Western Railroad Discussion > Wig Wag on Borrowed Time in Wisconsin

Found out that one of the 4 operating wig wag signals east of the Mississippi River is on borrowed time.  This pair of Wig Wags is in Sheboygan, WI.  They are on the UP, former CNW, line.  These tracks see a train usually three days a week MON/WED/FRI.  According to the Railroad Commissioner in Wisconsin the wig wags have to be removed and replaced with something else.  While I was there today 11-25 the road is quite busy.  Talk is that they are being replaced with just crossbucks.  I had heard today was removal day. When I got there 5-6 other railfans were there and supposedly the removal could happen in two weeks or before the end of the year.  Even though it was foggy and rainy the mood was appropriate for the end of an era.  Here are some photos.

Shot #1,#2 and # 3  Sheboygan, WI  Saemann Ave 

Thanks for Looking 

Keith
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/22338037@N04/

Keith Schmidt
Milwaukee, WI

---

---

---

absolute classics.....hope the Wisconsin rail museums are their future destinations.   Arlen

I did catch the wig wags in action as the Sheboygan Local was working today.  Another great thing about this train is that they still use a caboose and a CNW painted one at that.  They do alot of shoving of the train.  The local worked a Georgia Pacific plant and Kohler before heading north and passing the Wig Wags.  The track speed is 10mph so its a slow crossing. Classic jointed rail. 

Shots 4-6 UP Local heading north with CNW painted Caboose.  

Thanks 

Keith  

Keith Schmidt
Milwaukee, WI

---

---

---

Thanks much for sharing. I'd love to see some video footage.

Victor A Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

You know, if you're a responsible person who is aware of your surroundings, those wig wags are all you need.  Very sad to see them go.  They are classic, and add a nice touch to any crossing, anywhere.

Thanks for the interesting and sad series! When I was growing up wig-wags were everywhere. Could hardly believe all the wig-wags I saw in Wisconsin back in 1979 being from California.

Larry

Interesting that of all the things the commission would be worried about,  a crossing with basically 2 train crossing 3x a week with a train travelling at 10 mph?????

Bob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/26/20 05:29 by robj.

> Found out that one of the 4 operating wig wag
> signals east of the Mississippi River is on
> borrowed time.  This pair of Wig Wags is in
> Sheboygan, WI.  

Hello Keith,

Thanks for posting the photos & discription.  I'm curious about some others I saw in that area not long ago.  There was a working set of wig-wags in Plymouth, I noticed them by accident while staying there for the Historic (mostly Can Am & Trans Am cars) races at Road America a few years ago.  Do you know if the signals are still in place?

Thanks,

Mark 

 

---

---

Video of the Wig Wags in operation.  

Keith Schmidt
Milwaukee, WI

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

I like those wig-wags . Thanks for posting the images and the video. 

Government is far too big in recent decades. Because big government needs something to do, gets itself into all kinds of nonsensical situations like this. 

kschmidt626 Wrote:

> According to the
> Railroad Commissioner in Wisconsin the wig wags
> have to be removed and replaced with something
> else.  While I was there today 11-25 the road is
> quite busy.  Talk is that they are being replaced
> with just crossbucks. 

Seems a bit unlikely that any government official would demand that active crossing protection be removed if the alternative was going to be passive crossing protection.  There's probably more to the story.

Thanks for the video Keith.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> kschmidt626 Wrote:
>
> > According to the
> > Railroad Commissioner in Wisconsin the wig wags
> > have to be removed and replaced with something
> > else.  While I was there today 11-25 the road
> is
> > quite busy.  Talk is that they are being
> replaced
> > with just crossbucks. 
>
> Seems a bit unlikely that any government official
> would demand that active crossing protection be
> removed if the alternative was going to be passive
> crossing protection.  There's probably more to
> the story.

Maybe the official is a bonehead.  They are replacing
a station near me in Ardmore, PA along the former PRR
mainline.  Fortunately, the township demanded something
"traditional" while one official instead sought something
"new and modern" contary to the makeup of the historic
town and buildings along the ROW.  Glass and steel!!! 
Maybe this guy has no appreciation for American history
and can't wait to replace (erase) it.

Or, being a politician - maybe he wants the wig-wags for
a friend.

/Mitch

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You know, if you're a responsible person who is aware of your surroundings, those wig wags are all you need.

A responsible person aware of their surroundings would only need crossbucks. Lights are an upgrade to serve those less aware of railroad traffic. Gates are a crutch to send a message to people who don't stop at lights. Quad gates are for people who go around lowered gates. Every level of crossing protection reflects a failure on the part of drivers being aware of their surroundings.

Non-standard controls are not acceptable under uniform traffic standards. You will see "tombstone" traffic lights with left turn arrows that go dark when permissive left turns are allowed (after waiting for opposing traffic). Those are being replaced by the new four arrow variety lights that have a flashing yellow light for permissive left turns. The "tombstone" lights with a single red at the top and a yellow and green arrow are no longer considered standard.

The Wig-Wag faces a similar fate. In a world full of idiot drivers who don't stop for gated crossing Wig-Wags do not stand a chance. Once standard (like yellow stop signs and yellow yield signs) but no longer fitting the uniform traffic standards.

Wig Wags are cool, nice pics and video, hopefully they willl be saved!

Update. The Wig Wags were removed yesterday 12-05-2020.  They were replaced with just crossbucks for right now.  For what I understand the Wig Wags were preserved and not scraped.  Not sure where the new home is but the Wig Wag era in Wisconsin has ended.  

Keith

Keith Schmidt
Milwaukee, WI