This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org
website
File
on Railroad spur, North Water St.
Chapter on Railroads
This file is under construction
at this time.
Watertown's
railroad history began during the administration of Theodore
Prentiss.
At
that time $80,000 was voted for railroad bonds to cover the cost of
constructing the Milwaukee-Watertown Railroad.
1853
A
prospect of getting a few cents more in price will induce the carrying of grain
to Milwaukee over the plank road. The
only remedy is a railroad between these interior markets and the lake
towns. Farmers cannot compete with a
railroad in carrying grain, therefore they will find it to their advantage to
sell at the nearest R. R. depot. This
consequently induces a home market, and the money laid out for necessaries by
the farmers retained in the interior. State Register, 05 28 1853
1855
12 27 Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad built new
freight house, parallel with the main depot WD
1858
08 05 Our Railroad interests. Land Grant Road WD
09 & 10 The Milwaukee, Watertown and Baraboo Valley
Railroad Company to lay their line from Columbus to the Wisconsin
River WD
09 16 Trip over the Milwaukee, Watertown and Baraboo
Valley Railroad; one of the pleasantest to be had in Wisconsin Milwaukee Sentinel
10 14 Completion of section of Chicago, St. Paul
and Fond du Lac Railroad between the Watertown and the La Crosse
Junction WD
12
09 Coupons
[bonds] sold liberally, trouble when presented for payment WD
1859
04 21 Relations of city with Chicago, St. Paul
& Fond du Lac Railroad; hopelessly insolvent, city deemed advisable to
assign stock according to plan proposed
WD
07 21 La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Co;
extend Watertown railroad by building of short section between Columbus and
Portage WD
08 11 With hardly an exception, uncompleted western railroads have been at a
standstill for the eighteen months, but large gangs of men are now busy in our neighborhood
in grading and laying the track upon two different roads leading through this
place—the first running to the west, connecting Watertown with Madison, the
state capitol, being an extension of the Milwaukee and Watertown Road, and the
other completing the Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Road, between Janesville
and the La Crosse junction.
The latter is now called the Chicago and NorthWestern
Railroad, and it is certain that by the middle of October, the cars will be
running upon it from Chicago to Oshkosh, a distance of one hundred and eighty
miles through the richest part of the state . . . WD
09 01 Regular trains running over
Chicago and North Western Railroad between city and Oshkosh
New Chicago and North Western depot building a few
rods south of the plank road WD
1860
02 16 Milwaukee, Watertown & Baraboo Valley
RR Co acquires rights, property and privileges of both earlier RR’s WD
1866 In 1866 the largest
employer in Watertown was the St. Paul Railroad with 306 men on its
payroll. About two-thirds of these
employees worked in the train car repair shops until the company moved to
Milwaukee in 1868 [ source ].
1872
H.
J. Darton, locomotive engineer for the Milwaukee Road; mention of engineer
C. E. Straw Watertown Gazette, 02 12
1909
1907
1908
09 04 Engine
in River. Sidetrack gave way
north of Eaton & Son's ice houses; large C. & N. W. Ry.
locomotive tipped into river. WG
1909
03 12 "Shut your ashpan" WG
Nov Chicago
and North-Western accident, 12 killed WD
1915
05 15 Hold-up
at Watertown Junction; Northwestern
depot broken into WLeader
07 29 Barnum and Bailey Circus comes to town, five
railroad trains needed WG
1957
12 06
The Milwaukee Road has been denied permission
to discontinue the Milwaukee Road train stops in Watertown. WDT
1958
09 12 Hearing
into discontinuance of Milwaukee Road's commuter train which operates
between Watertown and Milwaukee WDT
09 23 Milwaukee Road’s “Cannonball”
commuter train between Watertown and Milwaukee, public hearing on WDT
1959
06 19 Petition to discontinue Railway Express
Agency in Watertown WDT
1960s
In the early 1960s, the old
Watertown train roundhouse which housed the cars of the train companies was
demolished.
1972
Passenger trains which allowed residents to catch 30 different trains a
day in the 1930s and 1940s have been gone since 1972.
1977
06 23 Junction of Chicago
and North Western with Milwaukee Road tracks removed WDT
1983
05 03
Workers installed a crossing diamond where
the Milwaukee Road and Chicago &
North Western railroads will intersect in Watertown north of West
Street. C & NW plans to abandon
east-west track through Jefferson County this summer and to restore north-south
track from Jefferson Junction to Clyman, abandoned several years ago. WDT
1984
02 25 Milwaukee Road discontinues freight service
in Watertown. WDT
10 21 Derailment; tanker cars of Milwaukee Road
freight train; in the Watertown yards. WDT
1998
07 02 Hiawatha Extension service
from Watertown to Milwaukee will continue to operate for only nine more
days. WDT
11 13 Canadian Pacific Railway installs new track
from the city west to Columbus WDT
1999
09 15 &
10 02 Support for Amtrak stop in Watertown;
demo ride Columbus to
Watertown WDT
12 18 Possibility of rail passenger service
for Watertown WDT
2000
02 03 Study of high-speed rail, Madison to
Milwaukee; stop in Watertown, WDT
2008
07 23 The Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Company
services 1,400 communities in the state.
The city of Horicon is the hub of operations in Dodge County as it is
home to the locomotive repair operations, paint shop and switching system.
2009
02 25 Stimulus bill raises
possibility of rail service for Watertown; engineering plan calls for a complete
upgrade of the tracks to accommodate the high speed passenger trains in
addition to the 30 or more freight trains that pass through the city each
day. WDTimes story
