Title: Earl W. Reiger Railroad Collection
Inclusive Dates: 1879-1993

Creator:

• Reiger, Earl W., 1912-1993

Call Number: Platteville Mss AW

Quantity: 1.2 c.f. (3 archives boxes)

Repository:

Housed at the Southwest Wisconsin Room and Area Research Center, Ullsvik Hall, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Platteville Southwest Wisconsin Room / Platteville Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

A research collection compiled by Earl W. Reiger involving Kickapoo Valley Railroad history. Built between 1889 and 1892, the 52-mile line connected Wauzeka and La Farge, Wis., operated in Crawford, Richland, and Vernon counties until 1939, and was sequentially managed by Kickapoo Valley and Northern, Western Wisconsin, and Milwaukee Road. Reiger organized his research into eight notebooks and by subject headings thereunder. Those headings have been retained in their orginal order and contain information transcribed from several Kickapoo region newspapers; and photocopies of plat books, photographs, local histories, and various government documents. Also present is information on Wauzeka, Reiger's birthplace, as well as a folder of similar material on the Fennimore to Woodman Narrow Gauge Railroad, a 92-mile branch of the Chicago-Northwestern operating between 1878-1926.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-pltv00aw

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Earl Reiger began researching Kickapoo Valley Railroad history during his retirement without intention to publish his work. Born in Wauzeka, Wisconsin on May 12, 1912, Reiger attended local schools and earned a bachelor of science degree from Platteville State Teachers College. Reiger then taught in Wauzeka and Eastman elementary schools and in Prairie du Sac and Portage high schools. During World War II, he served as a medical technician in the Pacific. Taking advantage of the G.I. bill, he earned a Ph.D. in general science and continued teaching in Waukegan and Glen Brook, Illinois. Reiger completed his career at Elgin Junior College and retired in 1977. Moving to Spring Green, Wis. to live with family members, he conducted his railroad research until his death on November 12, 1993.

Historical notes on the Kickapoo Valley Railroad

1889 June 4	Incorporated as The Kickapoo Valley & Northern Ry.
1892 May 30	Began service to Soldiers Grove
1896 October 1	Began service to Readstown
1897 August 30	Began service to Viola
1897 October 11	Began service to La Farge
1899 November 25	Incorporated as Wisconsin Western Railroad
1903 March 1	Became Kickapoo Branch of C.N,&St.P.Ry.
1939 August 15	Abandoned

Acquisition Information

Presented by Dorothy G. Reiger, Spring Green, Wis., 1994. Accession Number: M94-370

Processing Information

Processed by Gayle Martinson, 1996.

Box   1 Folder   1	The Fennimore to Woodman Narrow Gauge Railroad
	Notebooks
	Notebook, Vol. I
Box   1 Folder   2	Foreword
Box   1 Folder   3	Division Titles
Box   1 Folder   4	Chicago & Tomah R.Y.
Box   1 Folder   5	Chronology of Important Events
Box   1 Folder   6	Acquiring the Right-of-Way
Box   1 Folder   7	Construction
Box   1 Folder   8	K. V. & N. Years [Kickapoo Valley & Northern]
Box   1 Folder   9	Locomotive Explosion
	Notebook, Vol. II
Box   1 Folder   10	Extending the Line
Box   1 Folder   11	The Lawton Tunnel
Box   1 Folder   12	Wisconsin Western Years
Box   1 Folder   13	Milwaukee Road Years
Box   1 Folder   14	Excursions
Box   1 Folder   15	Kickapoo Valley Celebrations
Box   1 Folder   16	Special Trains
Box   1 Folder   17	Passenger Train
	Notebook, Vol. III
Box   1 Folder   18	Time Tables
Box   1 Folder   19	Railroad Headquarters
Box   1 Folder   20	Kickapoo Railroad Officers
Box   1 Folder   21	Some Railroad Office Records
Box   1 Folder   22	Shipping Business
Box   1 Folder   23	Special Sidings
Box   1 Folder   24	Railroad Crossings
Box   2 Folder   1	Bridges
Box   2 Folder   2	Telephone and Telegraph Lines
Box   2 Folder   3	Operating Personnel
Box   2 Folder   4	Section Men
Box   2 Folder   5	Civil Engineer
Box   2 Folder   6	Machine Shops
	Notebook, Vol. IV
Box   2 Folder   7	Terminal Yards
Box   2 Folder   8	Engine Houses
Box   2 Folder   9	Locomotives and Rolling Stock
Box   2 Folder   10	Depots
Box   2 Folder   11	Water Tanks
Box   2 Folder   12	Financial Structuring
Box   2 Folder   13	As Others See Us
Box   2 Folder   14	Complaints
Box   2 Folder   15	Improvements
Box   2 Folder   16	Feudin' and Fussin'
Box   2 Folder   17	Humor
Box   2 Folder   18	The Horse Meets the Iron Horse
Box   2 Folder   19	Accidents
Box   2 Folder   20	Fatalities
	Notebook, Vol. V
Box   2 Folder   21	Floods
Box   2 Folder   22	Fires
Box   2 Folder   23	Snow and Ice
Box   2 Folder   24	Robberies
Box   2 Folder   25	Wrecks
Box   2 Folder   26	Railway Express
Box   2 Folder   27	U.S. Mail
Box   2 Folder   28	The Last Passenger Train
Box   2 Folder   29	Abandonment
Box   2 Folder   30	The Last Train
	Notebook, Vol. VI
Box   2 Folder   31	Retiring the Line
Box   2 Folder   32	From Whence It Came
Box   3 Folder   1	Human Interest, Part I
Box   3 Folder   2	Human Interest, Part II
Box   3 Folder   3	Memories
Box   3 Folder   4	In Retrospect
Box   3 Folder   5	Maps
	Notebook, Vol. VII
Box   3 Folder   6	Village Descriptions
Box   3 Folder   7	Biographies
Box   3 Folder   8	Pictures
Box   3 Folder   9	Miscellaneous
	The Kickapoo River Watershed
	Hotels
	Corporate Logos
	Kickapoo Poetry
	Chautauqua
	Train Orders [not developed]
	The V.I.P.'s Depart [not developed]
	Sand Pits and Rock Quarries [not developed]
	Notebook, Vol. VIII
Box   3 Folder   10-11	Legal Documents