Great images from a very tumultuous time in the Ahnapee & Western's history.

Sturgeon Bay in 1968

Kids rolling barrels across the AHW tracks AHW #601 receives major servicing East side approach to the Sturgeon Bay swing span bridge

Karl Ross took these photos in August 1968.  This was the very last week of operations on the Sturgeon Bay to Algoma portion of the Ahnapee & Western, a former branch line of the Green Bay Route. 

Andy Laurent painted a picture of the Ahnapee and Western during that fateful summer:

The abandonment of this part of the railroad was filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission on May 27, 1968, and that summer Erv Bushman, vice-president of operations, was fired by his brother Verne after some misuse of funds became apparent.

This twenty-mile stretch was embargoed on August 9th. A trackmobile removed the last cars in Sturgeon Bay that afternoon, taking the cars across the swing bridge over the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal.  Locomotive #601 took a the final train south to Algoma, never to return.

By the time these photos were snapped in August, the AHW was in its death throws and living on borrowed time.  It was a fairly dramatic period for such a small railroad -- much like the early 1950's with strikes and grandiose proposed carferry schemes -- only those times where filled with hope... 1968 was not.

The photos show the deteriorated condition of the railroad towards the end:

• A lot of weeds,
• The rails are not straight and true,
• Some kids are rolling barrels across the tracks,
• #601 is obviously receiving some major servicing from Eddie Tomjanovich before making a run (maybe the last regular run),
• the former Evangeline Milk factory, the largest shipper on the north end until 1964, is standing vacant behind the enginehouse as a reminder of good times past.