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Parent company | Chicago and North Western Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Midwestern United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dates of operation | 1870–1871 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Successor | Chicago and North Western Railway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Length | 129.10 miles (207.77 km) (incomplete) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Baraboo Air Line Railroad was a railroad company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1870 to build a line from Madison, Wisconsin, to La Crosse, Wisconsin, as part of a new through route between Madison and Winona, Minnesota. The company was consolidated with the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) in 1871, prior to the completion of the line. After abandonment by the C&NW, part of the Baraboo Air Line route became the first rail trail, the Elroy-Sparta State Trail. Currently, the line from Madison to Reedsburg is operated by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad. The portion from Reedsburg to Elroy is now the 400 State Trail. The portion from Sparta through Medary is now the La Crosse River Trail.
The Madison, Lodi and Baraboo Railroad was incorporated on March 29, 1864. The company graded a line between Columbus and Baraboo via Merrimac but did not lay any track. [1]
The Baraboo Air Line Railroad was incorporated on March 8, 1870, to build north from the Beloit and Madison Railroad in Madison, Wisconsin, to the La Cross, Trempealeau and Prescott Railroad at Winona Junction, near La Crosse, Wisconsin. This would connect a though line of the Chicago and North Western Railway with its subsidiary, the Winona and St. Peter Railroad. On March 10, 1871, it was consolidated with the North Western. [2] [3]
Under the North Western construction continued. By 1872, twenty miles were finished to Lodi, Wisconsin. The ridges between Elroy and Sparta were tunneled at great expense and with much difficulty. [4] [5] The Baraboo Air-Line Rail Road connected to the LaCrosse, Trempealeau & Prescott Railroad at Winona Junction and opened for traffic in September 1873, through to Winona, Minnesota. In 1874, the C&NW reported an expenditure for its three tunnels of $476,743.32 and for the construction of 129 miles of railroad between Madison and Winona Junction of $5,342,169.96. [6]
As completed by the Chicago and North Western Railway, the line ran 129.10 miles (207.77 km) from Madison to Winona Junction. [2] Most of it has since been abandoned and converted to rail trails. The North Western abandoned the line between Sparta and Elroy in 1964; it is now the Elroy-Sparta State Trail, the first rail trail in the United States. [7] The line west of Sparta was abandoned in 1977 in favor of trackage rights over the Milwaukee Road's parallel Tomah Subdivision. It is now the La Crosse River Trail. [8] The line between Reedsburg and Elroy was abandoned in 1986 and is now the 400 State Trail. [9] The line between Reedsburg and Madison is now known as the Reedsburg Subdivision and is leased by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad.
Elroy is a city in Juneau County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Baraboo River and at the east end of the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail. The population was 1,356 at the 2020 census.
Reedsburg is a city in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States within the Baraboo micropolitan area. Its population in 2020 was 9,984. The city is surrounded by the Town of Reedsburg and is situated along the Baraboo River.
The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in Southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois currently operated by Watco. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) trackage, mostly acquired by the state of Wisconsin in the 1980s.
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s. Until 1972, when the employees purchased the company, it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway.
The Elroy-Sparta State Trail is a 32.5-mile (52.3 km) Wisconsin State rail trail between Elroy and Sparta, Wisconsin. Considered to be the first rail trail when it opened in 1967, it was designed for foot, bicycle, equestrian and light motorized traffic. Designated a multi-use trail, it offers recreational access to the routes and is open to the public. The trail is part of the larger Wisconsin bike trail system operated by the state of Wisconsin. It passes through rural scenery and three tunnels. It is one of six connecting trails in west-central Wisconsin. It was added to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy hall of Fame in September 2008. It is one of the most popular trails in Wisconsin.
Area codes 608 and 353 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan for much of southwestern Wisconsin, including the state capital city Madison. Area code 608 was assigned in 1955 to a numbering plan area created from areas with area code 414 and area code 715, and was the third area code created in Wisconsin. Rapid growth of the area, specifically in Dane County, brought the area code close to exhaustion of central office prefixes, with NANPA projections in 2022 projecting the need for relief by late 2023. In September 2022, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) announced an overlay complex for the numbering plan area with new area code 353, with an in-service date of September 15, 2023. New central office code orders were accepted starting on July 11, 2023, but activatlon is contingent on complete exhaustion of central office codes for 608.
The Baraboo River is a tributary of the Wisconsin River, in south-central Wisconsin in the United States. Via the Wisconsin River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The Baraboo River also has one of the longest stretches of free-flowing river in the United States, with the removal of four dams in the 1990s leading to 112 miles of unimpeded river flow.
State Trunk Highway 71 is a 53.55-mile (86.18 km) state highway in Jackson, Monroe, and Juneau counties in the southwestern area of the US state of Wisconsin that runs in a southeast–northwest direction from the Village of Melrose to Elroy.
Tunnel City is an unincorporated census-designated place in the town of Greenfield, Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States, named after the train tunnel through a hill just to the west of town.
Marshland is an unincorporated community located in the town of Buffalo, in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, United States. Marshland is located on Wisconsin Highway 35 and Wisconsin Highway 54 8.5 miles (13.7 km) east-southeast of Fountain City.
The 400 State Trail is a 22-mile (35 km) rail trail between Reedsburg and Elroy, Wisconsin. It is designed for foot, bicycle, equestrian, snowmobile traffic. It is designated as a multi-use trail, offering recreational access to the routes, and is open to the public.
The La Crosse River State Trail is a 22-mile (35 km) rail trail between Sparta and Onalaska, Wisconsin. It is designed for foot, bicycle, equestrian or light motorized traffic. It is designated as a multiuse trail, offering recreational access to the routes, and is open to the public. The trail runs parallel to the La Crosse River.
Medary (also Winona Junction) is an unincorporated community located in the town of Medary, La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States. The Great River State Trail has its trailhead located here.
The Winona and St. Peter Railroad was a railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was founded in 1861 in Winona, Minnesota. The first 11 miles (18 km) from Winona to Stockton, Minnesota, were completed by the end of 1862, making the it the second operational railroad in Minnesota, after the St. Paul and Pacific Line from Saint Paul to St. Anthony Falls.
The Great River State Trail is a 24-mile (39 km) rail trail between Onalaska and Marshland, Wisconsin. It is designed for foot, bicycle, equestrian or light motorized traffic. It is designated as a multiuse trail, offering recreational access to the routes, and is open to the public.
Albert Owen Sorge was an American businessman and politician.
The Winona Subdivision or Winona Sub is a railway line operated by Union Pacific Railroad. The Union Pacific owns 1.8 miles (2.9 km) of rail in downtown Winona, Minnesota. The UP reaches Winona using the River Subdivision and Tomah Subdivision of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The railroad services the Winona Terminal area on the Mississippi River.
The Winona Rail Bridge was a swing bridge that spanned the Mississippi River between Winona, Minnesota, and Winona Junction in Buffalo, Buffalo County, Wisconsin. It was built to link the Winona and St. Peter Railroad with the La Crosse, Trempealeau & Prescott Railroad. Both railroads became part of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (C&NW). Parts of the bridge are still visible. The swing span was removed, but the box girder portion of the bridge still extends from Latsch Island just downstream of the current Main Channel Bridge. Piers from the original 1871 bridge and the box girders are in the North Channel just downstream of the current North Channel Bridge.
Baraboo station, otherwise known as the Baraboo Chicago & North Western Depot and Division Offices is a former railway station in Baraboo, Wisconsin, built be the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW). The depot served both passengers and freight traffic as well as housing the Madison Division offices of the C&NW. The Madison Division covered a 219-mile (352 km) line from Belvidere, Illinois to Medary, Wisconsin. The depot was designed by the team of Frost and Granger, who designed more than 200 depots for the C&NW. This particular depot was built in the Romanesque Revival style. Passenger service to the depot ended in 1963 with the elimination of the Rochester 400. As of 2022, the Sauk County Historical Society hopes to restore the depot into a museum and community gathering space.
The Reedsburg Subdivision is a railway line in the state of Wisconsin. It runs 75 miles (121 km) from Reedsburg, Wisconsin, to Evansville, Wisconsin, via Madison, Wisconsin. The line was built by predecessors of the Chicago and North Western Railway between 1854 and 1873. As the Madison Subdivision, it ran between Harvard, Illinois, and Sparta, Wisconsin. Ownership of the line is split between the Union Pacific Railroad and the municipalities of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, and Oregon, Wisconsin; the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad provides freight service over the line.