WCfan
Lake Marion
Located on the eastern edge of Mazomanie, right alongside the Prairie Sub, is a small man-made body of water called Lake Marion. In 1855, the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad built the lake to provide power for a nearby flour mill. A dyke was built adjacent to Black Earth Creek which not only carried the railroad, but also formed the northern edge of an impoundment. Black Earth Creek was then dammed on the northeastern edge of the lake and water was diverted into the impoundment. By 1885, Mazomanie had set up a municipally owned electric utility to power the street lights, supposedly before Madison got electric street lights. The small electric grid helped develop the local industry which by then included two flour mills, a creamery, a brewery and factories that produced reapers, fanning mills, cabinets, telephones and knitted goods.
After picking up 25 grain cars from the Long John in Madison, the T007 from my previous post is looking pretty respectable with a decent train length and a pair of very clean motors. Here we see them rolling west as conductor JAD leans out to greet me. I'm a sucker for reflections, so I was happy to hear the lake was refilled earlier this year. More on that saga in the next post.
To see more from the line, check out my new Prairie Subdivision Album.
Lake Marion
Located on the eastern edge of Mazomanie, right alongside the Prairie Sub, is a small man-made body of water called Lake Marion. In 1855, the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad built the lake to provide power for a nearby flour mill. A dyke was built adjacent to Black Earth Creek which not only carried the railroad, but also formed the northern edge of an impoundment. Black Earth Creek was then dammed on the northeastern edge of the lake and water was diverted into the impoundment. By 1885, Mazomanie had set up a municipally owned electric utility to power the street lights, supposedly before Madison got electric street lights. The small electric grid helped develop the local industry which by then included two flour mills, a creamery, a brewery and factories that produced reapers, fanning mills, cabinets, telephones and knitted goods.
After picking up 25 grain cars from the Long John in Madison, the T007 from my previous post is looking pretty respectable with a decent train length and a pair of very clean motors. Here we see them rolling west as conductor JAD leans out to greet me. I'm a sucker for reflections, so I was happy to hear the lake was refilled earlier this year. More on that saga in the next post.
To see more from the line, check out my new Prairie Subdivision Album.