The Riverside and Great Northern Railway (R&GN) is a gauge
miniature railway
A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel or petro ...
and
heritage railroad
A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...
in
Wisconsin Dells. The railway is operated by the Riverside and Great Northern Preservation Society and includes the former shops of the Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works, a miniature train manufacturing business of the father and son team Elmer and Norman Sandley.
History
The railway was started in
Janesville, Wisconsin
Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jan ...
, as a demonstration railway for Sandley locomotives and rolling stock. In 1952 the Sandleys relocated to the former
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
of the
La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad near Wisconsin Dells, which was abandoned in favor of a route with a smoother
grade
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also ref ...
to the south.
The Sandleys built their shops, a replica and C&NW
depot
Depot ( or ) may refer to:
Places
* Depot, Poland, a village
* Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica
* Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica
* Depot Island Formation, Greenland
Brands and enterprises
* Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...
(scaled down), and a railway to demonstrate their products. The railway and workshops attracted visitors from around the world.
[Shaw, Frederic, and Sandley, Norman, "The Sandley Story," (1960, Hesperian House).] They built about 15
locomotives and over 30 pieces of
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...
. Trains that once ran at the
Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield Zoo, also known as the Chicago Zoological Park, is a zoo located in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois. It houses around 450 species of animals in an area of . It opened on July 1, 1934, and quickly gained international recogn ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and the
Knoxville Zoo
Zoo Knoxville, formerly known as the ''Knoxville Zoo'' or ''Knoxville Zoological Gardens'', is a zoo located just east of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, near exit 392 off Interstate 40. The zoo is home to about 1,200 animals and w ...
were built at the Wisconsin Dells facilities. The Sandleys also built the entire railway currently still in use at the
Milwaukee Zoo as well.
In the early 1980s, new locomotive and rolling stock orders dropped off, forcing Norman Sandley into
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
cy. 1980 was the last season for train operations on the R&GN under Sandley management. In the late 1980s a group of enthusiasts made plans to purchase the property. The R&GN Preservation Society was formed, and members began replacing ties and repairing buildings, but they still had to find a train. One of the group's members had built a diesel locomotive and this was traded to the Milwaukee County Zoo for the no. 82 steam locomotive, which had not been running because it was not powerful enough to pull the longer trains needed at the zoo's railway. The society has since acquired another steam locomotive, former
Hoot-Toot & Whistle Railway#98, from the
Old Wakarusa Railroad in Indiana. Both locomotives were built at the Wisconsin Dells shops in the late 1950s, with #98 being the motive power for the
Hoot-Toot & Whistle Railway near Elgin, Illinois.
The railroad includes an operational
joinery
Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...
building where coaches are restored and maintained, a picnic area, and a gift shop.
References
www.dellstrain.com
Further reading
* Shaw, Frederic Joseph. ''Little Railways of the World''. Berkeley, Calif: Howell-North, 1958. (Contains construction photographs of #98)
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riverside Great Northern Railway
Heritage railroads in Wisconsin
Tourist attractions in Juneau County, Wisconsin
Narrow gauge railroads in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
15 in gauge railways in the United States