Through the Marsh to Markesan
The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad train Y501 crew with the WAMX 5901 and 5904 run alongside the Grand River as they approach the end of the line at Markesan, Wisconsin. They have two hoppers in tow for the former Landmark Coop, now owned by a company called ALCIVIA, and will depart back east light power on this particular November day. The two GP59s, among the newest power on the WSOR, sure look sharp even on a brown November day!
This former Milwaukee Road line was built in 1882 after much hard work by locals to petition the Milwaukee Road for service from the main line at Brandon. They eventually built the line with local resources as the Markesan and Brandon railroad before turning it over to the CM&St.P. It has always been a branch line as the track was never extended further west and since 1980 has been the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad's Markesan Subdivision. If you're interested there's some good history at this link (the best stuff starting maybe 1/3 of the way down): theweekendhistorian.com/2012/09/26/when-the-railroad-arri...
Through the Marsh to Markesan
The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad train Y501 crew with the WAMX 5901 and 5904 run alongside the Grand River as they approach the end of the line at Markesan, Wisconsin. They have two hoppers in tow for the former Landmark Coop, now owned by a company called ALCIVIA, and will depart back east light power on this particular November day. The two GP59s, among the newest power on the WSOR, sure look sharp even on a brown November day!
This former Milwaukee Road line was built in 1882 after much hard work by locals to petition the Milwaukee Road for service from the main line at Brandon. They eventually built the line with local resources as the Markesan and Brandon railroad before turning it over to the CM&St.P. It has always been a branch line as the track was never extended further west and since 1980 has been the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad's Markesan Subdivision. If you're interested there's some good history at this link (the best stuff starting maybe 1/3 of the way down): theweekendhistorian.com/2012/09/26/when-the-railroad-arri...