Wisconsin wigwags falling rapidly

[SirKrunch]

...and the two wigwags in the last picture either came from here or from a crossing in Devil's Lake State Park on the same line which never made it onto the site.

I'm going to hazard a guess at the Devil's Lake ones, because the crossbuck on the left one appears to be mounted on the mast below the basket, and not above it.

[AndyWS]

I would say you were right, except that for the last few years of their service the crossbucks on the Dane ones were moved below the baskets, I think within a year or two after I took the pictures that are on the site.





You can see the foundations and equipment cabin for the new signals in these videos.

The ones at Vine St. in Baraboo survived this purge, but wouldn't be surprised if they were removed around the same time (late Oct./early Nov.) this year.

[SirKrunch]

Sneaky!

[AndyWS]

I was in Sheboygan on Wednesday and shot a video of the UP in-town local going through the wigwags at Saemann Avenue. Those are the last pair left in east-central Wisconsin that still see regular train traffic. The ones on Martin Avenue were replaced with gateless flashing light signals early in 2012, strangely enough because that crossing is on a seldom-used spur (the "6" daily train count on the site is vastly overestimated).

The three in Plymouth are still there as far as I know, but with the completion of the Galveston seawall project train traffic on that part of the line is once again very rare if not nonexistent.





The wigwags at Kohler and Sheboygan Falls are long gone, so even when train traffic is restored to that line, there won't be any wigwags. I would expect the Plymouth ones to fall too as part of the reconstruction.

In other Sheboygan news, the Griswolds at Eisner Avenue are gone, replaced by gateless 12" x 24" flashing light signals. Both Griswolds at St. Clair Ave. are gone, leaving just the equipment case and rusty, overgrown rails either side of the crossing (the crossing itself is gone and repaved).





Both signals at Ashland Avenue and Geele Ave. #2 are gone, although the crossings and equipment cases remain. There are several "orphan" equipment cases left along that line, with all signals, tracks and other traces of the crossing removed.



The Griswolds remain at Union Ave., although the one in the second picture has been reduced to a dismantled stub much like one of the ones that used to be at St. Clair Avenue. The pair of sidelights is also gone from the surviving signal, although the four main lights and the bell remain.

[LARDLOGO]

Well if they are being removed, it better be for a good purpose, not to just scrap them. At least they left the griswold signals alone.

Would like to see someone run some speedercarts down that area just for some last hoo-haas

[AndyWS]

I finally completed my video on Sheboygan. The wigwag scene starts at about 9:11.

[ToledoRailfan]

I thought that sense this topic is two years old, I was wondering, does anyone know how many Wig-Wags are still in Wisconsin?

[AndyWS]

Not many by now. I heard a report the one in Avoca on the WSOR Prairie du Chien line was removed less than two weeks after I got a video of it in action!



Wigwag scene starts around 6:35.









So to my knowledge that leaves the pair in Baraboo and the three in Plymouth as the only ones left on the WSOR, and the pair at Saemann Ave. in Sheboygan on the UP. And that's assuming they haven't been removed and I just haven't heard about it yet.

[SirKrunch]

Yep, you caught it just in time, because Da Commish struck again.
http://ocr.wi.gov/apps40/dockets/conten ... %20Company

[freebrickproductions]

I've elevated this topic to a sticky for easy reference and updating.