Railfanning Southeast Wisconsin in January 2011
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2026 6:00 pm
Been reformatting some of my older footage into widescreen and re-uploading it. Crazy to me to think that 2011 is now as far in the past as 1996 was then. I'd been railfanning for about 4 years and thought that was a long time. Mike H. was still alive then, although it was around that time he was starting to show symptoms of cancer.
Most of the more common, modern GE and EMD locomotives that were around then are still around, but what was rare then is even rarer if not gone completely.
In this one we hear a lot of the WCH mechanical bell that lasted until 2014 at Green Rd., with its distinctive slowdown in ringing as the gates rise. The bell was visible in several scenes in the original footage, but was cropped off in the conversion to widescreen.
Call me crazy, but I could have sworn the Maple Ave. crossing on the UP Adams Sub in Sussex was on the site, but it would appear that it's not. I have a full photo set of this crossing from this era (actually taken the same day the clip that begins the second video was recorded)...but apparently I never submitted it to anyone here. Must have just imagined doing it.
Looks like the crossing still has the same basic signals, but the bell has been replaced with a GS or NEG (not sure how to visually tell the difference) and of course the newer standard straight-striped gates and blue tags added.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4cgJsQXx9o2B8Gq46
Most of the more common, modern GE and EMD locomotives that were around then are still around, but what was rare then is even rarer if not gone completely.
In this one we hear a lot of the WCH mechanical bell that lasted until 2014 at Green Rd., with its distinctive slowdown in ringing as the gates rise. The bell was visible in several scenes in the original footage, but was cropped off in the conversion to widescreen.
Call me crazy, but I could have sworn the Maple Ave. crossing on the UP Adams Sub in Sussex was on the site, but it would appear that it's not. I have a full photo set of this crossing from this era (actually taken the same day the clip that begins the second video was recorded)...but apparently I never submitted it to anyone here. Must have just imagined doing it.
Looks like the crossing still has the same basic signals, but the bell has been replaced with a GS or NEG (not sure how to visually tell the difference) and of course the newer standard straight-striped gates and blue tags added.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4cgJsQXx9o2B8Gq46