WSOR in Oshkosh, Wis.?

Posted by Anonymous

on Tue, Sep 30 2003 2:00 PM

I graduated from UW-Oshkosh in '85 and returned to live there '90-'93. In that
latter time I remember seeing plenty of Wis. Central and Fox River Valley action
in town (even the FRV local that operated on what was left of the old Oshkosh-Hortonville trackage; not sure what industries the FRV served on that rail but I
saw that train numerous times around 11 AM on weekdays headed north,
having passed the campus and Rockwell Industries, continuing north along
the river and past Riverside Cemetary before turning back across Hwy. 110 toward the C&NW main north of town). I also saw lots of ex-BN green & white
hood units with "WC" underneath the cab where the BN logo had been
patched-out.

However, I never saw any activity on the former MILW line that entered Oshkosh
from the southwest across Hwy. 41, which the Wisconsin & Southern owned at
that time. I believe the WSOR operated that segment at least as far as Ripon (?), but I can't recall seeing any WSOR action in Oshkosh, save for a long string
of tank cars I saw parked just west of Hwy. 41 once.

Might anyone know if the WSOR served any customers in Oshkosh or made
any connections there with the FRV or WC? A question that has been my "white whale" for yearrrrs...

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Posted by Anonymous

on Wed, Oct 1 2003 8:26 PM

While I haven't railfanned that area for a while, I do know WSOR still makes the run to Oshkosh at least 2-3 times a week. The tracks across Hwy 41 were torn out about 4 years ago when they subdivided the land on the east side of the highway.
IIRC, they serve the business park on the west side of 41, such as Bemis Co, Oshko***ruck(mostly smaller trucks, the larger trucks go WC/CN), and several elevators along the route from Ripon to Oshkosh.
There is no interchange with WC/FRV/CN, all traffic goes through back to Horicon for delivery to Milwaukee.
And, this year, the Great Circus Train was displayed in Ripon near the Didion grain elevator on the north side of Ripon, on the line to Oshkosh.[8D]
HTH

Posted by Anonymous

on Thu, Oct 2 2003 12:39 PM

Hey thanks Jim...

BTW - I used to work at G&L in Fond du Lac '90-'93. I returned to Fond du Lac once
in '94 I think it was, to be given a tour of the WC shops by a friend of mine - Steve
Singer - he was a maintenance foreman for the WC (haven't heard from him in years).
For a train enthusiast it was worth the trip.