The Milwaukee Road Chestnut St. Branch is a six-mile industrial line more commonly known as the “Beer Line”. As the name implies, the brewing industry (Schlitz and Pabst) are the major traffic generators, but there are also many other industries such as tanneries, corrugated container plants, and an American Motors body plant that require daily switching on this busy line. Sixty different car spot locations at nearly 40 different industries make for continuous switching activity along the line.

Set in 1975, you'll find brand-new MP15ACs toiling alongside worn-out F-units and FM switchers still working three shifts a day. There's no dispatcher as yard limits cover the whole line, but the clerk sets the pace for the three to four two-man crews. Also, a twice-daily transfer job shuttles blocks of cars from various points along the branch to the main classification yard in the Menominee River valley (staging).

Over the years of construction and operation changes have been made (hopefully for the better) the entire line is faithfully recreated for your switching enjoyment. Sound-equipped locomotives, reliable track and free-rolling cars help maintain the realism of the prototypical, handwritten switch-list based operations. Scenery is slowly growing (not as fast as real grass and weeds), buildings are just beginning to define the surroundings, but that won’t detract from the realistic operations.

The Milwaukee Road Beer Line was featured in the November 2011 issue of Model Railroader.