Projects

Welded Rail Installed At Bardwell, WI on Fox Lake Subdivision — Summer 2004

A WSOR "rail gang" prepares to go to work at Bardwell, installing welded rail on the mainline and siding. WSOR photo.

Bardwell Junction is not a very familiar place to most people, however for the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad, it is one of the busiest corridors on the system. It is located on the WSOR Fox Lake Subdivision, about twenty miles east of Janesville and is part of the strategic line that carries all the freight into and out of Chicago.

Bardwell is a very unique area on the railroad. At this point on the main line, there is a wye that leads to the Elkhorn Subdivision. The wye enables trains to access the sub from either direction. Cities that have rail industries served from the Elkhorn Sub include Elkhorn, Delavan, and Darien.

A view from the County Highway X overpass looking west at Bardwell during the welded rail project. WSOR photo.


Welded rail ready to be moved into place. Note that only one rail is changed at a time to maintain track alignment and allow the track to be back in service by the end of the day. The track toward the top of the photo is the mainline. WSOR photo.
As part of its commitment to upgrade infrastructure, WSOR originally planned this upgrade in 2002, but had to postpone due to other priorities on the railroad. As stated in the WSOR 3-5-7 Plan, the goal is to have the railroad ready to handle larger and heavier cars across the entire system by the year 2010. This will enable 286,000 lb. rail cars to travel over the WSOR system.

The Bardwell rehabilitation project was begun in July of 2004 and completed by the end of October 2004. The project included reconstruction of the siding which exists at Bardwell. The siding is long enough to store sets of grain cars that are often staged here for the Chicago-bound JC to pickup. In addition to tie renewal and addition of new ballast, 80-year-old 90 lb jointed rail was replaced with 112 lb and 133 lb continuous welded rail on both the mainline and siding. The final stage involves more ballast and tamping and surfacing.

Special construction techniques are needed to ensure the track can be placed back in service every day after the rail gang crew is finished. As such, only one rail on each side of the track is completed before the other side is begun.

This upgrade will help make the WSOR ready to handle the new heavier cars that are fast becoming the industry standard. Track improvements are necessary to deliver the level of service shippers demand today. Good rail infrastructure provides greater economic shipping options for many industries who must ship their goods by rail.