We had such a nice time at Wisconsin Dells, we just had to send you a postcard. This is one I've had for longer than I can remember. It features a Milwaukee Road Class A crossing the river with the original Hiawatha, and must date to about 1935. Of course this is just an artist's impression, and it may not be the world's greatest art, but this is 80 years ago. We must be looking northwest. There's a tour boat in the background, of course. One interesting feature is the people walking along the lower level. Before the modern Broadway St. bridge was built, the road crossed the river on the lower level of the railroad bridge.
Today it looks like this, as viewed from the opposite direction. I'm sure it's the same railroad bridge; the line has been single-tracked, however. Behind it you can see the highway bridge, which is being repaved. The historic boat house seen at the left was built about 1928 and should appear in the postcard above, but it seems to have been airbrushed out of the picture.
5 comments:
Randall,
I have a number of Hyawatha post cards; but not that one. It is a honey!
Ted Miles, IRM Member
I remember as a child riding with my folks on the lower level highway bridge at the Dells. The road approached the bridge and made a very sharp 90 degree turn onto the bridge. I don't remember if it was a one or two lane road, but I recall it as being quite narrow.
C Kronenwetter
New Berlin
Charles: Thanks, it's nice to hear from somebody who actually remembers the original configuration. The bridge is just wide enough for a double-track railroad, so it must have been extremely narrow for two lanes of traffic plus a walkway of some sort. Model T's only!
And getting off the subject, we could start reminiscing about Storybook Gardens and Dinosaur Land and the Foam House of Tomorrow... And it seems to me there was a large model railroad layout of some sort, but I don't remember it very well.
Yes, it was a universe far far away in the Dells. Thinking back on the bridge, it seems to me that there was a traffic light at each end to control traffic flow but then again I could be wrong. Ah yes, Storybook Gardens....I remember taking our young kids there, maybe I'll run across some slides as I go on about digitizing my collection. When driving with my folks, we seldom stopped in the Dells, considering it (rightly as a tourist trap). We were usually in a hurry in the pre-Interstate days eager to get home. Don't recall if we ever took the kids to Dinosaur Land and pretty definitely not to the Foam House of Tomorrow (the House on the Rock is another matter....).
C Kronenwetter
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