The Milwaukee & Madison Railway

The Milwaukee & Madison Railway was one of the early predecessor railroads of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, incorporated in 1880. By 1882, the 80 mile trek between the two Wisconsin cities was complete.

Thanks to Timmithy Leary for providing a photo of the right of way!

Running between its namesake cities, the line merged with the Chicago & Milwaukee Railway and the Sheboygan & Western Railway to form the Chicago, Milwaukee & North Western Railway, which was absorbed by the C&NW in 1883.

This original line is mostly abandoned between Waukesha and Cottage Grove, WI. The ROW is now the Glacial Drumlin Bike Trail, with the exception of a small section of track that survives northeast of Jefferson, WI.


The following excerpt comes from Wisconsin's Historical Marker at the Depot in Waukesha, WI.

"The Depot was built in 1881 and acquired by Chicago [sic] Northwestern Railway in 1882. The local limestone and cream-colored brick building is in the Victorian gothic style.

Commercial travelers, tourists visiting Springs Era resorts & spas, home seekers and business entrepreneurs traveled to and from this depot on 16 trains a day. In 1894, the first interurban train, carrying people to Waukesha Beach, left from this depot. On October 14, 1948, President Harry S. Truman made a ten-minute speech at this depot in front of 10,000 people.

In the mid-1950's, passenger service ended. The depot was vacated by the railroad in 1964. It stood empty until 1973, when it was purchased and rehabilitated as a restaurant. Several restaurants have operated here since thus providing the historic station with a colorful second life."

Thanks as always for reading!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Underwater Water Slide: Fly Over at Durinrell TikiBad

Image
Have you ever wished to experience being transferred from one pool of liquid to another via a pipe? Had you visited the Dutch water park known as Durinrell , also known as Tikibad before 2010, you would have had the chance. Half water slide, half war crime, this was a unique water slide that was filled to the brim with water, leaving riders completely submerged throughout the journey. Image:  XtremeRidesNL Known as the Fly Over was an underwater water slide, which is exactly how it sounds, and transported riders from one pool to another using the water as propulsion. Built in 1994, riders dove underwater to access the slide, using gravity to transport them upwards via the Communicating Vessels Principle . Riders would be completely underwater for about 15-20 seconds. This is how I imagine those 15-20 seconds felt like while riding the slide. The slide was built to drain water in five seconds or less in case a rider got stuck in the slide or had a medical emergency, but the threat tha
Read more

Railroad Vocabulary: A List of Words and Phrases Used in the Industry - Updated February 2024

Image
As somebody who enjoyed watching trains, but was not an employee of the railroad industry ( at least growing up ), when I would interact with railfans and historians, there was often a lot of technical jargon that applied only to the railroad industry thrown back and forth that made it difficult for a newcomer to understand what they were talking about. For example, what is a dinky? It's actually a passenger train. This non-inclusive language seems to keep the loop closed to members of the community, and to uncouple (no pun intended) that technical jargon and help make it easier for people to communicate with people in the industry, I am creating a list of railroad vocabulary that I'm hoping will make the industry more transparent.  BNSF 2361 . Image: Matt Flores While I ultimately believe that such technical jargon has no place outside of perhaps technical communications between employees, I know quite well that I alone am not going to stop people from communicating in a non-i
Read more

The Abandoned Route 66 in McCook, IL

Image
Route 66, the iconic "Main Street of America," weaves through the heart of the United States, connecting communities and embodying the spirit of adventure. However, not all sections of this historic highway have stood the test of time. While much of the former US 66 is drivable in one way or another, especially in Illinois, there are some parts are not.  One of the first such roadblocks for would-be travelers heading from Chicago to Los Angeles via the Mother Road, now known as Joliet Road, comes just outside of Chicago in McCook, IL, where the former highway is closed between 55th St and East Ave, and has been for over two decades. (Link to the location on our Ghost Towns Map ) Image: Google Maps at 55th and Joliet Rd in McCook, IL The land that the quarry would eventually take over was part of Stinson Airport in the early days of Route 66, dating back to before 1930. ( Abandoned Airports map ). 1938 USGS Aerial Imagery The quarrying on the south side of the road would
Read more