WSOR Question

[Anonymous]

In an earlier post, it was briefly discussed that the WSOR may be interested in trying to re-open the Monroe - Mineral Point line.  Have any of the WSOR fans or employees on the forum heard more about that?  What a nice town Mineral Point is - and I don't hold a grudge for them beating us 11-5 in baseball my junior year in HS either.

[Noah Hofrichter]

There are others who might know more for sure, but from what I've seen the idea is pretty well dead. I think it would be hard to convince the trail folks to give up their nice little route, and at least one town on the line said they really weren't interested in getting rail service back. Not to mention funding isn't really there, and there isn't much of a traffic base either, or at least I wouldn't think enough to justify rebuilding a rail line. There wasn't a reason to go to Mineral Point near the end of the line's life, and there really isn't now. There was one grain elevator that was talking about locating on line, but how much can they really ship?

Noah 

[wisandsouthernkid]

i have to agree with noah i dont think that they would open up the line for one grain elevator and even then it would be a waste because the line to remake and the cost to keep it maintained would outweigh the cost of the revenue of the line. I dont believe it is likely.

[Anonymous]

I was surprised the issue was even explored at some level.

[MTB]

WSOR President Bill Gardner claimed in a press release that three grain shippers were willing to come on line if the rails were put back. He also stated there would be car counts of 4000-6000 annually on the line. Shullsburg I believe has or is planning an industrial park and that seemed to be the main goal of the WSOR. The proposal never got to the point where there seemed to be any organized opposition. It's all about the money. The WSOR would kick in a small share but mainly it would be state/federal tax payers footing the bill. The state of WI operates on two year budgets. The WSOR wanted funding in the 2007-2009 budget but struck out. The next budget will not be debated until spring/summer of 2009 so I guess that's why  there has not been any talk of it lately. It seems to me this is a tough place to re-build a railroad. Numerous bridges with flood prone areas. Not a simple case of laying rail across the prarie. Will it happen? With the decline in the favorability of ethanol and the state of the economy,I'd say no.    

[Doublestack]

Given the huge shortfalls in the Wis DOT budgets, its going to be uphill to get their participation in anything that isn't a critical need.

[wisandsouthernkid]

i dont believe that they are going to be placing the rail back anytime soon. The rail by my house is going to be replaced next week sometime with 115lb

[CPRguy]

Is this the about the lines that are located in the SW corner of the the state?  Wasn't it reported in trains mag at one point?  If I remember right the lines used to be MILW rds. and WSOR wanted to extend there lines to these cities? If all of this is true I thought the rail was still on the roadbed but serverly over grown and in bad shape.

 Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, well, Monroe is in the extreme south-central part of Wisconsin and Mineral Point in northwest of Monroe - along Hwy. 151 between Dubuque and Madison.  I know the rails are gone heading SE out of Mineral Point, but I'm not sure how much of that obscure line has been trailized and how much rail remains.  And yes - it is ex-MILW.

[rvos1979]

Everything west of Monroe to Mineral Point was pulled up sometime in the late 80s-early 90s, the branch to Shullsburg was abandoned in the 50s, and property will have to be re-aquired to reconstruct that portion.

I belive the main reason for putting the rails back in is for grain movement, lots of trucks slugging it out on the hills in that corner of the state.  A while back I drove State Road 11 from Dubuque to Janesville, WI, and while I was empty, some hills required downshifting, especially around Shullsburg.    

[MTB]

The rails are gone just west of Monroe. Badger State Ethanol sits at the very end of trackage there. The right of way is in place all the way to Mineral Point and is used as a trail for atv's. There is one bridge missing for sure just west of Monroe. It was the type where vehicles had to weave through the pilings to get through. There is a pretty impressive 3 span bridge at Browntown that would need to be replaced as well as probably every other bridge also. If anyone wants to see what the line looked like in Milwaukee days, there is a new dvd out by C Visions Productions titled  "The Milwaukee Road in the Midwest". One part of it is video shot in 1978 of a freight led by an SD9 on a trip from Mineral Point to Janesville. After seeing the condition of the rail, it's easy to see why it was removed. Also the  book 'Trackside Milwaukee Road East' by Jim Boyd (2005) has some great coverage of the line as well as the stub from Brodhead to New Glarus