Mid-Continent Railway Museum Recreating the ‘Golden Age of Railroading’
On the outskirts of the small town of North Freedom, located approximately halfway between Reedsburg and Baraboo, one will find a railroad museum nestled along the banks of the Baraboo River. The museum’s off-the-beaten-path location makes it easy to miss even for area residents, but this museum is one of Sauk County’s true hidden gems. Mid-Continent Railway Museum is an outdoor, living history museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting the nation’s railroad legacy. This is achieved through welcoming the public for a ride aboard the museum’s antique trains, educational exhibits, and restoring their collection of railcars and locomotives. Although well known by railfans, the museum’s humble home disguises the fact it is home to one of the nation’s largest and most significant collections of historic wooden passenger and freight railroad cars. With a collection focusing on an era from the 1860s to the 1920s, a visitor gets a true sense of what America’s small-town rail system looked like over 100 years ago. The museum contains a mix of indoor and outdoor exhibit areas. After picking up a self-guided tour pamphlet from the agent in the 1894 depot, wander through the outdoor display yard filled with steam locomotives, boxcars, flatcars, and cabooses. There are over 38
2021 VISIT SAUK COUNTY
milwaukee Lake shore & Western #63
First Class Coach | Barney & Smith Co. | Built 1888
Coach #63 represents one of Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s awardwinning wooden passenger car restorations. Built in 1888 by the Barney & Smith Co., it was used on the Milwaukee Lake Shore & Western Railway which ran from Milwaukee north along the lakeshore to Manitowoc before turning northwest to Appleton, Wausau, and Ashland. The MLS&W existed from 1872 until 1893 when the railroad was acquired by the Chicago & North Western Railway. The car interior is finished in varnished cherry wood designed by renowned Art Nouveau style designer and architect Edward Colonna. Motifs and carvings of the style within the car distinguish it from the Neo-Classical design used by most other railroad car interiors. After the car’s years of passenger service, its wheels were removed and it was converted into an office at Chicago’s Wood Street Potato Yard. The car was donated to MidContinent in 1970 and completed a $350,000 restoration in 2003 and is now on display in Mid-Continent’s Coach Shed #1.
delaware Lackawanna & Western Coach Cars Pullman Co. | Built 1914-1917
Mid-Continent is home to a set of four cars from the same series built by the famous Pullman Company as part of a major order of steel passenger cars to be used on the Delaware Lackawanna & Western’s steampowered suburban service out of Hoboken, New Jersey. The four cars were built between 1914 and 1917 and are considered one of the last large orders of open-platform coaches ever built. Their simple design provided economical short-distance transportation. The cars had a seating capacity of 78 passengers and weighed 108,000 lbs., with some being built as a half passenger car, half baggage car variant with a capacity of 58 passengers. These cars served the commuters faithfully for 55 years before transitioning to serve as Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s primary set of passenger cars used for museum train rides where they’ve continued to serve passengers for another 49 years and counting.
four dozen restored railcars and locomotives to explore and many more awaiting restoration. The jewels of the museum’s collection are kept inside a pair of large display buildings. Inside, one will find an array of exquisitely restored passenger cars that have been completely restored to look as if they just rolled out of the factory over a century ago. MidContinent Railway Museum’s restorations have won national awards and even been featured in the PBS television series Ultimate Restorations. No trip to Mid-Continent Railway Museum is complete without a train ride. Climb aboard 1915-era passenger cars for a 55-minute, 7-mile roundtrip journey past the old mining town of La Rue to the end of the line at Quartzite Lake. Authentically attired conductors call “all aboard” and collect tickets from passengers while sharing historical information and answering passenger questions. The ability to enjoy a meal or drinks in the dining car is also offered a few days each year. Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a must-visit destination for railfans and history buffs. The museum is open seasonally May through October plus some special events. for the latest hours of operation, train ride schedules, and ticket prices visit www.midcontinent.org or call 608-522-4261 or toll-free 800-930-1385.
