Old Smoky

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, says the old adage. When the retired steam locomotive Old Smoky was placed on display in Bay View in May 1957, it was considered a treasure. Mayor Frank Zeidler heralded it as an educational tool, one that would “serve the children-as a friend and teacher.” But by the 1970s, some Milwaukee aldermen were calling Old Smoky “a piece of junk.”

According to period news accounts, in fall 1954 a class of second graders first suggested to Mayor Zeidler that a steam locomotive should be on public display. Zeidler appointed a committee to obtain an engine and establish a trust fund for its preservation.

In June 1955, the city of Milwaukee accepted a steam locomotive (known as Number 265) from Milwaukee Road Railroad. The city planned to put the old locomotive on permanent display in one of the county parks.

However, the city selected a city-owned piece of land just north of E. Conway Street and just west of the U.S. Naval Reserve Armory on S. Lincoln Memorial Drive. The former site is across the street from the present Dom & Phil’s De Marinis Pizza Restaurant, now green space unofficially known as Bridgeport Park. A trust fund of $7,000 was raised from donations for the perpetual care of the locomotive exhibit. A naming contest was held. Charles Schmidt, age 5, of South Milwaukee won with “Old Smoky.” 

Last of its Kind

Old Smoky/Number 265 was built by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) for the Milwaukee Road in June 1944 at a cost of about $250,000. There were a total of 10 of these locomotives, numbered 260 thru 269, built for the Milwaukee Road. The giant “iron horse” was almost 110 feet long and weighed 412 tons. Old Smoky/Number 265 was the last of the steam locomotives delivered to the Milwaukee Road. It was called a 4-8-4, because there were four small wheels in front, eight driving wheels, and four small wheels at the rear of the engine.

By the early 1950s, the steam engine was replaced by the diesel engine. In 1954, Old Smoky/Number 265 was taken out of service after 900,000 miles of road freight and passenger service. It operated between Milwaukee and Council Bluffs, Iowa, pulling 80 to 90 cars, and provided passenger service between Milwaukee and Minneapolis and Chicago and Omaha.

To move Old Smoky to Bay View, temporary tracks were built from the railroad yard at Jones Island. A number of local labor unions donated time and materials to set up the exhibit, and on Nov. 18, 1956, Old Smoky was put in place, facing west, on 200 feet of track. A concrete platform was built around the locomotive.

Old Smoky was protected by a chain-link fence and floodlighted. At the controls in the locomotive’s cab were lifelike figures of an engineer and fireman, designed by Adolph E. Seebach, an artist at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Old Smoky was dedicated on May 12, 1957. By March 1965, Old Smoky fell victim to vandalism. Vandals cut the barbwire along the top of the fence and stripped $1,500 worth of parts from the locomotive. Two 18-year-old Milwaukee School of Engineering students, Brad E. Smith of Rhode Island and Charles E. Best of New Jersey, were charged with the theft. According to a Milwaukee Journal article, the police said “the two admitted taking the parts November 7 to show that Old Smoky was not vandal proof.” The Judge Ryan Duffy sentenced them to one-year probation and ordered them to put the parts back. Under the watchful eye of Judge Duffy, it took the two young men 30 minutes to reassemble the locomotive parts. “They did a good job; they knew their business,” said Duffy.

Over the years, Old Smoky was vandalized repeatedly, and by the 1970s vandals had stripped Old Smoky of most of its accessories. Years of neglect took a toll on Old Smoky. The locomotive’s black paint was peeling, and neighbors complained to the city that repairs to the locomotive were needed. Due to the planned construction of the Lake Freeway, however, repairs on Old Smoky had been put on hold.

A number of organizations expressed interest in acquiring Old Smoky. Plans to relocate it to the Capitol Court shopping center (now razed) fell through when the shopping center couldn’t find someone to restore it. A number of railroad museums in the Midwest expressed interest in Old Smoky.

A New Home

In October 1974, the Milwaukee Common Council agreed to donate the locomotive to the Illinois Railway Museum, the nation’s largest such museum. The city paid for moving the engine several hundred yards to a nearby rail line, and the museum moved it from there. On April 12, 1975, Old Smoky arrived at the Illinois Railway Museum, where it still resides today.

Besides Old Smoky, there is only one other locomotive left of the 10 original, according to Tom Schneider of the Illinois Railway Museum. Number 261 locomotive is at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, and it is used for excursions.

Copyright 2011 by Bay View Compass. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.