Chapter 6
RIVERSIDE AND GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY – WISCONSIN DELLS, WISCONSIN
A short while later, Ciara and Claire made their way to Wisconsin Dells. After stopping to look at various sights along the way, they drove under an overpass and into the parking lot of a small railway yard. Upon entering the parking lot, they saw a train of six coaches pulled by a miniature dark green steam locomotive pull into the station. After a
whoosh of steam, the engine let off a loud whistle. The girls jumped slightly.
CLAIRE: Whoa!
CIARA: That was loud!
CLAIRE: Yeah!
As the engine was uncoupled and turned around, the girls saw an older man dressed in a conductor's uniform, and they walked over.
CIARA: Excuse us, sir?
CONDUCTOR: Yes? How can I help you?
CLAIRE: We're not from around here, and we were wondering, where do we get out tickets for the train?
CONDUCTOR: You get them right over there in the gift shop.
The Conductor pointed to a red building several feet away.
CIARA: Thank you.
Ciara and Claire walked to the gift shop. While Claire was getting the tickets, Ciara was walking around, looking at merchandise.
CIARA: Claire, look at this.
After receiving her tickets, Claire walked over by Ciara. They were looking at a large display of wooden toy trains.
CLAIRE: Is that Thomas the Tank Engine?
CIARA: It sure is!
CLAIRE: Man! I haven't seen one of these things since I was a kid!
CIARA: Me either. I used to watch that show all the time.
CLAIRE: Same here! It was my favorite show!
Ciara looked at her watch.
CIARA: We better go if we want to catch the train.
The girls left the gift shop, made their way to the station platform, and got in one of the coaches. A moment later, the conductor came by and made a hole punch in their tickets.
CLAIRE: This is so cool!
CIARA: I know!
A few minutes later, they heard a small whistle, followed by the louder one of the engine. With a small jerk, the train was off. Ciara and Claire watched as they rode through the woods.
CIARA: This is beautiful!
Claire nodded in agreement. After a little while, the train went over a large bridge.
CIARA: Don't look down.
CLAIRE: Why not?
CIARA: Huge ravine. Several feet deep.
CLAIRE: Gotcha.
After crossing the bridge, the train went a little farther, then came to a stop outside of a small station. The engine gave a whistle, and the conductor got out.
CONDUCTOR: Here we are at Hyde Park. If anyone would like to, you may now get out of the train, watch the engine be turned around, and hear some of the history of the railroad.
CIARA: You wanna go see it?
CLAIRE: Sure. Why not?
The girls, as well as a group of other people, got out. They found a small, covered area with benches and sat down. When everyone had been seated, the engineer of the train began to speak.
ENGINEER: This locomotive, No. 82, was built in 1957 for the Milwaukee County Zoo. It was given to the railroad in the late 1980s. It runs exactly the way most steam engines run: coal or wood, and water. We shovel the coal into the firebox, and we have a tap here which runs the water from the tender to the boiler. The locomotive also has what's called a sandbox. In the cold like this, the rails sometimes get a bit slick. When that happens, we pull a lever, and sand drops onto the rails, allowing the locomotive's wheels to grip. Unless there are any questions, we're gonna uncouple this locomotive, and turn it around on the turntable, then couple it up to the other side of the train.
Seeing that there were no questions, the engineer got out and uncoupled the engine. It was then pulled up and onto the turntable. Together, the engineer and conductor turned the engine around. The engineer got back in and the engine drove to the other side of the train. The conductor, meanwhile, walked back up to the covered bench area.
CONDUCTOR: While he's coupling the locomotive to the other end, I'll give you the history of the railroad. The Riverside and Great Northern Railroad was originally opened and operated in Janesville, Wisconsin by the Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works. Elmer Sandley, the owner, loved trains, and passed his love onto his son, Norman. Together, the two of them opened up the railroad, and built a handful of 15” gauge locomotives. However, not everyone was as enthused as the Sandleys. The people of Janesville didn't like the noise, or the soot created by the locomotive, so their lease was not renewed. In 1952, Sandley moved the railroad down here to Wisconsin Dells. In 1963, Elmer retired and gave operations over completely to Norman. The railroad did well, but money was always an issue. By the early 1980s, there wasn't enough money left. The bank foreclosed the property, and the railroad was shut up. But, in 1988, a group of people who remembered the Sandley family and their little railroad got together and created the Riverside and Great Northern Preservation Society. We opened up the following year. That lovely bridge we came over wasn't always there. In June of 2004, we got an extremely heavy rainfall, I think it rained for a good two weeks. We were closing up on June 11, and when we came on June 12 to open up, we discovered that a good portion of the trackbed had been washed away by the flooding. Well, we weren't sure how we were gonna survive, but thanks to the generous donations and people buying tickets, we were able to get that bridge up after only a year. We aren't normally open during the winter like this, but there hasn't been as much snowfall this year, so we thought we'd try it out. Everything here is done by volunteers. We make most of our money through donations and ticket sales. Are there any questions.
Claire raised her hand. The conductor pointed to her.
CLAIRE: How many engines do you have?
CONDUCTOR: We have two steam locomotives that are in operation, this one and No. 98. We also have a diesel shunter, a battery car, a model tram engine, and a replica of the “Tom Thumb” vertical boiler engine.
CLAIRE: Cool!
CONDUCTOR: Unless there are anymore questions, you may now make your way back to the train for our return journey.
Everyone made their way back to the train.
