Near Port Edwards in Wood County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Milwaukee Gasoline Locomotive

Play on me… but be careful!

Photographed by Keith L, July 31, 2007

1. Milwaukee Gasoline Locomotive Marker

Marker picture shows the engine with its ore cars.

Inscription. I was built in the 1920's and helped build several dams along the Wisconsin River. Then Nekoosa Papers Inc. purchased me and I helped build Nepco Lake. Next I saw action working on the Nekoosa Dam and the water pipeline to the Nekoosa mill. Wood County borrowed me in the 1940's to help build Lake Wazeecha. The last time I saw work was in the 1950's when I helped rebuild the dikes on Nepco Lake. But alas, at that time the engineers found that trucks and heavy earth movers could move sand faster than I could. So I was retired to a shady spot on the shore of the lake where I rested until 1978 when I was rebuilt for my present job, that of entertaining children. The picture shows how I looked in my earlier years.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1978.

Location. 44° 21.233′ N, 89° 51.582′ W. Marker is near Port Edwards, Wisconsin, in Wood County. It can be reached from the intersection of Wisconsin River Drive (State Highway 54/73) and Jackson Ave, on the left when traveling north. The train is on the grounds of the Alexander House and noted in the photo caption. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1131 Wisconsin River Drive, Port Edwards WI 54469, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Wisconsin. It is also in the American Midwest,

on the Great Lakes,

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this

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marker, measured as the crow flies: John Edwards Jr. Office Building (a few steps from this marker); John Jones 2nd Burial Site (approx. 0.3 miles away); John Edwards Jr. (approx. one mile away); Centralia Pulp and Paper Mill (approx. 1.1 miles away); Wood County Cemetery (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Great Pine (approx. 1½ miles away); Assistant Chief Michael J. Kilpatrick (approx. 1½ miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 2½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Port Edwards.

More about this marker. "...unique from the others, was the portable, narrow gauge line known simply as the "Milwaukee." The name had no connotation as to cities served; but rather, it was named after its locomotive, a Milwaukee gasoline engine.
Purchased in 1928 from Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company, the motive power, cars, and tracks were moved to Nepco Lake to be used for hauling dirt for the dikes and chemicals for water treatment. In 1931 it was loaded onto a truck and hauled to Nekoosa, where it saw service on the mill dam to facilitate the laying of the 40-inch pipeline from Nepco Lake to the Nekoosa mill. Other service was incurred in the 1940's when the entire railroad was again loaded on a truck, having been loaned to Wood County for assisting in building a man-made lake."
Excerpt from The Nekoosa Story

Milwaukee Gasoline Locomotive image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Keith L, July 31, 2007

2. Milwaukee Gasoline Locomotive

by J. Marshall Buehler. (1987).

Additional keywords. Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Company (NEPCO)

Photographed by Keith L, July 31, 2007

3. Milwaukee Gasoline Locomotive

Photographed by Keith L, July 31, 2007

4. Milwaukee Gasoline Locomotive

New Location image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Keith L, January 10, 2012

5. New Location

The locomotive and three cars have been placed on the rear lawn of the Alexander House, 1131 Wisconsin River Drive, Port Edwards, Wisconsin.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 14, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 16, 2010, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 2,066 times since then and 29 times this year. Last updated on October 3, 2025, by Susan Van Den Bosch of Almond, Wisconsin. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 16, 2010, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. 5. submitted on January 12, 2012, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.