Wisconsin Fish Commission #2

Wisconsin Fish Commission #2
Coach, Pullman Co., Lot 4015, Plan 2642, 1913

The Pullman Company built this wooden car for the Wisconsin Fish Commission as "Badger #2" in September, 1913. 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 was completed in 2008. The restoration is made possible by a grant from the Jeffris Family Foundation of Janesville, Wisconsin, and matching funds from hundreds of contributors.

Badger #2, fully restored in 2009.

Newly constructed fish tanks, 2009.

#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.