Roll up for the ghost train, because this Shorewood visual landmark not only recently won a prestigious lighting industry award, but it also has some new rolling stock on the line this summer.
In Chicago on May 9, the Ghost Train – which "runs" nightly along the 200-foot Oak Leaf Trail bridge that traverses East Capitol Drive in Shorewood, reimagining the Chicago & North Western Railway 400 that used to pass there when the trail was still a railroad right of way, from 1930 until 1963 – won an Award of Merit at the 35th annual International Association of Lighting Design Awards.
The Ghost Train – designed by Germantown’s Creative Lighting Design & Engineering – was one of 17 projects from around the world that were honored, and CLD’s Marty Peck Michelle Klein and Dave Drumel were on hand to accept the award.
Ghost Train from Marty Peck on Vimeo.
CLD was tasked with finding a way to creatively light the bridge, and the company’s innovative approach is definitely eye-catching.
In related news, a special circus train edition of the the Ghost Train will run on the line Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m. this summer.
While you wait, please enjoy some thematic music:
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
