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City of Antigo and Langlade County, Wisconsin Genealogical Research Sources

Home > Langlade County Railroads

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Langlade County Railroads
In the past all of these railroads operated within Langlade County.

Common Carrier Railroads

Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad Co.

Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co.

Wisconsin & Northern Railway Co.

Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Co.

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co.

Logging Railroads

Connor Land & Lumber Co.

Crocker Chair Co.

Ehlinger Lumber Co.

Holt Lumber Co.

T.D. Kellogg Lumber & Manufacturing Co.

Laona & Northern Railway Co.

Marinette, Tomahawk & Western Railroad Co.

Milwaukee Road Logging Lines

Morse & Tradewell Lumber Co.

Northern Woodland Co.

The Oconto Co.

Paine/Langlade Lumber Co.

Underwood Veneer Co.

Wolf & Wisconsin Railroad

Wolf River Railroad Co.

Wolf River Valley Railway Co.

Yawkey-Bissell Lumber Co.

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1908 Railroad Map of Wisconsin (offsite)

Railroad Glossary (offsite)


Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad Co. (Common Carrier)


Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. (Common Carrier)


Wisconsin & Northern Railway Co. (Common Carrier)


Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Co. (Common Carrier)
a.k.a. "The Soo Line," "Wisconsin Central LTD," and "The Canadian Pacific Railway"


Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Co. (Common Carrier)

    Langlade County History
  • Book: Dessureau, Robert M., History of Langlade County Wisconsin Antigo, WI: Berner Bros. Pub. Co., 1922, pp. 25-27.
  • See Milwaukee Road Logging Lines below.


Connor Land & Lumber Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • See subsidiary railroad: The Laona and Northern Railway Company. (Camp 5 Museum)
  • Company pictures
  • Tracks
    • It seems only the Laona and Northern Railway subsidiary operated in Langlade County in T33N-14E (North Wolf River)
    • See Laona and Northern Railway Company below.


Crocker Chair Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • In 1907 began operations on tracks located north of Elton.
  • Tracks located in T31N-R13E (Evergreen) and T32N-R13E (South Langlade). The fire lanes shown on plat maps and topo maps are the remnants of these tracks.
  • Tracks:
    • Tracks tied in with the C&NW Post Lake line in 1913 (Van Goethem p139)
    • Tracks went northward into the tracts west of the Wolf River from Elton, where the plant was located. (Van Goethem p139)
    • Evergreen: sections 3, 4, and 16.
    • Langlade (South): sections 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 33, 35, 36.
  • In 1923 sold to Yawkey-Bissell Lumber Company which operated the railway until the early 1930's.


Ehlinger Lumber Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • Tracks:
    • The company used "steam haulers" or "log haulers" so tracks were not needed.
    • Logging operations were in the Hollister area in the Towns of Wolf River and Langlade.


Holt Lumber Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • Company history
  • Company pictures
  • Tracks
    • C&NW Bonita Line west into the southeastern part of Langlade County. (about 1930 until 1934)
    • Flanders spur west into northeastern corner of Langlade County. (about 1930 until 1934)
  • Locomotive picture


T.D. Kellogg Lumber & Manufacturing Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Research References
  • Book: Dessureau, Robert M., History of Langlade County Wisconsin Antigo, WI: Berner Bros. Pub. Co., 1922, p. 51.

    Langlade County History
  • No Tracks
    • Company used "Steam Haulers" so they didn't need any tracks:

    • A Kellogg "steam hauler" or "log hauler" train in 1914.
    • Company operated three mills: The Polar Mill, Antigo Hoop & Stave Mill and the T.D. Kellogg Mill also in Antigo.


Laona & Northern Railway Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • Tracks
    • About 1905 a branch line was constructed from Silver Lake in Forest County (T36N-R14E section 35) 15 miles southwest into Langlade County.
    • Located in T33N-14E (North Wolf River) (Ada Lake area)
    • The Silver Lake Branch abandoned in 1942.


Marinette, Tomahawk & Western Railroad Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • See Milwaukee Logging Lines
  • Tracks
    • In 1901 MT&W laid 19.25 miles of track from Grundy to McInness.
    • In 1901 MT& W sold track to the CMSTP&P.
    • In 1905 CMSTP&P extended track from McInnes south 1.55 miles.
    • In 1906 CMSTP&P extended track 6.33 miles to Kalinke.
    • In ? removed tracks.


Milwaukee Road Logging Lines

    Langlade County History
  • Tracks North to South direction.
    • T31N-R9E Ackley (West), sections 19, 30, 31, 32, Doering to McInnes to Kalinke branch line.
    • Spurs: McInness (Russian) 1,403 feet long; Boehm 75 feet long; Bellemyer 918 feet long.
    • Not sure if McInness was in Lincoln or Langlade County? Seems to be right on the county border.
  • Tracks Laid:
    • In 1901 MT&W laid 19.25 miles of track from Grundy to McInness.
    • In 1901 MT& W sold track to the CMSTP&P.
    • In 1905 CMSTP&P extended track from McInnes south 1.55 miles.
    • In 1906 CMSTP&P extended track 6.33 miles to Kalinke.
    • In ? removed tracks.


Morse & Tradewell Lumber Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • This company also operated the Military Road Telephone Company
  • Tracks
    • Had tracks in Ainsworth about 1915. (Van Goethem p139)
    • From a point on the William Rogers track 3 miles south of Nashville Morse & Tradewell constructed their track another 6 miles into Langlade County in 1913. Operations ended in 1920.
    • T34N-R12E Ainsworth
    • They owned one Shay locomotive.


Northern Woodland Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Research References
  • The Railroads of Wisconsin 1827-1937
  • Book: Dessureau, Robert M., History of Langlade County Wisconsin Antigo, WI: Berner Bros. Pub. Co., 1922, p230.
  • Book: Our First One Hundred Years, Town of Peck 1891-1991 Novak, Novak, McDougal, Publisher?, 1990, pp. 56-58.
  • The Antigo Daily Journal, "Vanished Ormsby far from forgotten" December 14, 2007, Hidden Places Series, p. 1.

    Langlade County History
  • Organized in the Village of Ormsby in the Town of Peck in 1900 by William Ormsby from Milwaukee and R.C. Brown of Oshkosh. Reorganized and became the Union Lime Company and then the Ormsby Land & Timber Company.
  • Track was laid from Honzicks Spur to Ormsby in 1901 by the Chicago & North Western. The tracks were removed in 1941
  • It is not clear to me if the company owned any railroad equipment of its own or just shipped with the Chicago & North Western?


The Oconto Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • Former Miner Brothers Lumber Company.
  • Tracks:
    • Operated into Wolf River tracts from 1916 to 1940. (Van Goethem p139)
    • Westerly from Carter, in Forest County, into T33N-R14E (Upper Wolf River).
    • The Oconto Company operated the line until 1923.


Paine/Langlade Lumber Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Research References

    Langlade County History
  • Tracks.
    • Operated from 1900 to 1922. (Van Goethem p139)
    • Tracks run like spider webs in Langlade and Wolf River from 1922 to 1933. (Van Goethem p139)


Underwood Veneer Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • Tracks.
    • Operated trains from 1925 to 1933 northeast from Pearson. (Van Goethem p139)
    • Pearson to a junction with the Wisconsin & Northern Railroad 6.5 miles south of Crandon.
    • Company might have owned their own railroad flat cars which were hauled by the W & N or C & NW?
  • The Underwood Veneer Mill was located in Wausau, Wisconsin.


Wolf & Wisconsin Railroad (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • Sold to the Milwaukee Lake Shore & Western Railroad in 1889.
  • Became part of the Chicago & North Western in 1893 when they purchased the MLS & W.
  • Tracks
    • T34N-R9E Parrish, sections 4, 9, 16, 17, 19 Parrish Junction to Parrish
    • T34N-R9E Parrish, sections 4, 5, 6 Pratt Junction to Harrison (Jeffris).
  • Branch discontinued in 1951.


Wolf River Railroad Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • Organized August 29, 1885.
  • Sold to the Milwaukee Lakeshore & Western Railroad on January 15, 1889.
  • Tracks became the Wolf River Branch from Antigo to White Lake.


Wolf River Valley Railway Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Langlade County History
  • Subsidiary of the Chicago & North Western incorporated June 14, 1906
  • Tracks ran from junction east of Elton to Van Ostrand.
  • Construction of 6.6 miles of tracks from Elton to Wolf River Junction in 1907.
  • Construction of 2 miles of tracks from Wolf River Junction to Van Ostrand completed in 1907.
  • April 30, 1920 C&NW purchases the Wisconsin River Valley Railway.


Yawkey-Bissell Lumber Co. (Logging Railroad)

    Research References
  • Website: Logging Railroads of Wisconsin Langlade County, see number 9
  • Website: Logging Railroads of Wisconsin Forest County, see number 15
  • Book: Dessureau, Robert M., History of Langlade County Wisconsin Antigo, WI: Berner Bros. Pub. Co., 1922, pp. 203-204.
  • Book: Rosholt, Malcolm, The Wisconsin Logging Book 1839-1939 Rosholt House, 1985.
  • Book: Antigo Shoppers Guide & News, The A Pictorial History of the Early Years Langlade County Pediment Publishing, USA, 1006.

    Langlade County History
  • Operated in Langlade and Forest Counties.
  • Tracks:
    • Company was the last logging railroad operating in county and ended in 1944. (Van Goethem p139)
    • Evergreen: southeastern sections.
  • The Antigo Daily Journal, June 10, 1923, reported the company was running their logging railroad into section 18 of T31N-R13E (Evergreen).
  • One logging camp was located in section 26.

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