WCfan
Sauk Branch Storage Moves
On a snowless February Monday in 2018, Y401 was tasked with shoving a unit train of new (build date 02/18) two bay hoppers to the end of the line on the Sauk Branch. At this point, PKS and Little Robert were working on splitting up the train for crossings near the Mazomanie Oak Barrens State Natural Area. 3928 and 3947 were Madison regulars at the time. These geeps were necessary due to the 6-axel restrictions on the Vita Spur and Sauk Branch.
The Sauk Branch begins from a wye in Mazomanie and at one time ran to Badger Ordinance just north of Prairie du Sac. During the WSOR era, the main customer was a co-op located between Prairie du Sac and Badger. It was hoped that more customers could be developed on the line, and at some point the branch was rebuilt, supporting 25-mph track speeds (if you build it they will come, right?).
Unfortunately, more customers didn't materialize. Then, the branch was made redundant after the lease of the Reedsburg Sub, which allowed access to the co-op from the north. Thus, in 1997 the last train traversed over the Wisconsin River bridge in Sauk City.
The future of the branch looked bleak. But with the tracks in place there was still a chance. Those hopes were dashed in 2002 when an attempted repair to the Wisconsin River bridge resulted in the main pier shifting. With the bridge structurally unsound, it was decided to dynamite this pier. It stayed in this morbid condition, with the former swing span cantilevered over the water, until late 2017 when another pier shifted. This prompted the commission to remove the entirety of the bridge.
Since then, the tracks north of the bridge have been converted to a bike trail. Work is on-going to build a pedestrian/bike bridge over the river. During this project, the tracks will be ripped up to County Road Y. Dane County is eyeing up the rest of the branch to tie it in with a network of bike trails around Mazomanie, but the WSOR has so far been able to keep these attempts at bay. For now, what's left of the branch is still used as car storage. But for how much longer remains to be seen.
Sauk Branch Storage Moves
On a snowless February Monday in 2018, Y401 was tasked with shoving a unit train of new (build date 02/18) two bay hoppers to the end of the line on the Sauk Branch. At this point, PKS and Little Robert were working on splitting up the train for crossings near the Mazomanie Oak Barrens State Natural Area. 3928 and 3947 were Madison regulars at the time. These geeps were necessary due to the 6-axel restrictions on the Vita Spur and Sauk Branch.
The Sauk Branch begins from a wye in Mazomanie and at one time ran to Badger Ordinance just north of Prairie du Sac. During the WSOR era, the main customer was a co-op located between Prairie du Sac and Badger. It was hoped that more customers could be developed on the line, and at some point the branch was rebuilt, supporting 25-mph track speeds (if you build it they will come, right?).
Unfortunately, more customers didn't materialize. Then, the branch was made redundant after the lease of the Reedsburg Sub, which allowed access to the co-op from the north. Thus, in 1997 the last train traversed over the Wisconsin River bridge in Sauk City.
The future of the branch looked bleak. But with the tracks in place there was still a chance. Those hopes were dashed in 2002 when an attempted repair to the Wisconsin River bridge resulted in the main pier shifting. With the bridge structurally unsound, it was decided to dynamite this pier. It stayed in this morbid condition, with the former swing span cantilevered over the water, until late 2017 when another pier shifted. This prompted the commission to remove the entirety of the bridge.
Since then, the tracks north of the bridge have been converted to a bike trail. Work is on-going to build a pedestrian/bike bridge over the river. During this project, the tracks will be ripped up to County Road Y. Dane County is eyeing up the rest of the branch to tie it in with a network of bike trails around Mazomanie, but the WSOR has so far been able to keep these attempts at bay. For now, what's left of the branch is still used as car storage. But for how much longer remains to be seen.