- 1848: Began grading 17 miles from Beloit to Magnolia, Wisconsin by the Beloit and Madison Railroad
- 1860: 17 miles completed from Beloit to Magnolia, Wisconsin by the Beloit and Madison Railroad
- 1870: 29 miles completed from Winona Junction, Wisconsin to Winona, Minnesota by the La Crosse, Trempealeau and Prescott Railroad
- 1870: 129 miles started from Madison to Winona Junction, Wisconsin by the Baraboo Air Line Railroad
- 1871: Chicago & North Western Railway acquires the Baraboo Air Line Railroad
- 1873: 129 miles completed from Madison to Winona Junction, Wisconsin by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1874: Chicago & North Western Railway acquires the Beloit and Madison Railroad
- 1877: Chicago & North Western Railway acquires the La Crosse, Trempeleau and Prescott Railroad
- 1886: 4 miles completed from Meadery to La Crosse, Wisconsin by the Chicago & North Western Railway
- 1896-99: Segment between Evansville and Elroy double tracked and improved
- 1953-56: Double track mostly removed
- 1964: 33 miles abandoned from Elroy to Sparta, Wisconsin and purchased by Wisconsin DNR for future trail use
- 1965: First rail-trail in the United States opens between Elroy and Sparta
- 1976: Sparta to Winona and Meadery to La Crosse segments abandoned. Wisconsin DNR acquires land for trail use
- 1977: Beloit to Evansville segment abandoned
- 1979: Winona to Trempeleau segment acquired by Wisconsin DNR
- 1985: Reedsburg to Elroy segment abandoned and acquired by Wisconsin DNR
- 1980s: Onalaska to Trempeleau segment opens as Great River State Trail
- 1980s: Onalaska to Sparta segment and La Crosse Branch open as La Crosse River River State Trail
- 1993: 400 State Trail opens between Reedsburg and Elroy
- 1995: Chicago & North Western purchased by Union Pacific Railroad
- 1996: Union Pacific leases the Fitchburg-Reedsburg segment to the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad
- 1999: Fitchburg-Evansville segment abandoned, sold to City of Fitchburg and City of Oregon
- 2014: State of Wisconsin purchases the Madison-Reedsburg line from Union Pacific Railroad
- 2014: Wisconsin & Southern Railroad begins operations from Fitchburg to Oregon
- 1996-Present: Wisconsin & Southern Railroad operates the Madison-Reedsburg line
- 2014-Present: Wisconsin & Southern Railroad operates the Fitchburg-Evansville line, although it is still out of service
06/26/21
Located east of Bangor, this small deck girder bridge crosses an unnamed creek.
While the current bridge was built in 1914, the steel span is recorded as being older. It is unknown where it may have come from, but a number of similar spans were always recycled from second tracks, sidings and bridges being filled by a culvert. During a 1918 valuation, the steel was rated at 80 percent condition, which following a standard formula for calculating condition, correlates to the year 1904.
The current bridge features this steel deck girder span, set onto concrete abutments. The bridge is twinned, consisting of four girder lines. It appears that these are original to the bridge, and the bridge was not later modified.
Immediately to the west, an identical bridge still exists. These small bridges were popular for crossing ditches, due to the ease of construction.
Overall, the bridge appears to remain in excellent condition. In addition, the former Milwaukee Road (now Canadian Pacific) has a bridge immediately to the north, although it was replaced in the 1980s.
The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.