Sturgeon Bay Central Railroad (SBCR)

Erroneous Monk · Mon Jan 01, 2024 4:34 pm

As Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula developed, there came a growing need for a railroad to service the factories and towns that had sprung up. Chief among the crowd of new business owners was Edward Decker, who owned multiple industries around the peninsula. During mid-1890, Decker incorporated the Ahnapee & Western Railroad and began building a rail line from Caso Junction on the Green Bay & Western northward to Sturgeon Bay via Ahnapee. Though Ahnapee, WI was renamed to Algoma in 1897, the railroad stuck with the older name. The road started operations with 4-4-0 locomotives #1 and #2, but both of these locomotives had been replaced by a pair of larger 4-4-0s, a new #2 and #3 by 1902. While the railroad was successful, some of Decker’s other business ventures proved less so and by 1906, Edward Decker had sold the road to the Green Bay & Western in order to fulfill debt obligations. A group of local business men, headed by Vern Bushman, then took control of the line along with two used 2-6-0s #259 and #260 in 1947. By 1949 however, it became clear that the older of these two units, 1915-built #259, was worn out and in need of replacement. Initially purchasing 2-8-0 #398 from the GBW, the locomotive was traded back for the slightly smaller #351 after the #398 was determined to be to heavy for the line. Both the #351 and #260 were scrapped in 1953 after the company upgraded to a pair of GE 70-Tonners, #600 and #601. The two diesels proved invaluable to the company, allowing for both reductions in crews sizes and maintenance costs. Both units came painted in a newly devised forest green and burgundy scheme. For the next sixteen years the company used these units exclusively. A massive blow struck the railroad in that sixteenth year when the railroad’s bridge over the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, which allowed the road access to a substantial amount of traffic, was condemned by the US Government. The condemnation was the result of a nationwide inspection of over 700,000 bridges following the tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge in Gallipolis, OH the year prior. It also forced the railroad to mothball the line until funds could be procured to restore the bridge to operation. This put much financial strain on the company and by 1970, the owners were looking to sell.

Recognizing the railroad’s importance to its own operations, the railroad’s largest customer, US Plywood decided to purchase the railroad. This was USP's third railroad, having purchased the Moscow, Camden, & St. Augustine in Texas just two years earlier and the McCloud River Railroad in California in 1963. Using experience gained from those purchase, the company immediately began rebuilding the right-of-way and brought in management from the McCloud River to handle day-to-day operations. Over the coming years, USP invested more than $1,400,000 (2023 USD) into the railroad and built up even more business for the company than it had before the sale. Part of this investment enabled the railroad to build a transload site on the south side of Sturgeon Bay, allowing the railroad bridge to be abandoned and removed without affecting the Ahnapee & Western’s customer base. The railroad welcomed a new type of traffic that year in the form of piggyback service. Working with USP, the company built an intermodal ramp near their Algoma facility. This was ramp was somewhat of an oddity, consisting of an old flat car half buried under the ground. While crude, the setup worked and soon lumber was being shipped out to the surounding country. To support this service, the railroad purchased a single former Southern Pacific piggyback car. After modifications to fit the Algoma ramp, the unit entered service transporting trailers loaded with finished plywood from Algoma to Kansas City. Seeing the success that followed from this operation, the railroad began marketing the service to other local businesses, primarily focusing on those not located online. An additional ramp was built at the Sturgeon Bay transload site with two more piggyback cars being purchased to handle the various goods being shipped. This niche service was successful due to the lack of rail service on the Door Peninsula and brought the railroad much needed cash. In 1976, the bi-weekly freight operations were joined by weekend passenger excursions operated by Trans-Northern under the name Algoma Railroad. These operations proved a major success and soon the Algoma Railroad was turning a nice profit. Initially using a 1937-built GE 60-Tonner, the railroad upgraded to an ex-MILW Alco S-4 after the 60-Tonner suffered major mechanical issues. This unit didn’t last long either as it was soon replaced by another Milwaukee Road Alco, RSC-4 #988. The S-4 was then handed over to the Ahnapee & Western in exchange for a year’s trackage-rights payments. The Alco immediately became the largest unit ever operated on the railroad and replaced GE 70-Tonner #601, which was sent to sister railroad Moscow, Camden, & St. Augustine in Texas. 70-Tonner #600 was sold to the road’s parent and became the dedicated plant switcher at Algoma.

By 1978 the McCloud River had been sold to the Itel Corporation but continued to be contracted by USP, now known as Champion International to operate the AHW. Itel however, had little interest in the AHW and subcontracted service out to interchange partner Green Bay & Western, who was responsible for the line's operation and maintenance. The change also prompted Champion to sell the S-4 to the GBW, thus ending decades of AHW painted units. Piggyback service remained an important part of the line’s business and throughout the 80s, the three piggyback cars became the only Ahnapee & Western-marked equipment left operable. By the end of 1980 the Algoma Railroad had moved out on account of rising costs and falling revenue. With the departure of these trains, the GBW moved to a thrice-weekly schedule, operating Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The Green Bay & Western, who was also encountering its own financial problems elsewhere within its operations, cut corners on the Ahnapee to help keep costs down. Maintenance was minimal at best and the AHW's infrastructure was quickly crumbling.

Unhappy with the neglect seen under the cash-strapped Green Bay & Western, Champion took back operational control of the Ahnapee & Western on May 1st, 1987. An old CNW GP30 was purchased and after substantial work to get the engine running, it was put into service as #40. During the summer of 1990 the unit was repainted into a new scheme reminiscent of sister road MCSA in Texas, which had remained under their control during this time. Four new 89’ flat cars replaced the railroad’s aging fleet of piggyback service units that year and a celebration was also held for the railroad’s hundredth year of service. Champion ownership of the line wouldn’t last long however as the paper company was merged into International Paper in 2000 and the railroad-along with the Algoma Plywood Plant-was sold to the newly formed Algoma Harwoods.

With the new company wanting nothing to do with the line’s operation, the Ahnapee & Western was sold to RailAmerica, who renamed it the Sturgeon Bay Central Railroad. Under the new owners, a gray, white, and red GP38 would be transferred to the road and the GP30 would be patched and renumbered #2250. The new GP38, #3807, which came in from the Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad, took over most operations on the railroad. Key features such as dynamic brakes and a newly rebuilt engine allowed the unit to have better performance and enhanced reliability when compared to the ratty GP30. Apart from the new motive power however, little changed on the road and slowly, the SBCR would fall into disrepair and become unprofitable to operate. Like Champion, RA ownership would also be short lived as the line was sold to the Brown-Kewaunee Municipal Rail Authority in 2006.

Though it was not profitable, the BKMRA realized the line's importance to local area businesses and sought to continue operations of the line without the large corporate oversight and rationalizations that RA had implemented. After drumming up support from their respective counties' populations, the group purchased the Sturgeon Bay Central, dawning a new chapter in Door County railroading history. With this transition, both the GP30 and GP38 left the SBCR for other RailAmerica operations, leaving the new organization unit-less. In need of units to cover the line, the cash-strapped BKMRA purchased two Straits Central (paper railroad coming soon) U23Bs, #887 and #889. While a stark constrast to the rebuilt GP38 they were replacing, the units were acquired for very near scrap value. #887 was unique in the fact that it had an EMD cab, placed on it after a wreck-rebuild by original owner Missouri Pacific. Over their many years of service, the units had become extremely worn out and by the time they reached the SBCR, both were in dire need of a rebuild. Broken injectors, weak generators, and a host of other problems led the units to being very weak and unreliable. Because of these issues, the railroad required that both units be operated together for redundancy. Over time both units received decals but would remain in their CMGN/MACK paint.

The U-Boats operate a very relaxed schedule, running only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Though the railroad was as financially secure as it had ever been, low traffic volume and declining track condition meant the SBCR was running on razor thin margins. Without the support of the local government through the Brown-Kewaunee Municipal Rail Authority, the company would almost certainly have gone bankrupt. The railroad took a major blow when the 2008 Recession hit. Already in shakey financial territory, the railroad was shut down throughout the year, making only two movements to service stored cars. When it came time to remove those stored cars and get the line back into regular operation, the railroad found that its primary workhorse, GP30 #2250, had been stripped of its copper wiring by vandals. Rendered functionaly useless, the locomotive was donated to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, where she was repainted in her Ahnapee & Western colors and put on display. This loss forced the railroad to split up its GE pair, running one unit on each train. Over time this caused excellerated wear and tear on the already failing engines. By 2019 the railroad had finally purchased an additional locomotive to cover for the aging U-Boats. This new unit, B23-7 #401, had most recently served on the Albany & Eastern in Oregon, was much better to operate more reliable, leading it to become the railroad’s main workhorse. 2021 saw the railroad assume the operations of the former GBW-now CN-branch leading from the Casco Junction interchange into Green Bay. The purchased yielded the company 20+ miles of track, a new major customer, and was the first expansion of the company in its 130+ year history. Since the purchase, the company has began stringing together all three of the its GEs for the trip into Green Bay. This storied road has had a long, arduous history but continues to be pivotal to the Door Peninsula's economy today.