Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad was a Class III

Class III railroad

A Class III railroad, as defined by the Surface Transportation Board, is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $20 million . The term only applies to United States railroads, but is sometimes applied to other countries...

shortline railroad that operated in the southern portion of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

and northern portion of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

from 1985 until 1997.

History

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, financial difficulties forced the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...

to abandon much of its trackage in southern Wisconsin, including lines from Prairie du Chien

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

Prairie du Chien is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,911 at the 2010 census. Its Zip Code is 53821....

to Madison

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, Madison to Janesville

Janesville, Wisconsin

Janesville is a city in southern Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat of Rock County and the principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 62,998.-History:...

, and Janesville to Fox Lake, Illinois

Fox Lake, Illinois

Fox Lake is a village in Grant Township, Lake County, Illinois and Richmond Township, McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 9,178 at the 2000 census.-History:...

. At the same time, the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad abandoned its line from Madison to Freeport, Illinois

Freeport, Illinois

Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...

. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation formed the Wisconsin River Rail Transit Commission (WRRTC) in March 1980 in the interest of preserving rail service on these lines. Two short line operators, Wisconsin Western Railroad (WIWR) and the affiliated Central Wisconsin Railroad (CWRC), were contracted to operate on the Prairie du Chien-Madison and Madison-Freeport lines.

These two operators filed for bankruptcy in December 1984, leaving WRRTC to find another operator. The Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad (WICT) was formed on January 1, 1985. WICT would eventually operate all of the above-mentioned rail lines, as well as lines from Janesville to Waukesha

Waukesha, Wisconsin

Waukesha is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The population was 70,718 at the 2010 census, making it the largest community in the county and 7th largest in the state. The city is located adjacent to the Town of Waukesha...

, and Janesville to Monroe

Monroe, Wisconsin

Monroe, known as "the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA", is a city in and the county seat of Green County, Wisconsin, United States. The population, was 10,843 at the 2000 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Monroe and partially in the Town of Clarno.-Geography:Monroe is located...

. In 1989, the first Wisconsin & Calumet trains ran from Janesville to Fox Lake on the route known during the MILW era as the "J-Line". Shortly thereafter, WICT reopened the line between Janesville and Madison; bringing rail service back to Milton

Milton, Wisconsin

Milton is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,090 at the 2000 census .-History:The city was formed as a result of the 1967 merger of the villages of Milton and Milton Junction...

, Edgerton

Edgerton, Wisconsin

Edgerton is a city in Dane and Rock Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 4,933 at the 2000 census. Known locally as "Tobacco City U.S.A.," because of the importance of tobacco growing in the region, Edgerton continues to be a center for the declining tobacco industry in the...

, Stoughton

Stoughton, Wisconsin

Stoughton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States and is a neighbor of Madison. It straddles the Yahara River about 20 miles southeast of the capital, Madison. Stoughton is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area...

and McFarland

McFarland, Wisconsin

McFarland is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States, on the eastern shore of Lake Waubesa. The population was 7,808 at the 2010 census...

.

The Wisconsin & Calumet was purchased by the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad in 1992, but it continued to operate as a subsidiary until it was officially merged into the WSOR in 1997.

Timeline

1985: Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad is formed.
1989: Wisconsin and Calumet begins operating the rail lines from Janesville
Janesville, Wisconsin
Janesville is a city in southern Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat of Rock County and the principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 62,998.-History:...

to Fox Lake
Fox Lake, Illinois
Fox Lake is a village in Grant Township, Lake County, Illinois and Richmond Township, McHenry County, Illinois. The population was 9,178 at the 2000 census.-History:...

and Janesville to Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, restoring the entire railroad connection from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

via southern Wisconsin.
1992: Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad is acquired by Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in the southern portion of Wisconsin and the northeast corner of Illinois. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St...
1993: Former Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

line from Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, to Freeport, Illinois
Freeport, Illinois
Freeport is a city in and the county seat of Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 26,443 at the 2000 census. The mayor of Freeport is George W...

, is embargoed and placed out of service by WICT due to unsafe conditions. Despite initial plans to restore rail service to the line, it sat abandoned and was eventually removed to make way for a bike trail in 1999.
1997: WICT is officially merged into the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad and ceases to exist as an employer, as ruled by the United States Railroad Retirement Board
Railroad Retirement Board
The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board is an independent agency in the executive branch of the United States government created in 1935 to administer a social insurance program providing retirement benefits to the country's railroad workers....

.

The route today

Most of the rail lines operated by the Wisconsin & Calumet remain in service today under the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad

Wisconsin and Southern Railroad

The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in the southern portion of Wisconsin and the northeast corner of Illinois. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St...

, with the notable exception of the line from Madison to Freeport which was removed in 1999. The Badger State Trail

Badger State Trail

The Badger State Trail is a rail trail in south central Wisconsin. The trail leads from the Wisconsin – Illinois state line to Madison passing through, from south to north, Monroe, Monticello, Belleville and Fitchburg. Near Monticello, the trail passes through the long, unlit Stewart Tunnel...

currently occupies the old road bed.

Equipment & Preservation

The Wisconsin & Calumet's motive power primarily consisted of early generation GM-EMD diesel-electric locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s, including the GP7

EMD GP7

The EMD GP7 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel between October, 1949 and May, 1954. Power was provided by an EMD 567B 16-cylinder engine which generated . The GP7 was offered both with and without control cabs, and...

, GP9

EMD GP9

An EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division in the United States, and General Motors Diesel in Canada between January, 1954, and August, 1963. US production ended in December, 1959, while an additional thirteen units were built in Canada, including...

, and F7

EMD F7

The EMD F7 was a Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors and General Motors Diesel . It succeeded the F3 model in GM-EMD's F-unit sequence, and was replaced in turn by the F9. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La...

. Many of these locomotives originally belonged to the Milwaukee Road. Others, including the F units, were privately owned by an individual named Glen Monhart. WICT followed the (by then relatively unusual) practice of naming their locomotives. Several WICT locomotives were named after the counties the railroad served, such as Dane County, Rock County, Walworth County, etc.

WICT EMD FP7

EMD FP7

The EMD FP7 was a , B-B dual-service passenger and freight-hauling diesel locomotive produced between June 1949 and December 1953 by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant, excepting locomotives destined for...

#96A was later repainted and renumbered to WSOR

Wisconsin and Southern Railroad

The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in the southern portion of Wisconsin and the northeast corner of Illinois. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St...

#71A and currently operates on the Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad

Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad

The Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad is a privately held shortline railroad that operates in Northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The ELS has expanded from the original 65 miles that was purchased in 1978 to over 235 miles as of 2005....

in Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

and northern Wisconsin as their #600. Several other ex-WICT F-units are stored on ELS property at Wells, Michigan

Wells Township, Delta County, Michigan

Wells Township is a civil township of Delta County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,044 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 39.8 square miles , of which, 39.5 square miles of it is land and 0.3 square...

. WICT caboose

Caboose

A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...

#529 (ex-AT&SF

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...

) can be found at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum

Mid-Continent Railway Museum

The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a railroad museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin.-Collection:Three steam locomotives are currently under restoration to federal guidelines. The museum has 14 steam and 6 diesel locomotives including Chicago & North Western # 1385 and over 100 other pieces of...

in North Freedom

North Freedom, Wisconsin

North Freedom is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Baraboo River. The population was 649 at the 2000 census.-Geography:North Freedom is located at ....

External links

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