Just heard of a neat little railroad called the Iola & Northern tonight. I found my info from greenbayroute.com which unfortunetly wasn’t much and I’m wondering if any one as info on it or knows where I could get some info on it.
A quick web search on “Iola & Northern Railroad” shows that it was one of many railroads planned in the 19th century, but never actually constructed. This is probably what you read at the Green Bay Route link you mentioned…
A list and brief history of the railroads involved with the story of the Green Bay Route.
- __*Iola & Northern Railroad (I&N)* *1893-1914*__
- *The Iola and Northern Railroad Company was planned as a 100 mile railroad, linking the* [*Green Bay, Winona, & Saint Paul*](http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/EditPost.aspx?PostID=2022999&ReturnUrl=%2fTRCCS%2fforums%2ft%2f185022.aspx%232022999#GBWStP) *at Scandinavia with the* [*Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie*](http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/EditPost.aspx?PostID=2022999&ReturnUrl=%2fTRCCS%2fforums%2ft%2f185022.aspx%232022999#MStPSSM) *near Prentice WI. The line was incorporated on May 9, 1893 and construction began in that year. Financial difficulties exacerbated by the Panic of '93 resulted in only the first 4.7 miles of the line getting built. The* [*Green Bay & Western*](http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/EditPost.aspx?PostID=2022999&ReturnUrl=%2fTRCCS%2fforums%2ft%2f185022.aspx%232022999#GBW) *acquired all the stock of the I&N in 1901, and on December 28, 1914 the railroad was merged into the* [*GB&W*](http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/EditPost.aspx?PostID=2022999&ReturnUrl=%2fTRCCS%2fforums%2ft%2f185022.aspx%232022999#GBW)*. It was operated as a branch line until June 1, 1958 when it was abandoned.*
Check out the book Green Bay & western by Stan Maller, pages 148-153 for history and photos of the I&N
I would recommend this book too. Maybe you can get it interlibrary loan? Unfortunately my library doesn’t do that anymore as a result of budget cuts.
Iola Historical Society### Iola, Wisconsin
## Description
Historica Village with the original Iola and Northern Railway Depot built in 1894, Log Cabin, Helvetia Town Hall, Replica Country School House and Replica of original Iola Fire House which houses the first three mechanzied Fire Engines including a 1912 Waterous Pumper that was horse drawn. The historical society also has two other large building that are being set up as museums.
Street Address 210 Depot Street Iola, WI 54945 |
Mailing Address P.O. Box 412 Iola, WI 54945 |
|---|
phone: 715-445-4652
e-mail: iolahistoricalsociety@tds.net
A few photos in this document:
http://www.mcmillanlibrary.org/rosholt/trains-of-wi/trainswi/images/00000006.pdf
Some postcards:
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I’m the webmaster of greenbayroute.com (along with dozens of contributors – their contributions actually make the site what it is) and I wrote the text which is quoted. Clearly I need to improve on the I&N portion if you have questions about it…
Stan Mailer’s book “Green Bay & Western” is certainly the best single source but even that only devotes five pages to the I&N RRw hich existed from 1895-1914, after which it became part of the GB&W until abanondment in 1958.
At the southern end of the I&N, the junction with the GB&W in Scandinavia also met the 9.7-mile Waupaca-Green Bay Railroad (1907-1922, then also part of GB&W until 1947). Both were small branches on the GBW’s bridge route and so were targets of abandonment by the railroad which specialized in moving high-value freight across Lake Michigan using car ferries.
The I&N branch was unique that it was the only GB&W branch to see diesel power-- RS2 and RS3s from the main line worked it 1950-1958. The adjacent W-GB branch was also unique that it used old steam power including an 1897-built 4-4-0 until 1940 and then 2-6-0s until abandonment in 1947. With just a little modeler’s license on your layout you can cover early steam through diesels.
The independent 4.7-mile I&N railroad never had a lot of equipment – two second-hand steam locos, one combine car, and a cinder car are all I’ve ever discovered in my research.
The I&N was planned to be a long 100-mile branch into Wisconsin’s timber region, but the Panic of 1893 (which bankrupted many railroads) killed any hopes of that happening.
If you want more information on the I&N (and I hope you do), I suggest you join the {GBW] list at Yahoo - GBW-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Mark Mathu
Whitefish Bay, Wis.
The Green Bay Route: http://www.greenbayroute.com/
It’s nice to here from a proprietor of the site. Even if not interested in GBW or it’s other lines, it’s a good informative website. I go to the website often to look around it, I think every time I do I learn something or see something that I didn’t notice on previous visits.
I do plan on getting the book on GBW that’s mentioned. Ever since getting into model trains I found out about the railroad and have liked it. And all because I moved to GB.