The Chicago and Tomah Railroad was a proposal of D.K. Williams and was intended to connect the northern forests of Wisconsin around Tomah with the
Galena and Southern Wisconsin Railroad which had reached
Platteville in 1875. The Galena Road was a
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
line, so the Chicago and Tomah was constructed at the same gauge. The line was surveyed between
Tomah and Lancaster with a proposed crossing of the Wisconsin River at Woodman. The river crossing and line north to Tomah never built but by 1879 the line had reached Lancaster from Woodman via Andersons Mill, Werley, Fennimore, Stitzer and Liberty. The Galena line connected with the line at
Lancaster Junction one mile east of
Fennimore.
Wisconsin Railroad History
. The RIP Track. Accessed March 27th, 2020
In 1880, both lines were acquired by the Chicago and North Western Railroad
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 of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
which connected with them in 1881 at Montfort Junction with a standard gauge line from Madison. Also in 1881 the narrow gauge lines were converted to except the section of the Chicago and Tomah between Fennimore and Woodman. This section could not be converted because of two horseshoe curves of 250 foot radius. This radius is extremely small even for narrow gauge operations and impossible for standard gauge operation. The line was abandoned between Woodman and Fennimore in 1926.
References
Sources
*''The Dinky,'' by Gregg Colton, Robert Felton and James Nickoll 1993 Marsh Lake Productions
3 ft gauge railways in the United States
Defunct Wisconsin railroads
Predecessors of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
Defunct Illinois railroads
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