The Freight House

A century ago the railroad tracks were a busy place along the west side of La Crosse, Wisconsin.  The Milwaukee Road hauled freight -and occasionally passengers- up and down the Mississippi River from Chicago and other points south and east, to Minneapolis and other points north and west. The tracks have been rerouted through other sections of town, but the historic freight house building remains and has stood as a popular namesake restaurant for the past 35 years.

The "conductor" below is calling you inside to try one of The Freight House's delicious signature steaks!

Hoo-Who?

While waiting at an intersection the other day, I had to do a double-take at the utility pole across the way.  Upon closer inspection, I realized it was merely an owl decoy placed to keep other birds from congregating in the area.  I'm not sure why there are no wires attached to the pole itself, unless it's just a throw-back to the "olden days."

Pan Am Graffiti

Another box car graffiti image taken while waiting for (a very slow!) train to pass the intersection of Duplainville Road in the City of Pewaukee.

Click the graffiti tag below to see all related images from this blog.

Waiting for the Train

Another view inside the new Milwaukee Amtrak station. A tree is growing in the large, open atrium, surrounded by people waiting for the arrival of the westbound Empire Builder. Originating in Chicago, the train arrives in Milwaukee for the next leg of the journey, including La Crosse, Minneapolis, Fargo, and all points west to Seattle on the Pacific coast.

Welcome to Milwaukee

We visited the new Amtrak station in downtown Milwaukee last week to pick up our in-laws, who were visiting from La Crosse for the Thanksgiving holiday. The view above shows the west exit of the station looking north at the Milwaukee skyline. Both Amtrak trains and Greyhound buses are serviced at this location. The view below shows a stylized "2D" Greyhound sculpture hanging above the attendants' counter, complete with a wreath for the Christmas holidays ahead.

Ugly Kids Can't Spell

...or at least that's part of the message someone left on this graffiti-laden box car. I'm not sure what the main message is supposed to be, either. One of many train cars passing by the Duplainville Road crossing in the city of Pewaukee.

Wile E. Indeed

Another graffiti train shot at the Duplainville Road railroad crossing. A rather evil looking Wile E. Coyote is scrawled on this blue box car.

Mr. Roboto

Another photo of graffiti on a passing train at the Duplaineville Rd. crossing from last summer. This stylized robot seems to be followed by his Mini-me's (see below.) Always more interesting than the usual letters and random words that these "artists" normally scrawl.

Click the graffiti tag below to see others in this series.

Going No Where

We could all use a little "L'Money" now-a-days. This is another of my railroad car graffiti shots, which appears to have been done back in 2006 with the curious message of "[Chris] You ain't goin' no where." Click the graffiti tag below to view others in the series.

Not Well

Another in a series of train graffiti images (check label below to view others) - taken while waiting at the RR crossing on Duplainville and Weyer Rds. So many times the designs are just seemingly random stylized letters, At least this one is *almost* legible....not sick, but SiCR?

GT- Animated Rocket?

Another in a series of railroad boxcar graffiti. I often wonder how long these rogue artists have to get a design down and finish it before they are discovered, chased away or caught. Too bad it's not a legitimate profession, as some of them are pretty good. To see the rest of my train graffiti set, click "graffiti" in the label tags below.

Sweet?

While stopped at a railroad crossing on Duplainville Road in the city of Pewaukee waiting for this freight train to pass, I snapped this picture out the window of my car. A colorful graffiti banner along side this box car declared "Suite" - and the other word appears to be "A-sign," although the "n" is missing from this photo. Review my other train graffiti images by clicking the "graffiti" tag under this entry.

The Dark Side...

The Burlington Northern line has a switching yard in the northeast side of town. Every few days, you can see a line of boxcars side-tracked, waiting to be re-routed. Included are cars and engines from the Illinois Central, Santa Fe, and Canadian Pacific railways. Many of these are riddled with graffiti. Some plain and nondescript, with half finished signs, words or initials. But some are amazing -- like this rendition of Darth Vader -- which I photographed last fall. Watch for more examples in the coming weeks and months.