- Mid-Continent Railway Museum
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The track side of the museum depot on February 22, 2004
The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a railroad museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin.
Contents
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 rolling stock. The museum has the largest collection of wooden passenger cars in the United States as well as six of only seven surviving wooden boxcars built by Mather Stock Car Company.
The depot is an original Chicago and North Western Railway depot from the small town of Ableman, also known as Rock Springs, Wisconsin. It was built in 1894 and moved to the museum to its current location in 1965. The depot consists of two seating areas separated by the ticket office, and, until the recent flood, had original wood flooring which had to be removed and redone.
History of the Railroad
The rail line is a spur off of the original Chicago and North Western Railway and was built in 1903 to serve the Iroquois and Illinois iron mines in the town of La Rue, Wisconsin. La Rue, a once buzzing town of about 300-850 people, was abandoned in 1913 after the mines closed up. The groundwater would actually seep into the mines filling them up, and then they would have to be pumped out almost on a regular basis. The water was then dumped into sinkhole that is now known as Quartzite Lake. The track lay dormant until 1918 when a quarry purchased the line and extended it another half mile (0.8 km) to the south. In 1962, the line was abandoned by the Chicago and North Western Railway. In 1963, looking for a new home for its recently purchased steam locomotive, the Historical Society of Milwaukee purchased the line, and, since it was no longer in Milwaukee, changed the name to Mid-Continent Railway Museum. The museum has operated continuously since then.
Heritage railroad
The museum operates a heritage railroad which offers passenger excursion trains on a 7-mile (11 km) round trip, passing through the former mining community of La Rue, Wisconsin. The excursions take approximately 1 hour and operate daily from Mid-May to Labor Day.
Special event train runs are also offered many times throughout the year, including Dinner Trains, Autumn Color weekends in the fall, Pumpkin Special runs near Halloween, Santa Express Weekends at the end of November, and the Snow Train in February.
Flooding and reopening
In June 2008, the museum grounds were inundated by floodwaters of the Baraboo River. The museum closed until the museum could assess its situation and make plans to recover and reopen.[1][2]
The museum reopened on Saturday August 2, 2008.[3][4] Schedules are still subject to change; consult the museum's web page or call the museum office for latest information.
References
- ^ "Welcome to Mid-Continent - NEWS BULLETIN UPDATE". http://www.midcontinent.org/. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ "North Freedom: Historic Flood". WMTV. 2008-06-11. http://www.nbc15.com/news/headlines/19782299.html. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ "Mid-Continent Railway Museum Rides Again". WISC TV. 2008-08-03. http://www.channel3000.com/entertainment/17077256/detail.html. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- ^ "Back on Track". WMTV. 2008-08-02. http://www.nbc15.com/news/headlines/26209289.html. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
See also
External links
Categories:- Railroad museums in Wisconsin
- Heritage railroads in Wisconsin
- Museums in Sauk County, Wisconsin
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