The Chicago and Tomah Railroad was a railroad company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1872 and was intended to connect the northern forests of Wisconsin around Tomah with

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Freeport, name of several space stations in the video game ''Freelancer'' (2003) * Freeport, a fictional town in the video game ''SiN'' (1998) * ''Freeport: The Cit ...

and

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The company constructed a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

line between Woodman and Montfort, Wisconsin, with a branch to

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

. The company came under

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

control in 1880, which built a connection with the narrow gauge Galena and Wisconsin Railroad. Both were consolidated into the Milwaukee and Madison Railway. None of the Chicago and Tomah's network exists today.

History

The primary forces behind the Chicago and Tomah Railroad were William Larrabee and D. R. W. Williams, both from

Clermont, Iowa Clermont is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, United States. The population was 586 at the 2020 census. Clermont is home to Montauk, the mansion of former Iowa governor William Larrabee, along with much historic architecture. Geography Clermont ...

. The company's line was to run from

Tomah, Wisconsin Tomah is a city in Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,570 as of the 2020 census. The city is surrounded by the Town of Tomah and the Town of La Grange. History Tomah was founded by Robert E. Gillett in 1855 and inco ...

, to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, via

Mineral Point, Wisconsin Mineral Point is a city in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,581 at the 2020 census. The city is located within the Town of Mineral Point and is part of the Madison metropolitan area. Mineral Point was settled in 182 ...

, and

Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...

. The company was incorporated in Wisconsin on October 21, 1872. The company completed a

line between Woodman, on the

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, at approximately 430 miles (692 km) long. As a tributary of the Mississippi River, it is part of the Mississippi River System. The river's name was first recorded in 1673 b ...

, and

, in 1877. In 1879 the company built east from Fennimore through Montfort, toward the northern end of the narrow gauge Galena and Southern Wisconsin Railroad. The company also graded a line north from Wauzeka, but never laid rail nor bridged the Wisconsin River. This grade was later taken over by the Kickapoo Valley and Northern Railway. At this point the

took a financial interest in both narrow gauge companies. The Galena and Southern Wisconsin Railroad was reorganized as the Galena and Wisconsin Railroad and was consolidated with the Chicago and Tomah Railroad to create a new company of the same name, but incorporated in both

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and Wisconsin. This was effective on August 3, 1880. The new Chicago and Tomah constructed the between Montfort Junction and

Rewey Rewey is a village in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 258 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Rewey has been in operation since the village was pl ...

to connect the two networks. Meanwhile, the Chicago and Tomah was building a new

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

line from

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

to Montfort, in order to connect the narrow gauge system with the rest of the North Western's network. This work was ongoing when the Chicago and Tomah was consolidated with the Milwaukee and Madison Railway on December 3, 1880, to form a new company of that name. That line was completed in 1881. Most of the narrow gauge network was converted to standard gauge in 1882. The exception was the Chicago and Tomah's line between Fennimore and Woodman, which remained a narrow gauge line until its abandonment in 1926.

Lines

The Chicago and Tomah's line between Fennimore and Woodman was never converted to standard gauge and was abandoned on January 30, 1926. The line from Lancaster to Montfort, together with the Milwaukee and Madison's from Monfort to Madison, was known as the Lancaster Subdivision. Most of that line, including all of the former Chicago and Tomah trackage, was abandoned in 1980.

Notes

References

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History

Lines

Notes

References

Further reading