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The Ex-Illinois Central Railroad Between Madison and Monroe, WI - Oct 15th, 1999 Pictured in the photos above, the railroad in Belleville, WI is being removed. This was part of Illinois Central that runs from Madison, WI to Freeport, IL. This rail corridor has not been used for many years, and the Wisconsin DOT decided to remove the rail line and convert the corridor to a bike trail. The rails are being hauled to Milwaukee. 19 miles will be re-used elsewhere, and the rest of the rails will be scrapped out. I went to Green County to check up on the progress the rail removal crew was making. As of 10-13-99, they have made it from Monroe to just north of Belleville. All rail is removed from Freeport to Belleville now. On this day, the crew was working just north of the Sugar River bridge, heading toward the village of Basco. These guys aren't wasting a bit of time. Had a chance to talk with several of the workers and they are very nice guys who are more sympathetic to the removal of rail service in Green County than DOT, DNR and Green County. They are keeping the corridor neat and hauling away all material as they proceed. As this is being written, the dismantling crew makes its way north toward Madison. If anyone reading this knows where there are any pictures of trains using this rail line, please let me know. I would like to include them in this section of the web site. 
EDITORIAL
The following letter appeared in today's issue of the Monticello Messenger/New Glarus, WI Post Messenger. Dear Editor, We recently watched with sadness the passing of the wrecking crew tearing up the old I.C. railroad. This economic asset was destroyed by a county board more interested in tourists and snowmobilers than our farmers and working people. Why are two of the three county rail commissioners from New Glarus? The rail line didn't go anywhere near the place. I fear the board's biggest concerns are which committees they sit on, how many free trips they can take and how much per-diem they can collect. So much for economic development. On a related matter, I read with interest a recent memo from Carl Batha of the DNR. In it he states that "the rail corridor has become a hot potato" and that, "the rail commission and the WISDOT want to drop it in the DNR's lap." Sounds like the DNR wants to rule the roost but doesn't want to pay for the coop. Maybe the county chairman and his board can bail them out. Everyone better get a good grip on their wallets! Mark Wittenwyler, Monticello EDITORIAL  From: "Brian Voss" brinmindy@xta.com Hello Kim, I am an engineer on the CCP/IC/CN Railroad based out of Freeport. Don't even ask which one- there's days I have a hard time figuring that out for myself! When I started my railroad career in 1994, I began by working for the Wisconsin & Calumet Railroad out of Janesville. And although I never had the opportunity to ride a significant portion of the IC line, it was not unknown that the IC line had (and still has) the potential to be a viable, profitable part of the WICT/WSOR system. But the key was marketing- or the lack thereof. Let me put it to you this way - when one of the marketing reps is working as an engineer because we're short of crews, there's not a lot of marketing going on. I am good friends with an ex-engineer who worked on the CM&N, WICT and WSOR. His name is Gregg Wolfersheim. He gave me many accounts of the variety of businesses which were serviced on that particular line. Even with respect to the severe changes in the local economy, a good marketing strategy, in his opinion, would bring back much business that was lost to trucks. And from his point of view, I too came to agree with his conclusion. It is very unfortunate that the state goverment and the railroad charged with operating the line have come to the exact opposite conclusion. However, I also do not feel that the line could survive on its own - meaning, it would have to be part of a bigger system, so it could share resources such as an office team / management, labor and equipment. Ironically, the WSOR would be well-suited to be this 'system' to operate it! Oh and one last note... I'm a sucker for the Milwaukee Road too! Take care, Brian Voss
Southern Wisconsin Railcar Group. |
