Page 13 - All Scale Rails Magazine Issue 4 September October 2015

www.AllScaleRails.com

CP 5923 & CP 8554 Milw., WI Maple Street 02-12-05 by Bill Bedell

Bill’s Tower Story

Bill’s ability to talk to anyone was one of his greatest qualities. Once people had talked to
him, it was almost as if he had an open invitation into places that the general public were not
allowed. One of these places was the Milwaukee Road mainline traffic control tower known
as “Five Rings.” It was called Five Rings because the sub had to crank the phone five times to
call into it. Five Rings tower controls the Milwaukee sub and is located just east of Layton

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Boulevard at the 27 Street viaduct, down in the Menominee Valley. One day while Bill was
in the tower, the CN&W 400 passenger train heading west out of the Milwaukee Road Depot
in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin blew through a red light. This was at a time after the
Chicago & Northwestern Depot on Lake Michigan’s waterfront had been purchased and torn
down by the Milwaukee Road with the intent on building a freeway there. So the Milwaukee
Road at this time had control over the CN&W lights. An active switcher was using the main-
line tracks to switch cars when they got the call from Five Rings tower to get out of the engine
and run as they were about to be hit. Instead of listening to the tower, they pushed forward
and cleared the track, with inches to spare, narrowly averting disaster. The CN&W was
called, the 400 was stopped and a new crew took over.

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