Railroad towns boom, then fade

Engine No. 7 of the Foster railrway line stops at the Fairchild station. For a number of years, the engine pulled four cars and a caboose along a line from Owen to mondovi and up to Cleghorn. Its owner, N. C. Foster, later sold his property and the line eventually became part of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad system. Rails from Fairchild to Mondovi have since been removed.

     Names like Mentor, Bright, Tioga, Scott, Rickart and Strader don't appear on railroad timetables these days. But about 50 years ago they were daily stops on small rail lines in the he region.
     The old railroads, three of them gone from the scene were organized by Nathaniel Caldwell Foster, once on of the area's foremost businessmen.
     At one time there wee the Chicago, Fairchild and Eau Claire River Line, the Fairchild and Northwestern and the Sault St. Marie and Southwestern lines all headquartered at Fairchild.
     The final page in the he story of these area lines ended last summer with the discontinuance of the railway from Fairchild through Osseo, Eleva, Strum and Mondovi. it was at one time the old Sault Ste. Marie and Southwestern Line before becoming part of the Chicago and Northwestern.

Started in 1876

     History of these lines dated to about 1876 when N. C. Foster, who was born in Oswego, N. Y. came to Fairchild and started logging operations. According to reports, the community was first known as Grubtown then as Pedrick's Mill before becoming known as Fairchild.
     Foster not only started the first major sawmill operation there but was instrumental in organizing stores, a community hall, a bank and an number of other businesses.
      He was described as a wealthy eccentric with a passion for trains and a lumber baron with a penchant for building railroads, all with entirely his own funds without government help or land grants.

First in 1879

     His first railroad was built in 1879 when he started the Chicago, Fairchild and Eau Claire River Line as a tramway. the road used cars with concave wheels pulled by horses over a wooden track made from timber along the right-of-way.
     The transition to steam and iron rails was made about 1880 when 23-pound iron rails were installed. It was primarily for logging and was not recognized as a common carrier line. It was one of five logging rails in the state at the time.
     In 1883, Foster purchased logging operations of W. T. Price and R. M. Foresmen north of Fairchild. The purchase included seven miles of track.

Four locomotives

     Rolling stock in 1894 consisted of four locomotives, one combination passenger coach, one box care and 45 flatcars. There were also two sleeping cars and two diners for camp purposes only.
     Daily salaries on the first logging railroad were: engineers $2.25, firemen $1.50, section foreman $1.50, trainmen $1.50 and trackmen $1.25.
     The one coach left Fairchild at 6 a.m. and reached the Eau Claire River at 8 a.m. and returned at 4 p.m. arriving in Fairchild about 6 p.m. Although it did stop at various settlements along the way, it was for logging operations only. Foster did not file a report on passengers with the railway commission.

Renamed line

     The Chicago, Fairchild and Eau Claire River line ended in 1896 and 1897. Foster's enterprises were reorganized and the line emerged as the Fairchild and Northwest, a common carrier.
     Foster built a second railroad extending in a westerly direction in the late 1880s. The road was incorporated March 27, 1886, as the Fairchild and Mississippi railroad. Its goal initially was to run to the Burlington line in Buffalo County and the Wisconsin Central in Marathon County. In 1887 it was given a more ambitious name, the Sault Ste. Marie and Southwestern.
     However the only development along the 37 miles of track from Fairchild was to Mondovi. (This is the line recently abandoned by the Chicago and Northwestern).
     Construction to Mondovi was completed in three stages between 1887 and 1890. The line provided mixed train service daily along with carrying American express freight and U. S. mail to the five communities along the route.
     The timetable for the line in 1890 noted that westbound traffic left Fairchild at 1 p.m. arrived at Osseo at 2 p.m., Linderman's at 2:05, Strum at 2:30, Eleva at 3 p.m. and Mondovi at 3:30 p.m. before leaving again at 6 a.m.
     Equipment on this line consisted of 40-pound rail on white pine ties, two locomotives, two coaches and five box cars.

Conductor well paid

     Employees were paid similar to the other line, with one major change. The conductor was considered quite important and was paid a daily wage of $3.85.
     The line offered from Foster's first line because it was constructed through farming country with little commercial timber being hauled.
     Through a stock transaction, Foster lost control of the line. The Omaha line picked up the mortgage and it was transferred to the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha, the front runner of the Chicago and Northwestern system.

Built new line

     Foster apparently wasn't discouraged as in 1898 the Fairchild and Northwestern line was extended into the community of Greenwood and when Foster made a timberland trade with Jon S. Owen at Owen, he extended the line northward from Greenwood.
     It was later extended to Owen where it tied into the Soo Line route from Duluth, thus making a connection from Duluth to the Omaha through Foster's railroads.
     Emphasis shifted from logging to freight and passenger service. Fares were reduced from five to four cents a mile and the trip from Fairchild to Owen took two hours with stops at Mentor, Tiogo, Owego, Willard, Greenwood, Shilling Station, Coxie and Bright.
     Foster extended his railroad holdings in 1910, planning a line from Fairchild to Caryville on the Chippewa River. In 1911 he won a court battle against opposition from the Omaha to carry out his plans and thus the Fairchild and Northwestern line was started. It was Foster's second crack at a dream to link up the state lines through his system.
     Construction started in 1912 and by 1914 the line was completed as far as Cleghorn with the first stop west of Fairchild at Hay Creek.

Change town's name

     Residents of Emmett were so happy to have rail service they renamed the town from Emmett to Foster as it's known today.
     On Aug. 18, 1914, residents of Cleghorn, named after Civil War veteran, J. C. Cleghorn, were so elated that they built a depot, a lumber yard and stock years. A hotel, dance hall, garage, blacksmith shop and restaurant were added.
     However, no additional work westward was completed and the rail line ended there.
     An old timetable lists stops at Hay Creek, Rickart, Strader, Scott, Valley View, Foster, Allen and Cleghorn. That was the closest Foster's line came to Eau Claire.
     Hard times fell on the lines as logging on the cut-over property drew to a close. The Clark County line ran over sandy soil and there was little agriculture produce to be transferred.
     During World War I, Foster's lines were the shortest railways in the country to be operated by the U. S. Railroad Administration.
     The Central Wisconsin railway took over the Fairchild and Northwestern in 1920 but suffered a financial loss and ceased operations in October of 1924. The rails were removed.
     In 1925 the Fairchild and Northeast lines left the Foster family ownership and a group of Chicago businessmen took over. However, five years later on Oct. 30, 1930, the railroad ceased to operate.

--- taken from research by William O'Gara

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