May 4, 2010
LAKE STATES ANNOUNCES COLLECTIONS GRANTS
At the annual banquet program held Sunday, May 2nd at the Baraboo Arts Banquet Hall, LSRHA Development Coordinator Dr. Byron Long announced to attendees receipt of two grants to assist the group's volunteer
historians in the preservation and cataloging of its recently acquired C&NW Ry. technical drawing collection.
The first, from the Union Pacific Foundation, will provide the funding for a qualified Data Entry Specialist for the project which will begin in June. Mr. Robert W. Turner, President of the U.P. foundation, stated in a recent
letter: "We are proud to support Lake States Railway Historical Association, Inc. and extend our best wishes for continued success."
The second grant, from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Matching Gift Program, will provide a stipend for a college student Summer Intern to assist on the project. Attending Sunday's program were rail history enthusiasts from six states. Exhibits assembled from the Lake
State's archives provided drawings, photographs and analyses of the historic Merrimac bridge over Lake Wisconsin
and the Portage Lake span in Upper Michigan. In concert with the "Historic Railway Structure" theme of the day,
Author David Leider presented a program on the construction of the monumental Soo Line freight terminal in
Chicago. Other highlights included an Open House at the expanded Phase II Archives at 319 Water Street. Volunteers
also assembled an operating scale model rail layout to provide the sights and sounds of the steam era. Exhibits of
two scale dioramas with the theme of "Home for the Locomotive - The Engine House" provided further interpretation.
February 21, 2010
2010 Annual Lake States Banquet Announcement
Sunday, May 2nd at the Baraboo Arts Banquet Hall, the Lake States Railway Historical Association, Inc. will host its Third Annual Banquet and meeting. Doors to the venue, located at 323 Water Street in Baraboo, will open at 10:30 AM. This will provide attendees ample time to view historical exhibits, to visit with colleagues, and to pay a visit to our recently upgraded archives in the adjacent Suite 800 prior to serving of the deluxe buffet luncheon which is scheduled to begin at 12 noon. Beverages and snacks will also be provided in our Archives to welcome those who take the short stroll there for our first public viewing of developments in the expanding Phase II facility.
This year's theme, HISTORIC RAILWAY STRUCTURES, will include exhibits compiled from our historic Copper Range R.R. drawing collections and other sources. One series will be focused on the important Portage Lake railway bridge between Houghton and Hancock spanning the vital navigable waterway that cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula in Upper Michigan. This structure has a colorful and interesting life story, including an encounter with a steamship early in its history. An operating scale-model railway exhibit in our archives will further amplify on the theme of the day, as well as portraying the railway's historically important part in the economic development and day-to-day life in the entire western Great Lakes region.
The elegant buffet will include a choice of two entrees, Slow Roast Rubbed Sirloin in Cabernet jus, or Honey Grilled Chicken Breast with Citrus Glaze, choice of whipped buttery potatoes or wild rice blend with herbs, petite carrots with brown sugar and dill, fresh bread, tossed green salad with choice of herbed ranch or traditional French dressing, and choice of coffee, tea or milk. Ice water will be provided, and we will dine on real china with silverware and elegant table linens. A cash bar will also be available in the hall during the day.
Following the luncheon and a brief review of the LSRHA's progress over the past year, we will introduce our featured speaker, Mr. David Leider, who will present an intriguing audio-visual program entitled "SOO LINE FREIGHT TERMINAL IN CHICAGO". (A further description of this program and its presenter follows this article.) At the conclusion of the program and a brief discussion period, the archives will again be open to attendees until 4 PM.
Reservations for the banquet may be mailed to: Lake States, 319 Water Street, Suite 800, Baraboo, WI 53913. Payment by check or money order, made out to LSRHA for $28.00 for each attendee, or two for $50.00, should be mailed by no later than April 22nd. Reservations can be picked up when checking in at the Baraboo Arts Hall upon arrival on Sunday. The facility is located just west of the Circus World Museum entrance on Water Street in Baraboo. Parking is available on Water Street or East Street, and also in small lots to the east and south of the venue. Contact us at (608) 356-5555 if you have any questions (leave your name and phone number if no answer and a volunteer will return your call promptly).
Luncheon Speaker Presents on Topic
Soo Line Freight Terminal in Chicago, IL
By Mike Harrington
The Third Annual Luncheon of the Lake States Railway Historical Association (LSRHA) will feature a power point presentation by Mr. David Leider. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois, the author of several books and a frequent contributor to the SOO magazine as well as modeling articles on a variety of topics for hobby magazines. His topic will be the construction of the Soo Line Chicago Freight terminal.
The story begins in 1909 when the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and the Soo Line which it controlled, gained control of the Wisconsin Central Railroad with the goal of an entry into Chicago. The need for a freight terminal and the decision to own rather than lease lead to the building of the Soo Line Chicago Freight Terminal. In 1911 they incorporated the Central Terminal Railway Company to operate the freight house.
The facility they decided upon required 11 city blocks in downtown Chicago. They would tear down the homes and shops of more than 3,000 persons, move one hundred and twenty-five thousand cubic yards of earth. Because of the need to cross numerous streets, the whole structure would be elevated. This required 1400 column foundations and a reinforced concrete structure with 35 acres of floor space. The Soo Line reported that, "between four and five thousand car loads of broken stone, two thousand car loads of sand, and two thousand car loads of Universal Portland Cement have come to the site in trains over a quarter of a mile long each day." The company contracted to build the terminal was the Leonard Construction Company of Chicago. Fortunately, the Leonard Company and the Portland Cement Co. hired a photographer to document every aspect of the work. This was reputed to be the largest, or one of the largest, poured concrete structure of the time. The photographer began as the land was being cleared and finished when the structure was completed.
Mr. Leider's presentation is based upon 3 Bankers boxes of documents pertaining to building the freight house. The jewel of the collection is over 200 photographs taken during the course of construction that detail every aspect of the work. Included are views of how the cement was manufactured, transported and poured. We hope you will join us as Mr. Leider showcases the conception, planning and building of this historic structure using the priceless photos and other materials.
One of over 200 photographs taken by the Leonard Construction Co. over the course of constructing the Soo Line's Chicago freight house. This view looks southwest at Canal St. from W. 12th and showns the beginning of the headhouse. The cylindrical object in the middle of the photo is the bioler room smoke stack taking shape. (Photograph from the Soo Line Historical and Technical Society Archives Collection)
January 21, 2010
Lake States Archives Announces New Quarters
Sunday, May 2nd at the Baraboo Arts Banquet Hall, the Lake States Railway Historical Association, Inc. will host its Third Annual Banquet and meeting. Doors to the venue, located at 323 Water Street in Baraboo, will open at 10:30 AM. This will provide attendees ample time to view historical exhibits, to visit with colleagues, and to pay a visit to our recently upgraded archives in the adjacent Suite 800 prior to serving of the deluxe buffet luncheon which is scheduled to begin at 12 noon. Beverages and snacks will also be provided in our Archives to welcome those who take the short stroll there for our first public viewing of developments in the expanding Phase II facility.
The Baraboo Archives will be closed until January 31 to facilitate a move to new, larger quarters within the Baraboo Arts complex at 319 Water Street in Baraboo. Shortly after Christmas volunteers will begin the move to the new space which is in the southwest corner of the complex.
Once the transition is complete, access to the archives will be gained from the main entrance at 319 Water Street at the spot where our large sign is currently displayed. This will improve both accessibility and visibility for the steadily growing archives collections at Lake States.
The new quarters will feature expanded collections space, improved environmental control, and superior exhibit and research capabilities. Coinciding with the opening of the new space, Lake States plans to announce plans for regularly scheduled public open hours at the archives for reading, viewing and research.
Our phone number and mailing address will remain unchanged, as will our Web site.
Further announcements and details will follow as we proceed with this new development.
We hope that this brief interruption in access to our research capabilities will not be a serious problem for anyone. Once accomplished, we anticipate the improvement will be worth the wait! Meanwhile, thanks for your patience!
- Richard Goddard, President - LSRHA
April 7, 2009
Lake States Banquet – Steam in the Land of the Glacier
Sunday, April 26th at the Baraboo Arts Banquet Hall, Lake States will host its second annual banquet and meeting. The doors to exhibits in the banquet hall will open at 10:00 AM, followed by the luncheon buffet starting at noon. Historical exhibits on view will include intriguing artifacts, photographs and drawings relevant to the topic of the day as well as a unique steam-era model railway display.
This year’s program will focus on the historical presence in the Baraboo area of the Chicago & North Western Railway during the steam era, which began in 1871 and extended into 1956. Special attention will be given to the extensive early rail infrastructures and facilities in Baraboo and the surrounding area. Also addressed will be the mutual importance to one another of railway, community and economic development and the people of the region.
Following the luncheon, Lake States Treasurer Ken Breher, serving as Master of Ceremonies, will introduce President Dick Goddard who will deliver a brief State-of-the-Association report to the attendees. Immediately thereafter our featured speaker will be introduced. Baraboo historian and author Mr. Mark Carlson will present an informative program entitled “The Chicago & North Western Railway: The Steam Era in the Baraboo River Valley”. A discussion period will follow Mr. Carlson’s presentation.
The menu for the luncheon will include Hickory Barbeque Pork Loin, Baked Chicken, Parsley Buttered Potatoes, Glazed Carrots, Tossed Green Salad with choice of dressing, Pasta Salad, Dinner Rolls, Coffee and Milk. To top it all off, a tasty Chocolate Brownie – Ice Cream dessert!
Banquet reservations are priced at $25.00 per person, $22.50 each in lots of two or more, and are available by mailing a check or money order to: Lake States Railway Historical Assoc., 319 Water St., Suite 800, Baraboo, WI 53913 by April 18th. Your banquet tickets will be waiting for you upon arrival at the banquet. The Baraboo Arts building is located at 323 Water St. in Baraboo, just west of the Circus World Museum main building. For additional information phone (608) 356-5555 or (608) 522-3331. If no answer, please leave your name and phone number, a volunteer will return your call promptly. A limited number of last-minute reservations may be available.
Mark your calendar for Sunday, April 26th – Lake States will make this a most interesting, enjoyable and informational day for all our guests.
October 21, 2008
Announcing the 2008 LSRHA Trust Challenge
By Kenneth W. Breher, P.E.,
Treasurer, LSRHA
Among the key essentials for the on-going success of corporations like the Lake States Railway Historical Association include establishing tax exempt status and the ability to establish a firm financial foundation which will fund its operations into the future.
In Fiscal Year 2007, LSRHA achieved the first significant cornerstone by obtaining our status as a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. This status enables donors and supporters who contribute to LSRHA to take advantage of Internal Revenue Service regulations which allow them to deduct the value of their contributions from their annual income.
The second cornerstone to be placed provides for long-term financial stability through the establishment of an endowment. In 2007, our first year as a non-profit, we were blessed with an anonymous contribution which was earmarked for the creation of the Lake States Railway Historical Association Trust. The LSRHA Trust is structured to provide a continuing income stream to help defray the operating costs of the Archives. Contributions to the LSRHA Trust are treated as the “principal” of the Trust, and are invested in various financial instruments in order to generate either “interest” or “dividends”. Only the proceeds generated as interest or dividend are allowed to be withdrawn, with the principal remaining intact.
Today the Trust is able to generate approximately 10% of the operating expense of the Archives. These operating expenses include rent, insurance, telephone, website, office equipment and routine office expenses. The generosity of our Donors and Trustees currently cover the operating expenses and allows us to add the interest or dividends to the principal of the Trust.
In 2008, our second year, we have been issued a challenge to increase the LSRHA Trust. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, we have been challenged to increase the Trust by $50,000 or more. For each dollar contributed to the LSRHA Trust, up to a limit of $25,000, the donor will contribute an additional dollar. The LSRHA challenge for 2008 will run through December 31, 2008.
Those wishing to support the Lake States Railway Historical Association through monetary contribution to the 2008 LSRHA Trust Challenge may send their tax deductible contributions to:
LSRHA 2008 Trust Challenge
319 Water Street
Suite 800
Baraboo, WI 53913
Your generosity is deeply appreciated.
April 24, 2008
Trustee Activities Report
On April 24, 2008, LSRHA Trustee Clint Jones addressed the Technical & Business meeting of the Upper Peninsula Section of the Society of Mining Engineers held in Hancock, Michigan. The Upper Peninsula chapter, established in 1918, is celebrating its 90th birthday in 2008.
Clint's topic dealt with the subject of the Chicago & North Western Railway and its position of having been Upper Michigan's premier iron ore carrier.
Clint, who spoke in the Historical Subsection of the program, is President of Mineral Range, Inc. and operates a railway equipment, industry switching, and
transportation consulting firm providing short line startup expertise to customers.
In Baraboo, home of the LSRHA Archives, Trustee Dick Goddard will address the Sauk County Historical Society at their annual picnic the evening of Tuesday, June 8th. The event will be held at the show ground complex of the Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club on Sand Road near Baraboo.
Dick will present a brief history of the Lake States for SCHS, which was first incorporated in 1905 and which operates the historic 1903 Van Orden Mansion as a house museum .The Society is also currently developing a the Sauk County History Center in the historic Island Woolen Mill office building in Baraboo.
April 20, 2008
2008 Annual Meeting and Banquet Report
The Association's first annual event went off much as advertised, with an added event which gave an added sense of immediacy to the educational and historical exhibits planned for the day.Following the published timetable, attendees enjoyed a social hour and viewed an assortment of exhibits highlighting the early years of the railroad and quarrying operations at Ableman, later known as Rock Springs, Wisconsin.
Reports by officers outlining the progress made by LSRHA in its first year ensued, followed by the introduction of featured speaker John Geoghegan and his talk entitled "Chicken Grits & Railroad Ballast - A Quartzite Tale". The speaker had many interesting personal experiences to relate, having operated the Harbison-Walker quarry at LaRue, Wis. for several years in the 50's. Earlier he had been employed by the C&NW as had his father and grandfather before him. He leased the Wisconsin Granite Company facility at Ableman for a long period, and had contracted to build the original quarry yard trackage for Foley Brothers when quarrying of railroad ballast by them for the C&NW was begun.
The theme of the talk highlighted his (sometimes exciting) experiences with mining explosives, production of a couple grades of poultry grits (fine for chickens, coarse for turkeys) and his broad knowledge of quarrying and railroading years in the Sauk County area. The numerous questions from guests following his talk reflected the intense interest generated by his subject matter.
The Pink Lady Quarry, so-named because of the unique color of its quartzite rock output, had been operated in recent years by Martin-Marietta for the Union Pacific as successor quarry owner to the C&NW. This relationship had ended just prior to the meeting, so the quarry history content of the talk became especially timely as the trains which hauled ballast, some 500,000 tons annually, eastbound out of Rock Springs would not be rumbling eastbound in 2008. Since leasing of the Madison-Reedsburg route by the Wisconsin-Southern R.R. Co. the trains had been operated by them, but often with Union Pacific locomotive power.
Activity at the quarry is currently in limbo; the Union Pacific has reportedly applied for a permit to become owner-operator. So ends this part of the "Quartzite Tale".
March 31, 2008
LSRHA Banquet Press Release
To introduce the Lake States Railway Historical Association (LSRHA) to the Baraboo community, they will be hosting their first Annual luncheon banquet on Sunday, April 20 at the Baraboo Arts Banquet Hall, 323 Water St., Baraboo. The luncheon buffet will start at 11:00 AM with a social hour cash bar and music from the Quartzite Brass Quintet prior to the start of the luncheon.
Following the luncheon, the LSRHA will present a short report on the recent founding of the association in Baraboo. Mr. John Geoghegan will then provide an entertaining historical reminiscent talk titled, “Chicken Grits & Railroad Ballast, a Quartzite Tale”. Mr. Geoghegan, a Baraboo resident, will relate his experiences at rock quarries in LaRue and Ableman/Rock Springs along with his railroad work building trackage for the old Foley Bros. quarry at the latter site. His father and brother both worked for the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW). His grandfather was an experienced stone mason and assisted in building some of the C&NW stone arch bridges still in service today.
The luncheon buffet is open to the public. Reservations may be made by calling LSRHA at (608) 356-5555, leaving your name, number of guests and your phone number. Cost of the luncheon is $19.50 and reservations should be made by Saturdey, April 12.
January 31, 2008
LSRHA Press Release
Since 1905, Baraboo has assisted and contributed to the development of the Sauk County Historical Society and in 1960 welcomed the Circus World Museum to the historic winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Over the years, these two groups have developed into recognized leaders in their respective scholastic areas. In 2006, Lake States Railway Historical Association was founded and joins these two organizations in Baraboo and hopes this supportive tradition will continue.
Recognizing a regional need, Lake States Railway Historical Association was established to collect, expand and disseminate knowledge on the history of railroading from the Western Great Lakes Region and its associated economic and social development. The Association actively seeks and preserves corporate and large and small private collections consisting of manuscripts, graphic arts, reference books and other relevant artifacts from the region's railroads and their related industries. It will encourage research, interpretation and publication from its collection.
During 2007 Lake States Railway Historical Association received its not-for-profit 501(c)(3) status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, making all monetary and archive donations to it tax-deductible.
In keeping with its historic theme, the Association has obtained office and archival space in Ringlingville at the 1910 Winter Quarters Shop of the Ringling Brothers. This complex is on the National Historic Landmark Registry and Wisconsin State Register of Historical Places. This building is now known locally as the Baraboo Arts Building. Lake States Railway Historical Association's mailing address is: 319 Water Street, Suite 800, Baraboo, WI 53913. While presently staffed with volunteers and having irregular hours, anyone with questions, comments, visit requests and inquiries about donating financial or volunteer support are urged to phone the Baraboo Archives at (608) 356-5555. Your message will receive a prompt reply. The Association's website is LSRHA.org.
Factors in the Association's choice of Baraboo for its new home included its location near the geographical center of the Western Great Lakes Region, the city's significant railway past and its excellent track record of financial and volunteer support of notable historic preservation organizations. Trustees from five regional states serve on the Lake States governing Board; they join in expressing the hope of earning a similar level of community interest and support for their efforts to become a leader in their railway historical mission.
If you would like additional information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Richard Goddard (President), contact him at (608) 522-3331 or e-mail at rgnf@charter.net.
June 1, 2007
New Archives Site
New Lake States Archives Site opened at 319 Water Street in historic Baraboo Wisconsin.
