The "Copper Country Limited" at Rest

The photo on the front of this post card is of a painting by Russ Porter. It depicts the “Copper Country Limited” pausing at Republic, Michigan in the early 1920s. Republic is about 300 miles from Chicago, Illinois as the train travels toward Calumet, Michigan. This website provides information about the “Copper Country Limited”. https://www.american-rails.com/copper-country.html The Copper Country Limited was one of many secondary trains operating on the Milwaukee Road. It certainly carried an appropriate name with service provided from Chicago to the northern fringes of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (copper country) in conjunction with the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic (later a Soo Line subsidiary). Its first appearance was during March of 1907 listed as trains #2 (southbound) and #3 (northbound). The route it plied required a little more than 12 hours departing Chicago late in the evening, running through Green Bay, and arriving at Calumet, Michigan the following morning. Interchange with the DSS&A was carried out at Champion, Michigan, (a Milwaukee-Marquette sleeper was interchanged 10 miles south at Republic, Michigan) which operated the train to its northward destination near the shores of Lake Superior. During its early years the Copper Country provided a consist including coaches, sleepers running through between Milwaukee and Marquette (Michigan) as well as Chicago and Calumet. Considering the rurality of this part of the country it is quite amazing a railroad provided such high class services; but the Milwaukee was not alone, such trains could be found running to similar out-of-the-way areas all across the country well into the 1960's.

I could find a few articles on line that told us that his artwork was used in Trains Magazine, but I could not find any biographical information on this person. It does seem, though, that he owned his own wooden railroad car. There were some people on a chat room site asking about the car, since the artist has died.