Central Wisconsin Railroad History
Many people from Central Wisconsin and Portage County have established themselves as notable Railroad historians. Among the best are Malcolm Rosholt and Professor Raymond Specht (UWSP).
Raymond Specht penned many books and articles. Many were published by Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. Unfortunately these are out of print. NOTE: the Portage County Historical Society has recently obtained permission to republish some of his works. Check our "booklets" for availability.
Articles
Keith Meacham, a long time president of the Hub City Model Railroaders located in Marshfield Wisconsin, has contributed several articles here. His monograph on telegraphy is a fitting tribute to his father's many years as a telegrapher for the Soo Line.
- Telegraphy
- Engine #2442
- Greenwood Line Part 1
- Greenwood Line Part 2
- Greenwood Line Revisited
- Working on the Portage Line circa 1944-1945
- Snow Storm
- I Remember: The CNW In Marshfield, 1967-1982. Long article!
- A Life Long “love” Of Lake Michigan Railroad Car Ferries
- A Fond Look Back On The Marshfield & Texas Spur. Another Long article! Many historic photos. Will take some time to load.
Malcolm Rosholt has written several books about Wisconsin life and
his "Trains of Wisconsin"
is out of print, but available through
McMillan Digital Library Collection - Malcolm Rosholt for viewing online. He has an extensive photo collection, part of which is at UWSP's Archives Dept.
Professor Maurice Perret in collaboration with Prof. Specht produced the following articles:
Histories
The history of the Wisconsin Central is tied to that of the Soo Line. A good history of the WC was "HISTORY of the WISCONSIN CENTRAL RAILWAY" written by Roy L. Martin. Unfortunately this book is no longer in print.
James Lydon, a Soo Line employee, has written extensively about the
railroad's history and as the WC was a major part of that railroad's development
this road's history is also included. The
Central Wisconsin Model Railroaders, Ltd.,
received a copy of the "Lydon manuscript" about 1992. This model railroad club
had formed a symbiotic relationship with Portage County Historical Society
restoring the Society's ex-Bancroft
Depot and in exchange using the basement under this structure as a
clubhouse. CWMR along with the Society received permission from the Wisconsin
Central RR Ltd., owners of the manuscript, to publish this document. Because of
the numerous areas that have missing parts this is not possible. Further
research at the Minnesota State Historical
Society may turn up a more complete document.
Other sources of historic data about the Soo Line and its various lines is
the Soo Line Historical and Technical Society
and two authors with many books on Wisconsin railroading, Ray Specht and Malcolm
Rosholt. Most of these books are out of print.
- James Lydon Manuscript -- Presented here in 25 parts.
- Pendergast Family -- This family has four generations of engineers.
- The Pine Line -- Ray Pendergast's memories of the Medford run.
Maps
One can never have enough railroad maps!! We have some here. This section will continue to grow. Keep checking back.
- Big Falls Railroad (30K)-- operating out of Big Falls this logging RR is long forgotten.
- CNW map 1903 (137K) -- Shawano Cty., Big Falls, Aniwa, Mattoon including Mattoon RR.
- Wisconsin Central (167K) -- Wisconsin Central Lines Northern Pacific RR Co. Lessee. Map of passenger service.
- Wisconsin Central Land Grant (146K) -- Wisconsin Central Railroad's Land Grants in Wisconsin. Here shown as gray area from Marshfield north totaling 888,000+ acres. Dated 1889.
- Go to Google Doc's for
Wisconsin Railroads and Harbors Map 2011.
Wisconsin Railroad Depot Photos
Wisconsin's railroad depots are rapidly disappearing. Some, like the Bancroft Depot, are being saved and restored. Many others are less fortunate. It is the goal of this webmaster to have historic photos available here of all the Wisconsin depots. This will not be an easy task. I know the photos exist and ask that they be made available for display here. Anyone wishing to donate a photo, complain or comment email me.
Go to Wisconsin Depots to view photos.
Interesting Links
- Railroad Depot Historical Society.
- Railroad Depot Wiki site.
- Steam Locomotives.
- Library of Congress's Railroad Maps 1828-1900.
- The Rail Channel.
- Train Talk.
- Wisconsin Historical Society's Railroad
photo collection.
Type "Railroad" in search box.
- Another Wisconsin Historical Society's
Railroad Collection. Type "Railroad" in 'Keyword Search' box.