Milwaukee Road Oconomowoc Depot still stands after all these years.

Well, I made it from Minneapolis to Milwaukee: close to 750 miles on the road; lots of trains; two museums; and too many rail yards to count! Now its time for the final leg, a drive on uncharted roads across southern Wisconsin following the Canadian Pacific all the way. As with any given day, I have several hundred miles to go and lots of towns I want to stop for a "look-see" in. It is yet another early morning on the roads.

Seeing as it was Tuesday, I opted to head out after 8 am, to let traffic into Milwaukee ease a bit. Killing time, I made one last stop at the CP yard to see if I could find anything new. Seeing the same three units tied down in the yard as I had seen for the last two days I uttered some words and drove to Waukesha. In Waukesha I needed fuel and made a quick stop along the former Wisconsin Central (WC) tracks for a photo of the depot. Turning the corner into the parking lot of the depot, not only was I impressed in the condition of the old granite and timber depot building, I was also very surprised to find the WC 3007 (a GP40) still wearing its WC paint with pride. After a few shots of the depot and locomotive, off I went, trying to get west before an advancing cold front which promised to bring rain would ruin my adventure.

The next town along my drive was Pewaukee, WI. There is not much here other than another old depot. This depot was once used by the Milwaukee and Soo Line. Today it is the third depot to have been built in this town, preserved and used to this day. Of course, I had to get some pictures, adding to my growing collection of railroad depots around the country. After scanning the tracks to the east and to the west, I left. I continued on to the oddest named town I have ever been through, Oconomowoc, WI. Doing some research I learned that the name is the Algonquian word for: "waterfall." I never did find the waterfall, but I did locate another railroad depot, this one with an old passenger car lettered PPBR. The depot, built in 1896, is still used today as a restaurant. As is the rail car, however, this car is not of Milwaukee or Soo heritage. It was only added in 2002.

After getting my history lesson for the morning, I was still itching to see a train. So, onward I went. My next stop was Watertown, WI. Par for the course, the radios had been quiet all morning long. My hopes of seeing a train where still just a hope. Watertown sports two depots, one former Chicago & Northwestern (C&NW) and the other Chicago, St Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad(CMO). Only able to find the CN&W depot, I grabbed a shot and continued to follow the tracks west.

About 15 miles outside of Watertown I realized I was following the wrongs tracks! Instead of turning north in Watertown - along the CP - I kept going west, along the Union Pacific towards Madison. Stopping to check the map for a road I could take to get to Columbus, I adjusted my timetable and took the extra time to look at the Wisconsin countryside as I drove my "detour" route.

Well, don't expect to read about a great train chase here; again the only find was a small depot, still used by Amtrak. It was even featured in the Empire Builder episode of Extreme Trains on the History Channel. Yet another quick shot and I was gone, just as fast as the Amtrak train would be that was arriving in the next hour or so.

Wow, so many miles and no trains. Would my next stop in Portage, WI. change my luck? I got my answer just east of town. It was here I saw what would be my first (and only) CP train of the day. Canadian Pacific train, 283, was just starting into the yard at Portage to pick up a locomotive before heading west to Saint Paul. Looking at the clock I remembered Amtrak was due into Portage in the next 20 minutes, so I pulled into the depot parking lot and waited. Seeing six BNSF units - five GEVos and an SD70MAC - I figured this is the end-of-the-line for the BNSF's exchange with the CP; I am guessing this is where they finally hand-off coal trains. I could only manage a few long zoom shots of the power which was tucked away in the yard before Amtrak arrived.

Nothing special about today's train. The unique thing was the location I was shooting the Empire Builder. A quick on-and-off of the passengers was something I'm not used to seeing at Midway. With a blast of the horn the train stopped, doors opened, doors closed - just that fast! Another blow of the horn and whoosh, they were gone and so was I.

During the remainder of my run through Wisconsin, I was hot on the tail of CP-283. Seeing it in the "Dells," Mauston, and Tomah, I stopped to get pictures of the train and depots in each town. I would see CP-283 one last time in Sparta, WI. In Sparta I spent a little extra time looking around town; my gut told me there was something more than a depot here. Finding the depot, I snagged a pic and was off to find something else. I still did not know what I was looking for, that was until I spotted two Soo cabooses along the side of a road. Both cabooses are now used as rental cabins and are in good shape. One is in solid Soo Line red, the other in the more modern Soo "hockey stick" paint. "I knew there was something special here, I just knew it," I thought as I snapped away. Although these photos were not of a train, in this day-and-age, I sure love the sight of a caboose.

After gassing up in Sparta I completed my Wisconsin circle back in La Crosse. I had started here five days before. However, this time, on my way home, I decided to chase the BNSF back up the river. I hoped to make up for the lack of trains. The BNSF did not let me down!

Just north of Winona, on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River, I would meet the first of five BNSF trains. Each one shot from familiar locations and each location brought back memories of rail fan trips taken in the past with fellow TwinCitiesRailfan members. Stopping in Alma for the H-CSXPAS train, I snapped my pics from the walkway above the tracks as the locomotives passed under my feet. The sky above me decided I had had enough and opened up with rain and wind. This would be the end of my marathon five day, 1,176 mile railfan journey which took me to new places. I saw things - that, in the railfan world - were amazing! With lots more places to go back and see again, I can only hope the next time is better than the first, but, then again, it will be hard to top this trip... that is until the next one, which will take me to even more new places with its own amazing sights. 'Til next time, stay safe and good luck railfanning. I'll see you by the rails.