Railroads of Wisconsin is a photographic Journey by Mike Danneman that showcases the diversity and beauty of the railroads in Wisconsin. Featuring different companies, liveries, and landscapes, it also captures the challenges and opportunities of running trains in the snowy and cold winters of Wisconsin.

Published in July 2022 by Amberley Publishing and written by Mike Danneman, this soft cover book measures around 23.4 cm x 16.5 cm, and has 96 pages and 180 illustrations. It has a published price of £15.99 although Amberley Publishing currently has it on offer at £14.39, and at the time of writing it can be obtained from Amazon for £12.83.

This book is about American railroads in Wisconsin, a state that has a rich and diverse history of rail transportation. The author is a passionate railroad enthusiast who has captured many stunning photographs of trains and scenery in this region. In this review, I will use the term “railroad” as the book does, instead of the British “railway”.

The book is mainly a collection of photographs, but each one is accompanied by a detailed caption that gives information about the train, the location, the date, and some interesting facts. For example, one caption says “The train is passing milepost 147, and is crossing Morris Street and North 12th Street grade crossing, protected by a quartet of animated wig-wags!”.

That is pure delight in what could have been just page after page of bland photographs. For English readers, a grade crossing is a level crossing, and the wig-wags are the flashing red lights protecting the crossing.

The author’s love for railroads shines through in his captions, which add depth and context to the images. The book also has a brief introduction that gives an overview of the history of railroads in Wisconsin, which once had over 7,500 miles of tracks but now has less than 4,000 miles left, but they provided plenty of interest for Mike Danneman to photograph.

The book shows a variety of trains and locomotives, some of them colourful and eye-catching, while others such as in the top two photographs below are quite subdued. At the bottom left is a typical American wayside signal box, or in American terms, a “tower”. At the bottom right is the only steam locomotive in the book, a Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 hauling a special train near Milwaukee.

At the top left below is a throwback to steam days is an image that depicts a nostalgic scene of a roundhouse with two Burlington Northern diesels and one from the Lake Superior Terminal & Transfer railroad, a small Wisconsin operator. The image at the top right shows five Chicago & North Western diesels crossing a wooden trestle bridge, a common feature of American railroads.

Autumn in Wisconsin, or “fall” in American terms, is a spectacular time of year when the trees display a variety of colours, creating stunning landscapes. One such example is shown at the top left below, where two Burlington Northern locomotives glide beneath a rocky cliff adorned with red and yellow foliage. At the bottom left is a typical scene from a small American town, where a long freight train seems to almost mingle with the children on the sidewalk.

The challenge of operating trains in snowy conditions is evident in the top left photo, where a train crew is shovelling snow from a set of points before proceeding with their journey. The bottom left photo shows Wisconsin Central locomotives wearing liveries that look strikingly similar to EWS Class 66s in the UK. This is because both railroads were once owned by the same company, Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation.

One of the distinctive features of the American railway system is the large loading gauge, which allows for spacious and comfortable passenger carriages. This can be seen in the photo at the top left of an Amtrak train with double-decker carriages. The other photos below show the harsh winter weather conditions that the railways in Wisconsin have to cope with.

The images below show some typical scenes of Wisconsin railroads. At the top left, a family is enjoying ice fishing on a frozen lake, while a Wisconsin Central train speeds by. At the bottom left is a common sight on American railways, where a Canadian Pacific train crosses another line on the level. At the bottom right is another unfamiliar scene, where a level crossing has no gates, only flashing red lights, and a freight train led by Santa Fe and Wisconsin Central locomotives passes over it.

The book is available to purchase from Amazon and from Amberley Publishing.

RailAdvent would like to thank Amberley Publishing for providing it with a copy of the book for review.