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 fi nd a railroad museum nestled along the banks of the Baraboo River. The museum’s off -the-beaten-path locati on makes it easy to miss even for area residents, but this museum is one of Sauk County’s true hidden gems.

Mid-Conti nent Railway Museum is an outdoor, living history museum dedicated to preserving and interpreting the nati on’s railroad legacy. This is achieved through welcoming the public for a ride aboard the museum’s anti que trains, educati onal exhibits, and restoring their collecti on of railcars and locomoti ves.

Although well known by railfans, the museum’s humble home disguises the fact it is home to one of the nati on’s largest and most signifi cant collecti ons of historic wooden passenger and freight railroad cars. With a collecti on 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. Aft er picking up a self-guided tour pamphlet from the agent in the 1894 depot, wander through the outdoor display yard fi lled with steam locomoti ves, boxcars, fl atcars, and cabooses. There are over milwaukee Lake shore & Western #63

First Class Coach | Barney & Smith Co. | Built 1888

Coach #63 represents one of Mid-Conti nent Railway Museum’s awardwinning wooden passenger car restorati ons. 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 unti l 1893 when the railroad was acquired by the Chicago & North Western Railway.

The car interior is fi nished in varnished cherry wood designed by renowned Art Nouveau style designer and architect Edward Colonna. Moti fs and carvings of the style within the car disti nguish it from the Neo-Classical design used by most other railroad car interiors. Aft er the car’s years of passenger service, its wheels were removed and it was converted into an offi ce at Chicago’s Wood Street Potato Yard. The car was donated to MidConti nent in 1970 and completed a $350,000 restorati on in 2003 and is now on display in Mid-Conti nent’s Coach Shed #1.

delaware Lackawanna & Western Coach Cars

Pullman Co. | Built 1914-1917

Mid-Conti nent 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-platf orm coaches ever built. Their simple design provided economical short-distance transportati on. The cars had a seati ng 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 transiti oning to serve as Mid-Conti nent Railway Museum’s primary set of passenger cars used for museum train rides where they’ve conti nued to serve passengers for another 49 years and counti ng. four dozen restored railcars and locomoti ves to explore and many more awaiti ng restorati on.

The jewels of the museum’s collecti on are kept inside a pair of large display buildings. Inside, one will fi nd 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. MidConti nent Railway Museum’s restorati ons have won nati onal awards and even been featured in the PBS television series Ulti mate Restorati ons.

No trip to Mid-Conti nent 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. Authenti cally atti red conductors call “all aboard” and collect ti ckets from passengers while sharing historical informati on and answering passenger questi ons. The ability to enjoy a meal or drinks in the dining car is also off ered a few days each year.

Mid-Conti nent Railway Museum is a must-visit desti nati on for railfans and history buff s. The museum is open seasonally May through October plus some special events. for the latest hours of operati on, train ride schedules, and ti cket prices visit www.midconti nent.org or call 608-522-4261 or toll-free 800-930-1385.