Hard luck Ettrick Line a losing venture

     Transportation became a vital element in the growth of communities as agriculture boomed in Wisconsin around the start of the 20th century.
     Ettrick in Trempealeau County was one of those little towns caught in the middle when the railroads came to this part of the state. One went through Blair, 11 miles to the north, and another went through Galesville, nine miles to the south.
     Seeing the need to move products to market and open ties with the rest of the world, the town, when left off planned rail lines, decided it would have to build its own railroad.
     Citizens began building their own line and decided to link up with the Green Bay and Western line at Blair to gain access to La Crosse.
     The town of Ettrick issued bonds for $100,000 and individuals and groups made investments. In 1915 townspeople had the financing.
      Then, however, World War I broke out and construction costs climbed in wartime. Expense of building a rail line outstripped available capital and the community faced the possibility of forfeiting its bonds.
     Again the community, led by H. F. Closeness, who financed much of the venture himself, raised capital to continue.
      Nearly everyone pitched in on the grading. A major obstacle was making a 100-foot cut through the Blair hills where a grade would have been too steep.
     Women helped by providing food for the workers, and some reportedly worked with shovels and picks. Herman None lost his life on the project in an accident.
     Dec. 26, 1917, just before the default deadline, the first engine traversed the tracks.
     For six years the railroad failed to produce a profit and went into receivership. After three more years the line was still struggling.
     Then in December, 1926 a wreck in the Blair pass put the railroad out of business.
     A year later in 1927, Maurice Casey and Obel Pederson put the line back in operation with an outlay of $20,000. They purchased a diesel engine, a flat car and a cattle car and incorporated as Ettrick Railway Co.
     Highways and better roads were being developed and much of the rail business went to trucking lines and the railway again went out of operation.
     The community paid off its debt in 1937, years after the line closed.
     While it operated it was the shortest independent line in the state and one that cost upwards of $300,000. It finally sold for $7,000 to a Michigan-based company.

Extracted from the Eau Claire Leader Telegram
Special Publication, Our Story 'The Chippewa Valley and Beyond', published 1976
Used with permission.