Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Courtesy Rock County Ice Age Trail Alliance
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Courtesy Rock County Ice Age Trail Alliance
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Courtesy Rock County Ice Age Trail Alliance
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Courtesy Rock County Ice Age Trail Alliance
Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
JANESVILLE — The Rock County Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance will go back in time in October, offering an informational and walking tour series on the historic route of a tourist-gauge railroad that once ran from Riverside Park to Washington Street near the Memorial Bridge.
Tour participants will hear the story of Norman and Elmer Sandley’s extra-narrow, 15-gauge Riverside & Great Northern Railway that ran for three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge, from 1948 to 1953.
Tours are Saturdays Oct. 4, 11 and 18 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and Sundays Oct. 5, 12 and 19 at 2 p.m. Pre-register online at .
Each tour begins in Riverside Park at the Kiwanis Trailhead/Ice Age Trail sign, near the southern pavilion and artesian well. Street parking is available.
The first part of each tour will be an overview of the railroad’s arrival in Janesville, Norman and Elmer Sandley’s 15-gauge rail vision, the Read Road workshop, and business ventures. Participants should bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on during this portion.
Tour organizers will share their more than 100 photographs, accounts from the men and women who operated, supported, and rode the train, and other artifacts.
Each tour will then be capped by an optional 1.5-mile round trip walk along the former rail bed, to its terminus below Washington Street and Ashland Avenue, on the paved Ice Age Trail. Participants will learn about the location of the turntables, engine house, water tank, and ticket booth. Participants can elect to attend the first part only.
The full experience will last 1.5 to 2 hours.
Tickets are $20 per person or two tickets for $30 with proceeds going towards the maintenance and restoration of the Ice Age Trail in Rock County.
Participants will be asked to check in upon arrival. They’ll be issued a field guide containing photographs, maps, and drawings to be viewed during both portions of the tour.
Participants will be asked to return the field guides at the end of the tour.
Tours will take place rain or shine, except in the case of thunderstorms or high winds.
Each tour is limited to 20 people.
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