PredecessorThe Milwaukee Electric Railway
SuccessorThe Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transport Co.
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification600 V DC
Length191 miles (307 km)
Route map

Legend
Watertown Sheboygan
Pipersville Weedens
Ixonia Oostburg
Oconomowoc Cedar Grove
Okauchee Belgium
Nashotah Druecker’s
Summit Center Port Washington
Delafield Lutzen’s
Buena Vista Saukville
Waukesha Beach Grafton
Waukesha Cedarburg
Gravel pit Quarry
Springdale Thiensville
Rocky Knoll Mequon
Calhoun Brown Deer
Sunny Slope Brown Deer Park
County Line Mill Rd. – Hillside
Silver Spring Rd.
West Junction Northside
84th Street
Milwaukee
Public Service Building
streetcar
National & 100th
Greenwood Junction Powerton
Hales Corners Lakeside Power Plant
St. Martins Junction Cudahy
South Milwaukee
Muskego South Junction
Big Bend Durham Hill
Vernon Center Rd. Muskego Dam Rd.
Riverside St. Wind Lake Rd.
Mukwonago Waubeesee
Phantom Lake Waterford
Beulah Lake Rochester
Army Lake Bellwood Rd.
East Troy Burlington
Caledonia Junction
Ives
Racine streetcar
Mount Pleasant
Berryville Road
Fairview
Kenosha streetcar
streetcar local streetcar service

The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company (reporting mark TMERL), also referred to as the Milwaukee Interurban Lines or TMER&L, is a defunct railroad that operated in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the largest electric railway and electric utility system in Wisconsin, and combined several of the earlier horsecar, steam dummy, and streetcar lines into one system. Its Milwaukee streetcar lines soon ran on most major streets and served most areas of the city. The interurban lines reached throughout southeastern Wisconsin. TMER&L also operated the streetcar lines in Appleton, Kenosha, and Racine, as well as its own switching operations at the Port Washington and Lakeside power plants.

The first electric streetcar in Milwaukee operated on Wells Street on April 3, 1890. The Waukesha Beach Railway was formally opened on June 25, 1895. The first interurban ran between Milwaukee and Kenosha on June 1, 1897. Other lines soon reached Watertown, Burlington, and East Troy. In 1922, TMER&L acquired the Milwaukee Northern Railway and added their Milwaukee to Sheboygan interurban line to the system.

During the Great Depression, services on streetcar and interurban lines were reduced, replaced with buses, abandoned, or sold. Abandonments ceased during World War II when gas and tires were rationed and defense workers needed transportation. After the war, riders returned to their automobiles and abandonments resumed. The last streetcar to run in Milwaukee and the entire state operated on Wells Street on March 2, 1958. Electric locomotives continued operating at the power plants until the early 1970s.

The last two remaining sections of interurban lines were to Hales Corners and Waukesha. They continued in operation until June 30, 1951 as part of the Milwaukee Rapid Transit and Speedrail Company's rapid transit service, as it had essentially lost the remainder of its postwar ridership following a collision in Greenfield, Wisconsin that killed 8 people and injured around 40, just the year before. The outer end of the East Troy branch (beyond Mukwonago) continues to operate as the East Troy Electric Railroad, a 7-mile (11 km) long heritage railroad. There were plans to extend the Watertown line to Madison, the East Troy line to Delavan, and the Burlington line to Lake Geneva. However, none of these plans came to fruition.

Gallery

References

  1. "The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company (TMER&L)". Encyclopedia of Milwaukee.
  2. "TMER&L". TrainWeb.
  3. "History of The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company". The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transit Historical Society. 10 June 2020.
  4. "History of The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company -- and the East Troy Electric Railroad" (PDF). East Troy Railroad Museum.
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