Wisconsin and Southern at Janesville, WI

[eolafan]

Hi all. I was in Madison, WI for business last night and this morning and while driving home to Aurora, IL I stopped for lunch in Janesville. I was not only hungry but also wanted to take the time to stop by the W&S yard near downtown. I had not been there in about three years and WOW how it had changed. It was much cleaner, better organized and the power present was sure much better. Gone were the mish mash of old second hand first generation power in any number of different paint schemes and what I say was a really clean pair of units, one SD40-2 and one rather rare SD20. Then, along came a westbound manifest freight powered by three SD40-2's with the lead unit being the 25th anniversary unit, and all spotlessly clean. I drove to the rear of the roundhose to find that they had installed very large plate glass windows all along the back side of the house so you can look inside and see the power inside being serviced. No more BL2 or F3 units there any more (they are all in Green Bay at the museum) but what I did see was very impressive.

[dknelson]

There are persistent rumors that the Wisconsin & Southern is going to have some sort of celebration this year -- 25 years of service. Last time they did this they had passenger train rides leaving Horicon as well as complete access to all facilities at Horicon -- a great chance to get photographs of the paint shop, the dead line, everything. Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by eolafan

Hi all. I was in Madison, WI for business last night and this morning and while driving home to Aurora, IL I stopped for lunch in Janesville. I was not only hungry but also wanted to take the time to stop by the W&S yard near downtown. I had not been there in about three years and WOW how it had changed. It was much cleaner, better organized and the power present was sure much better. Gone were the mish mash of old second hand first generation power in any number of different paint schemes and what I say was a really clean pair of units, one SD40-2 and one rather rare SD20. Then, along came a westbound manifest freight powered by three SD40-2's with the lead unit being the 25th anniversary unit, and all spotlessly clean. I drove to the rear of the roundhose to find that they had installed very large plate glass windows all along the back side of the house so you can look inside and see the power inside being serviced. No more BL2 or F3 units there any more (they are all in Green Bay at the museum) but what I did see was very impressive.

Sounds like you had fun, I'm envious

[eolafan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by piouslion

QUOTE: Originally posted by eolafan

Hi all. I was in Madison, WI for business last night and this morning and while driving home to Aurora, IL I stopped for lunch in Janesville. I was not only hungry but also wanted to take the time to stop by the W&S yard near downtown. I had not been there in about three years and WOW how it had changed. It was much cleaner, better organized and the power present was sure much better. Gone were the mish mash of old second hand first generation power in any number of different paint schemes and what I say was a really clean pair of units, one SD40-2 and one rather rare SD20. Then, along came a westbound manifest freight powered by three SD40-2's with the lead unit being the 25th anniversary unit, and all spotlessly clean. I drove to the rear of the roundhose to find that they had installed very large plate glass windows all along the back side of the house so you can look inside and see the power inside being serviced. No more BL2 or F3 units there any more (they are all in Green Bay at the museum) but what I did see was very impressive.

Sounds like you had fun, I'm envious

Yes, it was fun although it only lasted about thirty minutes as I had to get back on the road and back to the office (YUK!). I frequently drive to and from places and think to myself that I would love to have the time to take a detour and do some railfanning but seldom have the time to do so...this is what I am looking forward to when I retire in 2012![:p]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson

There are persistent rumors that the Wisconsin & Southern is going to have some sort of celebration this year -- 25 years of service. Last time they did this they had passenger train rides leaving Horicon as well as complete access to all facilities at Horicon -- a great chance to get photographs of the paint shop, the dead line, everything. Dave Nelson

That would be cool. I get the chance to see the WSou everyday pass through the woods near my house.

[eolafan]

I've always been facinated by railroad dead lines and am unlikely to travel to Horicon any time soon, anybody know of any photos of the W&S dead line at Horicon? Have checked out Railpictures.net and found nothing when using search feature.

[wcfan4ever]

Here are some shots:

ex-SOO 377...http://www.trainweb.org/wsor/wsor_377.htm
ex-SOO 411...http://www.trainweb.org/wsor/wsor_411.htm
ex-SP 6552...http://www.trainweb.org/wsor/wsor_6552.htm

All units are most likely gone by now...but there might be some other locos there.

[eolafan]

I am imagining things or did I really see a W&S unit that had been an ex-SP SD40T-2 tunnel motor in Slinger a while back?