Mid Continent Railway Museum
Located in the North Freedom village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States Mid Continent Railway Museum houses one of the largest collection of wooden passenger cars,
Interesting Facts About The Mid Continent Railway Museum
• The Mid Continent Railway Museum features more than 100 displays including six of the seven remaining wooden boxcars as well as the only Fish Commission “Badger Car #2” in the United States.
• The Mid-Continent Railway Museum housing 13 steam and 7 diesel locomotives as well as other railroad pieces highlights the conservation of railroad artifacts from the “Golden Age of Railroading” when railroads witnessed a groundbreaking rate of expansion from 93,000 to 254,037 miles of track.
• Formerly a Chicago and North Western Railway depot, the Museum was first built in 1894 and later moved to it’s current location in 1965.
• The rail currently operated by the Railway Museum is in actuality a spur line of the former Chicago & North Western Railway.
• The Railroad Historical Society of Milwaukee later renamed Mid-Continent Railway Museum in 1962 was first founded by a group of rail enthusiasts in 1959.
• Following the purchase of the North Freedom branchline and it’s small collection of rail cars in 1962 the museum since 1963 has offered train rides out of North Freedom. This eventually led to the construction of a small train yard to house the growing collection of rail equipment.
• The Mid Continent Railway Museum operates a 7-mile one hour round trip passenger excursion through the historic community of La Rue, Freedom in Sauk County including a conductor dressed in uniform punching passengers’ tickets, and sharing railroad history.
• The museum offers yearly special event trains featuring food and beverage service aboard luxurious cars and includes a Snow Train in February, Autumn Color weekends during Fall season, Halloween Pumpkin Special and November Santa Express Weekends.
• Throughout much of the museum’s history and prior to February 2000 most of the trains were pulled by steam locomotives.
• In 2008 the museum flooded by the Baraboo River.
• In 2009 the museum was reopened.
Mid Continent Railway Museum RailCams
Updated every 10 seconds the Mid Continent Railway Railcam features two Railcams showing the operations of the Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s operation in North Freedom, Wisconsin.
View Mid-Continent Railcams.