| Lem Lahie and Rudy Flanzer stand proudly in front of their steam
locomotive in Waupaca Wis. in 1939.
This locomotive was built by Dickson Manufacturing Company of Scranton, Penn. in 1897. Dickson was a predecessor of Alco, which became the largest steam locomotive builder in the United States. The Waupaca line was formed in 1907 by the citizens of Waupaca to provide a railroad connection to ship the area's abundant potato crops. it became a part of the Green Bay & Western in 1922 but the unprofitable line was abandoned in 1947. In the heyday of the early 1930s there were four trains each way on the Waupaca to Iola line, but by the late 1930s the schedule was down to trains 40 and 41. Common cars on these trains would be reefers for potatoes and pickles, tank cars for Wadhams and Standard Oil Co. in Waupaca, and company coal for the locomotive which was based in Waupaca. This photo looks like it was taken in the yard west of the GBW's engine house, which is where the De-lish-us potato chip plant now stands. Locomotive number 23 was probably the most photographed of GBW's steam power; it was the last 4-4-0 "standard" locomotive used by the railroad and one of the last used by any railroad. It was scrapped in 1940, after 43 years of service. |
From the collection of Mark Mathu.
