Madison station (Chicago and North Western Railway)

Madison station

Company type	Former railway station
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1871
Defunct	1965
Fate	Closed; repurposed as office space by Madison Gas and Electric
Headquarters	Madison, Wisconsin , United States
Owner	Madison Gas and Electric (since 1965)

Madison station was once an active railroad facility in Madison, Wisconsin, serving both passenger and freight trains operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW). Passenger operations ceased in 1965, after which the station along with the freight depot were acquired by Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) and subsequently refurbished for office purposes. Both structures are recognized as contributing elements within the National Register of Historic Places East Wilson Street Historic District. Nearby, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) ran a parallel route featuring its own passenger depot, which remained in service longer than the C&NW facility.

Initial depots

Madison’s first railroad was the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, the forerunner of the Milwaukee Road, which established a depot on the city's west side in 1854. The Chicago and North Western extended its line into Madison from the south in 1864, crossing Monona Bay, with its initial passenger station at this location opening in 1871. At first, C&NW aimed to create a joint union station with the Milwaukee Road; however, Milwaukee Road declined and instead built its own nearby depot known as East Madison.

Madison evolved into a junction point for C&NW routes heading north toward Baraboo and Minneapolis, with additional lines to Lancaster and Milwaukee completed during the early 1880s. In 1885, a new station was constructed on this site that included integrated hotel and dining amenities.

Present depot

After Milwaukee Road opened a new depot in West Madison, C&NW planned a significantly larger station with an estimated cost of $500,000. Despite backing from Madison’s municipal authorities, opposition arose from local businesses and residents against closing the Blount Street crossing to enlarge platforms, causing legal disputes that delayed progress for about ten years before revised plans were finalized.

The reduced-scale station was inaugurated in 1910 at a cost of $250,000, with the Blount Street crossing remaining operational. A freight depot was also erected around 1908 just northwest of the passenger station. By 1915, this station had become a bustling hub serving both local routes and named passenger trains including the Duluth–Superior Limited, The Mountaineer, and The Viking. The Victory and Viking provided connections between Chicago and Minneapolis via Madison through Janesville, while the faster Twin Cities 400 bypassed Madison by way of Milwaukee but linked at Wyeville.

With the advent of streamlined trains, Madison was served by routes such as the Minnesota 400 (later renamed Dakota 400), Rochester 400 (later called Rochester Special), and Duluth-Superior Limited. During their peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s, the Minnesota 400 and Dakota 400 extended service as far west as Rapid City, South Dakota. The station also accommodated special trains catering to University of Wisconsin football events.

Following World War II, growing competition from automobiles and airplanes caused intercity rail travel to decline. The Rochester 400 discontinued service on July 23, 1963, leaving only an unnamed local train to Chicago running until June 21, 1965. That same month, Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) purchased both passenger and freight stations for $390,000. MGE moved its headquarters there in 1983, undertaking interior renovations while preserving the historic exterior facade. The surrounding area was designated as part of the East Wilson Street Historic District in 1986, with this property added to the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places in 1989.

Site description

Constructed in 1910, the station functioned as a partial stub end terminal featuring two through tracks extending westward. This configuration allowed terminating tracks at Madison to be segregated, thereby alleviating congestion. Nevertheless, due to the geographical layout of Madison, trains from Milwaukee were required to execute a reverse movement to access the northern route toward Minneapolis. The building, designed by Frost & Granger, the architects behind Chicago’s Chicago and North Western Terminal, is a two-story edifice showcasing neoclassical elements constructed from Bedford stone, reflecting the architectural style of its Chicago counterpart.

Adjacent to the station, the freight depot located at Blair and Railroad Streets is a two-level red brick structure distinguished by its large arched windows. To the east of the station stood a roundhouse, historically significant for a steam locomotive boiler explosion in 1898. The two Chicago and North Western tracks crossed a single Milwaukee Road track through an unusual diamond crossing situated within Blair Street’s grade crossing. Presently, only one track remains active, managed by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad.

External links

• Madison, Wisconsin Vintage Rail Photos – TrainWeb (Part 1)
• Madison, Wisconsin Vintage Rail Photos – TrainWeb (Part 2)