Mississippi Valley Public Service #56
Type: Steel Streetcar
Built - 1916, St. Louis Car Co. Seats - 46 Length – 42’ 0” Width – 8’ 9” Height – 11’ 4” Weight – 38,900 lbs. |
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During the early 20th century, extensive streetcar systems plied the streets of most cities in the United States with a population of more than 10,000 people. Many notable cities across the upper Midwest, such as Chicago, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis, has extensive streetcar and rapid transit systems which ferried thousands of people around both their urban and suburban areas each day.
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La Crosse, Wisconsin, being a small town along the Mississippi River, had a much smaller system (only three lines), but it still had a lasting impact on the development of the town. The lines were built by the Wisconsin Railway Light and Power Company, which also controlled the lines in even smaller Winona, across the Mississippi River in Minnesota.
Operating with small streetcars, the company ordered seven new state-of-the-art streetcars with 46 seats in 1916 (nos. 51 - 57). That same year, the company became the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company. |
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At its peak, the La Crosse streetcar system had three routes, which covered much of the city and its north side. However, by the mid-1930s, only one route (the North Side Line) remained. Cars 51-57 were relatively modern and spacious for their time, and they were the only streetcars still being operated when the North Side Line was replaced with buses on November 11, 1945.
Three days after their retirement, the electrical equipment and trucks were removed from the cars, and six of the seven were sold to a local farmer for $25 each. For the next 20 years, the farmer, and later his son, used them as storage sheds and for other farm purposes. “At least two of the cars became homes for peacocks and pheasants which my father raised. The remaining cars were used to store farm equipment and other material,” the farmer’s son recalled in a 1985 interview.
Car 56 was forgotten until 1970, when it was the only surviving car from the original lot and the farmer’s family sold it to a streetcar fan in the Milwaukee area. Unfortunately, the fan died before he could restore it, and his family donated the car to the East Troy Railroad Museum. In 1989, the museum gave the car to a volunteer, who planned to restore it in his yard. Unfortunately he was also unable to complete the restoration. In 2022, the car arrived back at ETRM, where volunteers have determined the car to be in restorable condition. Today, the car is one of only three surviving Mississippi Valley Public Service streetcars (and one of only two ones from La Crosse) and is awaiting its turn in ETRM’s restoration facility.
Three days after their retirement, the electrical equipment and trucks were removed from the cars, and six of the seven were sold to a local farmer for $25 each. For the next 20 years, the farmer, and later his son, used them as storage sheds and for other farm purposes. “At least two of the cars became homes for peacocks and pheasants which my father raised. The remaining cars were used to store farm equipment and other material,” the farmer’s son recalled in a 1985 interview.
Car 56 was forgotten until 1970, when it was the only surviving car from the original lot and the farmer’s family sold it to a streetcar fan in the Milwaukee area. Unfortunately, the fan died before he could restore it, and his family donated the car to the East Troy Railroad Museum. In 1989, the museum gave the car to a volunteer, who planned to restore it in his yard. Unfortunately he was also unable to complete the restoration. In 2022, the car arrived back at ETRM, where volunteers have determined the car to be in restorable condition. Today, the car is one of only three surviving Mississippi Valley Public Service streetcars (and one of only two ones from La Crosse) and is awaiting its turn in ETRM’s restoration facility.
Car 56 Ownership History:
Wisconsin Railway Light & Power #56 - 1916-1926
Mississippi Valley Public Service #56 - 1926-1945
Private Owner - 1945-1970
Private Owner - 1970-1985
East Troy Electric Railroad - 1985-1989
Private Owner - 1989-2022
East Troy Electric Railroad - 2022-Present
Wisconsin Railway Light & Power #56 - 1916-1926
Mississippi Valley Public Service #56 - 1926-1945
Private Owner - 1945-1970
Private Owner - 1970-1985
East Troy Electric Railroad - 1985-1989
Private Owner - 1989-2022
East Troy Electric Railroad - 2022-Present
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