- 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
One of the features of the Elroy-Sparta trail are the three tunnels, as the trail winds through the bluffs of Monroe County.
This structure goes underneath Summit Ridge.
This tunnel, is by far the longest. It is listed at a length of 3,810 Feet total (or about 7/10 of a mile).
In addition, the tunnel is also the easiest to access. It was built in 1873 at a cost of $247,272; or $65 per foot.
This made it by far the most expensive to construct. In addition, shafts were opened from the top, and later sealed after the construction was done.
The house on the west end of the tunnel is a rest area for the trail, operated by someone by the name of Tunnel Tom.
Meeting Tom was quite the experience, as he had many stories of growing up next to the tunnel.
The tunnel is an important attraction along the trail, and is probably the most popular.
The tunnel is a straight, bored tunnel. Over the years, certain segments have had new liners put in.
A majority of the tunnel is either bare rock or brick interior. The roof is mostly bare rock, leading to trickles of water leaking in.
Because of this trickle of water, there is a complex flume system on the east end of the tunnel. This was constructed in 1909, to drain into Moore Creek.
The west portal is a traditionally built portal, resembling an arch structure. However, the east portal lacks wing walls and uses extremely smooth stones.
Similar to the other tunnels, this one has doors that are typically closed between November and March.
The author has ranked this tunnel as being regionally significant, due to the long length
The photo above is looking at the west portal.