Abandoned lines potentially to come back to life in south WI

[AndyWS]

Well, as of fall 2012, reconstruction has finally started on the Plymouth to Sheboygan segment.

Meanwhile, in northern Wisconsin, CN is nearly finished rebuilding the Barron to Ladysmith line.

Finally, this was just announced:

http://www.oregonobserver.com/main.asp? ... cleID=4166

This will be the third rail line in Wisconsin to be re-activated in 2012-13 after an extended period out of service!

Some of the crossings affected are on the site. These three will all see train traffic return:

http://www.rxrsignals.net/Wisconsin/A-K/Fitchburg/

Notice the text on the bottom of all three crossing pages. Mike put that in there because I told him about the proposed business park in Oregon that was supposed to happen then. As the Observer article says, it was a six-year delay!
From what I've been told, the lone remaining signal at Lacy Road that was there when I took the photos is gone, too and the crossing is now passive. McCoy Road and Irish Lane will probably receive 12"x24" L.E.D. lightheads before reactivation.

http://www.rxrsignals.net/Wisconsin/L-P/Oregon/

From what it sounds like, the plant should be located on the far north side of Oregon, so trains to it from Madison would not cross either of these roads. Google satellite view shows that the Braun Road crossing (next one north of Netherwood Road) was removed during road construction this past year.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Oregon,+ ... n&t=h&z=19

However, the article mentions that it is planned to rehab the entire line south to the current end of active service at Evansville. This would include the town of Brooklyn, where both grade crossings were removed from the streets more than a decade ago and the signals moved to other, previously passive crossings around southern Wisconsin.

[AndyWS]

...Google satellite view shows that the Braun Road crossing (next one north of Netherwood Road) was removed during road construction this past year...

Upon comparing Google satellite view with Bing Bird's Eye view, it appears my first assumption was wrong. Braun Road actually appears to be a new road that was under initial construction at the time, so it will be a newly created crossing!

Following the line further north, you can see another brand-new road under construction, Cheryl Parkway (zoom out one level to see what I mean). When created and activated, this new grade crossing will undoubtedly have 12" x 24" L.E.D. lightheads, gates, and e-bells.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Oregon,+ ... onsin&z=19

Further north still, you can see that WSOR will have a lot of empty centerbeam flatcars to find a new home for. They have been plugging the line from the south side of Madison to McCoy Road (where municipal ownership begins, hence the red board and derail immediately south of the crossing) with these cars for over three years!

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Oregon,+ ... onsin&z=21

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Oregon,+ ... onsin&z=21

[cabman701]

Further north still, you can see that WSOR will have a lot of empty centerbeam flatcars to find a new home for. They have been plugging the line from the south side of Madison to McCoy Road (where municipal ownership begins, hence the red board and derail immediately south of the crossing) with these cars for over three years!

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Oregon,+ ... onsin&z=21

If you go to this same location in Bing, it appears those cars are gone. Not sure if Bing has newer pictures then Google.

http://binged.it/VymIdb

[AndyWS]

The Bing pictures are older, from before the cars were parked there. You can see that the Cheryl Parkway expansion has not started in their views.

[AndyWS]

The centerbeam flat cars are still there:


soo lumber flatcar,syene rd,madison wi,12152012-2 by waunakee railfan, on Flickr

Looking the other way (south) toward McCoy Road:


former cnw_up line,fitchburg to oregon wi,mccoy road,east vi by waunakee railfan, on Flickr

[AndyWS]

Looks like the Plymouth to Sheboygan Falls segment is finally picking up steam:

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/2 ... -financing

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Plymouth ... 09,,0,5.61

[AndyWS]

Update on the Madison-Fitchburg-Oregon segment. It apparently all hinges on a grant from the state which WSOR will apply for next year:

http://www.oregonobserver.com/m/Article ... cleID=4192

[LARDLOGO]

Update on the Madison-Fitchburg-Oregon segment. It apparently all hinges on a grant from the state which WSOR will apply for next year:

http://www.oregonobserver.com/m/Article ... cleID=4192

[AndyWS]

Well, the Plymouth to Sheboygan Falls re-build is finally under way as I've mentioned earlier, but the Mazomanie to Sauk City project is officially dead as of November 2012. The shipper that was considering locating on the rail line near Sauk City backed out then, and the Mid-Continent secondary museum at Mazomanie which had opened early in 2010, closed in 2012. They decided it wasn't worth the expense to renew their lease given the small number of visitors they had there. The location never really had anything in the way of major attractions, with all the large equipment (such as locomotives) staying at the original location in North Freedom.



http://www.wiscnews.com/news/local/arti ... f887a.html

[cCatclaw]

Shame.