TrainPages: WC Chicago Sub in Fall 2001: Honey Creek & Burlington, WI

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

WC Chicago Sub in Fall 2001: Honey Creek & Burlington, WI

These pictures were originally posted on the website of the Society of Model Engineers model railroad club at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The website is no longer online, so I am posting them here.

…Continued from Mukwonago, WI.

The new layout for the Society of Model Engineers at the Milwaukee School of Engineering was to be based on the Wisconsin Central’s Chicago Subdivision between Burlington and Cedar Lake, Wisconsin, with staging yards representing Chicago, Illinois and Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. In November 2001, fellow SOME member Stuart Baker and I explored the route, taking pictures with a digital camera of interesting things along the line to model.

Here are the pictures from Honey Creek & Burlington, Wisconsin, taken on November 21, 2001.

Honey Creek - Siding

Honey Creek is a small unincorporated community with a population of about 400 people. It is named for nearby Honey Creek, which flows south toward Burlington. County Highway D/Washington Avenue crosses the Wisconsin Central main line in Honey Creek. There is a quarry served by rail in Honey Creek along with another stub-ended siding.

Honey Creek - Building

Honey Creek - West Side of Tracks

Honey Creek - East Side of Track

Burlington - Echo Lake Bridge

Echo Lake is an artificial lake created by the 10-foot-high Echo Lake Dam where the White River from the south and Honey Creek from the north meet and flow into the Fox River. The Wisconsin Central main line crosses the lake on this bridge near the middle of the lake.

Burlington - Burlington Farmers Supply, Inc.

Burlington Farmers Supply, Inc. at 780 North Pine Street is a grain elevator near the Burlington depot that is served by the railroad.

Burlington - Downtown

New England settlers came to this area in 1836 and initially named the settlement Foxville after the nearby Fox River, but they soon decided to name it after Burlington, Vermont, and the name was officially changed on July 15, 1839. Burlington was incorporated as a village in 1886 and became a city in 1900.

Two major railroads once served Burlington. The first railroad to pass through Burlington was the Racine, Janesville & Mississippi Railroad in 1855, later reorganized as the Western Union Railroad in 1866 and eventually merged into the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad (also known as The Milwaukee Road) in 1900, where it was the Racine & Southwestern Division, often referred to as the Southwestern Line. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway was reorganized in 1928 as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad.

The other railroad was the Wisconsin Central Railroad, was completed through Burlington in 1885-1886. The Wisconsin Central Railroad was reorganized as the Wisconsin Central Railway in 1897 and was leased in 1909 by the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway, which itself was controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway. On September 1, 1944, the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway was reorganized as the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. The Wisconsin Central Railroad entered receivership in 1932, declared bankruptcy in 1944, and was reorganized as the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company in 1954. On January 1, 1961, the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad and the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company were merged with the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad to form the Soo Line Railroad.

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific declared bankruptcy in 1977, and ran its last train west of Burlington in 1982. The Soo Line acquired the remains of the Milwaukee Road in 1985, and on January 1, 1986, the bankrupt railroad was merged into the Soo Line. On October 11, 1987, the Soo Line spun off the former Wisconsin Central line to the new independent Wisconsin Central, Ltd. The former Milwaukee Road line between Sturtevant and Burlington and between Burlington and Elkhorn was abandoned in 1995, though the section in Burlington remains with a connection to the Wisconsin Central to allow it to serve local industries along this section of track. Most of the abandoned right of way is now the used for the White River State Trail. The Wisconsin Central was purchased by the Canadian National Railway on October 9, 2001.

Burlington - Downtown

143 Burlington - Wisconsin Central Depot and MOW Shed

Burlington - Wisconsin Central Depot & MOW Shed

The brick depot built by the Wisconsin Central Railroad at 824 North Pine Street is still in use by the Canadian National Railway today for local train crews and maintenance personnel. There is also a Maintenance-Of-Way Shed in Burlington.

Burlington - Echo Lake Dam

Burlington - Feed Mill

In 1909, Chicago-area dairy farmers organized the Milk Producer's Co-Operative Marketing Company to get better prices for their milk. The organization spread through Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and in 1920 the Burlington chapter incorporated as the Badger Dairy Company. In 1921 brothers James and Lawrence Murphy established the Murphy Brothers Company to manufacture and sell livestock feed. In 1925, they purchased the office and factory buildings of the Badger Dairy Company. The original factory was destroyed by fire in 1951 and a new Murphy Brothers Feed Mill was built, with various additions added over the years until 1972. The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company of Milwaukee purchased Murphy Brothers in 1971, and was in turn purchased by the Stroh Brewing Company of Detroit in 1982. The former Murphy Brothers buildings were later purchased by Maple Leaf Farms of nearby Yorkville for use as a duck feed mill. In 1996, Purina Mills purchased the mill and restored it to full-scale feed operation following a $500,000 renovation. The former Murphy Brothers buildings were demolished in 2018 to make way for new development.

Burlington - Feed Mill

Burlington - Feed Mill Trackside

Burlington - Car Dealer

Burlington - Saint-Gobain Containers Glass Factory

Saint-Gobain Containers is a glass factory that is served by the former Milwaukee Road line. It is at the west end of the surviving track. The plant was built in 1965 by the Foster-Forbes Glass Company of Marion, Indiana. This was the first glass factory in Wisconsin to produce glass bottles by machine. Foster-Forbes was founded in 1911 as Upland Flint Glass Company and became Foster-Forbes in 1929. In 1995, Saint-Gobain purchased both Foster-Forbes and the Ball Corporation, merging them to form Ball-Foster Glass Container Company. Ball-Foster Glass Container Company was renamed Saint-Gobain Containers in 2000.

Burlington - Saint-Gobain Containers Glass Factory

Burlington - Lavelle Industries, Inc.

Lavelle Industries, Inc., is a manufacturer of plastic and rubber components that has a siding on the former Milwaukee Road line, though it is unclear if this siding is being used.

Burlington - Lavelle Industries, Inc.

Burlington - Saint-Gobain Containers Glass Factory from across the tracks

Burlington - Cooperative Plus, Inc. from the South

Cooperative Plus, Inc. is a grain elevator served by the former Milwaukee Road line. CPI was founded on April 20, 1937. In 1944 it purchased the Farmers Feed and Fuel Company facilities in Burlington, which included a feed mill, feed warehouse, and a coal business. At the time the Burlington Co-op had 17 employees and an annual payroll of $35,000. The Farmers Feed and Fuel Company dated back to at least 1921.

Burlington - Cooperative Plus, Inc. from the South

Burlington – Nestlé Chocolate Factory

The Nestlé chocolate factory is an industry that is served by the former Milwaukee Road line. It is at the east end of the surviving track, near the connection with the Wisconsin Central main line. The chocolate factory was built in 1966, and after it was built Burlington received the nickname “Chocolate City, USA.”