Rock County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 163,687. Its county seat is Janesville. Rock County comprises the Janesville-Beloit, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison-Janesville-Beloit, WI Combined Statistical Area.
Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area and is included in the Madison–Janesville–Beloit combined statistical area.
Janesville is a city in and the county seat of Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the tenth-most populous city in Wisconsin. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area, which consists of all of Rock County and is included in the greater Madison–Janesville–Beloit combined statistical area.
The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was the first railroad constructed out of Chicago, intended to provide a shipping route between Chicago and the lead mines near Galena, Illinois. The railroad company was chartered on January 16, 1836, but financial difficulties delayed construction until 1848. While the main line never reached Galena, construction to Freeport, Illinois, allowed it to connect with the Illinois Central Railroad, thus providing an indirect route to Galena. A later route went to Clinton, Iowa.
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.
U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) in the U.S. state of Wisconsin runs north–south through the central part of the state. It enters from Illinois at Beloit, and runs north to its northern terminus in Hurley at a roundabout junction with US 2. Some of the route of US 51 runs concurrently with Interstate 39 (I-39).
The Galena and Southern Wisconsin Railroad Company was a railroad company in the United States. It constructed and operated a narrow gauge line between Galena, Illinois, and near Rewey, Wisconsin, via Platteville, Wisconsin. The railroad went through multiple reorganizations in the early 1880s before becoming part of the Chicago and North Western Railway system. The line was unified with that of the Chicago and Tomah Railroad and rebuilt as a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in line. As the Platteville Subdivision of the Chicago and North Western, it was eventually abandoned in 1980.
The following is a brief history of the North American rail system, mainly through major changes to Class I railroads, the largest class by operating revenue.
The Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railroad was a railroad company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1861 to acquire the bankrupt Sheboygan and Mississippi Railroad, which owned a railway line running between Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Glenbeulah, Wisconsin. The Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railroad expanded the line first to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and then on to Princeton, Wisconsin. The company was reorganized as the Sheboygan and Western Railway in 1880. Its line eventually became part of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company system; only the original line of the Sheboygan and Mississippi Railroad remains extant.
The Chicago and Tomah Railroad was a railroad company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1872 and was intended to connect the northern forests of Wisconsin around Tomah with Freeport and Chicago, Illinois. The company constructed a 3 ft narrow gauge line between Woodman and Montfort, Wisconsin, with a branch to Lancaster. The company came under Chicago and North Western Railway control in 1880, which built a connection with the narrow gauge Galena and Wisconsin Railroad. Both were consolidated into the Milwaukee and Madison Railway. None of the Chicago and Tomah's network exists today.
The Varsity was a passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad over a 140-mile route between Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin.
Madison station is a former railroad station in Madison, Wisconsin. The station served passenger and freight trains of the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW). Passenger service ended in 1965 and the passenger station and freight depot was bought by Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) and has been renovated to serve as offices. The station and freight depot are listed as contributing properties on the National Register of Historic Places East Wilson Street Historic District. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad had tracks paralleling the C&NW and also had a nearby passenger station that outlasted the C&NW station as an active station by several years.
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 Mineral Point Railroad was a railroad company in the United States. It was established in 1852 to connect Mineral Point, Wisconsin, with the Illinois Central Railroad in Warren, Illinois. Partial service began in December 1856; the full line to Mineral Point opened in June 1857. The Milwaukee Road acquired the company in 1880; the last remnant of the company's lines was abandoned in the 1980s.
The Sheboygan and Mississippi Railroad was a railroad company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1852 and opened its first line in 1859. In 1861, the company was reorganized as the Sheboygan and Fond du Lac Railroad. Its line, running from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, to Glenbeulah, Wisconsin, eventually became part of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company system. The Sheboygan Falls Subdivision remains extant.
The Sheboygan Falls Subdivision is a railway line in the state of Wisconsin. It runs 14 miles (23 km) between Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and Plymouth, Wisconsin. Ownership is split between Wisconsin and Southern Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad. The line was originally built in 1859–1860 by the Sheboygan and Mississippi Railroad.
The Platteville Subdivision, also known as the Galena branch, was a railway line in the states of Illinois and Wisconsin. It ran approximately 46 miles (74 km) from Galena, Illinois, to Montfort, Wisconsin, with a 4-mile (6.4 km) branch from Ipswich, Wisconsin, to Platteville, Wisconsin. The line was initially built by the Galena and Southern Wisconsin Railroad as a 3 ft line; it was subsequently rebuilt as a 1,435 mmstandard gauge line. The line opened in 1874 and was fully abandoned in 1980.
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.
The Northwestern Union Railway was a railroad company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1871 and opened a line between Milwaukee and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1873. It was merged into the Chicago and Milwaukee Railway, a forerunner of the Chicago and North Western Railway, in 1881.
