The Milwaukee Road Revisited [Hardcover]

Stanley W Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

Distributed by the University of Nebraska Press for the University of Idaho Press

The Milwaukee Road's route from Three Forks, Montana to Spokane, Washington touched many lives. Johnson reminisces about the way the railroad affected his youth. Johnson takes the reader on various train rides, some during the vibrant springtime and others during the deadly winter.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Milwaukee Road Revisited traces the ways that the Milwaukee Railroad shaped the lives of its employees and their families. The Milwaukee Road Revisited takes the reader on various train rides, some during the vibrant springtime and others during the deadly winter. The Milwaukee Road Revisited follows author Stanley Johnson''s memories of the railroad in the same way that he literally searched out the remains of the Milwaukee Railroad''s tacks and depots to find traces of his his stepfather, Frank Fiebelkorn, who worked as a passenger conductor on the Milwaukee Road for 53 years. The Milwaukee Road Revisited also recounts the interviews Johnson had with other milwaukee old-timers, the men who built the railroad and then spent their lifetimes riding and working on it, and who also mourn the loss of the Milwaukee Road."—Midwest Book Review

(Midwest Book Review )

About the Author

Stanley Johnson is Professor Emeritus in psychology and now lives in Washington State and spends his time following his passion for the railroad. He is also the author of An Historical Field Guide to the Milwaukee Railroad in Idaho.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: Caxton Press (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893011983
• ISBN-13: 978-0893011987
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,607,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A touching search for days gone by on the Milwaukee Road, May 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Milwaukee Road Revisited (Hardcover)

If you've ever lost someone you loved, you know that you treasure the things they loved. Stan Johnson's stepfather worked for the Milwaukee Railroad for 53 years. Johnson felt compelled, a few years ago, to see the old places and right-of-way of the abandoned Milwaukee finding, everywhere he went in Montana, Idaho and Washington, a flood of memories of his youth, railroading, electric locomotives, people, stories, history and a rich tapestry of lives and events that the Milwaukee Road represented through Johnson's beloved stepfather. As Johnson retraces the physical route and structures of the Milwaukee, his memories come alive, and you will read each word with a lump in your throat as Johnson returns to find his stepfather and his railroad.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stanley Johnson does a great job of putting you back in time, December 14, 2001

By 

Tiege Ulschmid (Moscow, ID United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Milwaukee Road Revisited (Hardcover)

Johnson has an uncanny way of putting his readers on the Milwaukee Railroad durring its prime. A must read for people who cherish the Milwaukee railroads history on a first hand basis.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shared Experiences, February 18, 2009

By 

Raymond B. Alkofer (Yakima, Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Milwaukee Road Revisited (Hardcover)

I've always heard it is easier to read something when one has a bit of background knowledge about the topic. Perhaps that is why this bock touched me so deeply. Like the author, I had one particular relative whose Milwaukee career spanned 37 years. He wasn't in train service, but his duties as a substation operator provided the "white coal" that propelled the electric locomotives across the Continental Divide and over the other grades on the Rocky Mountain Division. Virtually every summer my parents would pack up the car and drive to whichever substation my uncle was assigned. On rare occasions we travelled by train, but most trips were along the remnants of the Yellowstone Trail and the Mullan Road, at that time called US 10. We began our visits in 1953, at a lonely outpost named Morel, which was 17 miles south (railroad east) of Deer Lodge, Montana. Between that summer and 1974, when the electrification was scrapped, he worked at Morel, Janney, Gold Creek, Ravenna, and Avery, Idaho. On the 1953 trip to Morel I was treated to a short cab ride up and down the passing track as a short work train awaited the westbound Olympian Hiawatha's passing. Other memories include the ear-splitting roar of the motor geneerator sets inside the substation. When no trains were in the vicinity all that could be heard was the hum of the transformers in the closed off back room. Eventually the substations were automated and on our 1959 visit I was allowed to move the toggles which started the M-G sets in adjacent substations 35 miles distant.

It saddened me when the electrified operations ended, but my heart was broken when what has come to be known as the Western Extension of the railroad died six years later. Like Mr. Johnson, I've walked and biked the grade; I've toured it in cars and small buses. I even worked for the Milwaukee on a couple of occasions. At least to me, there is something very special about the Milwaukee. Stan Johnson has kept the memories alive.