MANY people and many events have shaped the destiny of The Milwaukee Road and its first hundred years of service. This version of the life and times of a family might well have been chosen from among anyone of many families which have been closely associated with our Railroad through the century.

The history of our Railroad is the history of brave, forward looking pioneers, their children and the new country they settled. The Milwaukee Road was born and grew of these elements, through a golden century of development.

In 1850, when our first train was operated over the new Company's first five miles of track, there were but 23,000,000 people in the entire United States. Now, one hundred years later, there are more than 36,000,000 people in the twelve Midwestern and Northwestern states which The Milwaukee Road serves. Since its beginning, our Railroad has been expanded to nearly 11,000 route miles to provide for the increasing transportation needs of this growing population.

"Four Generations On the Line" is a brief story of the beginning and development of The Milwaukee Road during its first 100 years of service. This short story presents its author's conception of many of the human incidents surrounding the growth of a railroad during its formative years up to the threshold of its second century of service. It is a living drama of a typical American enterprise through a century.

During the next century, we will continue to move forward with the people with whom our lot has been cast. Our part of the country is young and vigorous and great days lie ahead. We will strive to contribute to this future by maintaining the finest rail service available anywhere, and it shall be the aim and purpose of our family of more than 35,000 employees always to merit the friendship and patronage of the people served by our railroad.

document home

web version

images

full text

document list

Contact Webmaster