Wisconsin Fish Commission #2

Wisconsin Fish Commission #2
Coach, Pullman Co., Lot 4015, Plan 2642, 1912

The Pullman Company built this wooden car for the Wisconsin Fish Commission as "Badger #2" in 1912. It was designed with a steel underframe and fitted with steel tanks to carry fish to remote locations around the state to restock streams and rivers. The car would be stopped on a bridge and the tanks emptied into the water below. At an unknown date, the car was sold to equipment dealer W.H. Knapp and renumbered #104. In 1960, the car was the very first to be purchased by Mid-Continent. It was moved to Hillsboro, Wisconsin in 1962 to carry passengers for the first operating season, and then on to North Freedom in 1963. #104 (or simply the "Fish Car"), as it is known to museum members, served as a regular coach in service to haul passengers on the museum's line for many years, wearing several colorful paint schemes along the way. It was last used during Snow Train 1985. A $950,000 full restoration to bring the car back to its as-built configuration complete with fish storage tanks will begin in late 2008. The work will be done by Avalon Rail of West Allis, Wisconsin. The car will be shipped by truck to their plant. The restoration is made possible by a grant from the Jeffris Family Foundation of Janesville, Wisconsin, and matching funds from hundreds of contributors.

#104 at North Freedom, July 7, 1976.

#104's interior at Mid-Continent, no date.

#104 at North Freedom, 1963.

#104 in service at Hillsboro, WI, 1962.

#104 while owned by W.H. Knapp, no date.

#2 at Antigo, WI for fish fry, 1921.