Frequently Asked Questions
These questions and answers are taken from the comments and replies on our YouTube videos.
The Big Picture
Is the railway open to the public, and how can I arrange a visit?
We're a private hobby railway, mainly for our volunteers, contributors, friends, and families. We occasionally announce riding days through our Facebook group. If you'd like to visit or help, contact one of the group admins so we can discuss arrangements.
Where is the railway, and what does Eau Galle refer to?
We're in Eau Galle township in western Wisconsin, south of the Baldwin/Woodville area. That's where our name comes from.
What is the purpose of the railway?
We're building and enjoying a private hobby railway, preserving and restoring old equipment along the way. We carry guests and use the railway itself to move the supplies and materials needed to keep building and maintaining it.
How long is the railway, and how long does a ride take?
So far we've laid about 2.8 miles of track, including yard and shop track. A typical ride around the front loop and up to the back loop and back is about 3.5 miles and takes 30 to 45 minutes depending on how fast we want to go, and whether or not we want to stop for a few minutes on the top of the hill.
Who works on the railway, and how can I volunteer?
Our team includes volunteers, friends, family, and a few paid contractors. If you'd like to help, contact an admin through our Facebook group or use the email in our channel's About section so we can discuss your skills and arrangements.
Cost and Funding
How is the railway funded?
At this time the railway is basically a privately funded family hobby. The sale of a software company helped finance the project. We've also benefited immensely from a tremendous amount of volunteer help and donated equipment and materials. We are beginning to bring in some revenue from YouTube advertising and merchandise sales.
How much does building the railway cost?
We've generally estimated about $250,000 per mile for track materials, including rail, ties, spikes, joint bars, hardware, and ballast. That doesn't include labor, land, locomotives, other rolling stock, switches, buildings, tools, or construction equipment.
Our Property
How large is the railway property?
We started with 80 acres in 2021 and since then we've grown the property to 200 acres.
Who owns the neighboring crop fields?
Our family owns the crop land and leases it to a local farmer.
Are goats still being used to control brush and buckthorn?
The goats gave us mixed results, and for now at least we've stopped using them. We had to pay to bring them in, and much of our buckthorn was too tall for them to reach, so we've moved to other control methods.
Rolling Stock
Where did the locomotives and rolling stock come from?
Our 10 ton Hunslets are 1969 locomotives from the nickel mines in Manitoba, Canada. Our two taller 5 ton Plymouth locomotives came from the Badger munitions factory in Baraboo Wisconsin. Our six large side-dump dirt cars came from Palmetto Brick. We made our two logging cars by modifying two old side dump dirt cars. The five flatcars came from the Baraboo ammunition factory through Rick Rowlands. We built our work car on an old magazine car frame from Atlas Powder. We built our passenger cars from scrap except for the trucks that came from old Baraboo flatcars.
How much do your locomotives weigh?
Our Hunslets weigh about ten tons. The Plymouths weigh about five tons.
Why doesn't the railway use a hopper or ballast-dump car
We've considered building a ballast-dump car many times, but other work always seems to take priority. Since we use actual railroad ballast (made of large, sharp granite) we believe controlling and limiting the outflow would be very challenging on a small scale such as ours.
Why does the railway use link-and-pin couplers and occasionally a long coupling bar?
Our old industrial equipment came with link-and-pin couplers. We'd consider suitable knuckle couplers if we could find enough at an affordable price. The long coupling bar, or 'rooster,' keeps 30- and 40-foot rail loads on our 20-foot flatcars clear of the locomotive.
How do the locomotives transmit power to the wheels?
Our Hunslets and Plymouth locomotives are diesel-hydraulic.
Will the railway eventually get a steam locomotive?
We would consider purchasing a 3-foot-gauge steam locomotive if the right opportunity and price come along. We'd prefer to host someone else's locomotive where they maintain it and operate it on our track.
Railroad Design & Layout
What track gauge does the railway use, and how did you choose that gauge?
We use 36-inch (3-foot) narrow-gauge track. Our first two locomotives were already 36-inch gauge, and we started with a smaller property. The 36 inch gauge equipment is big enough to ride in and feel like a real railroad, but compact enough to suit our curves, grades, ties (recylcled gaurd rail timbers), and lighter rail.
Will more track, loops, or passing sidings be added?
We've discussed more track, a passing siding, and changes to the lower loop. There's no shortage of projects we'd like to tackle.
Does the railway use spring switches or allow trains to trail through switches?
We do use spring switches. However, we don't generally allow trailing through switches because of how light most of our cars are.
Will the railway ever add a station or depot?
We have been thinking about building a station or depot. We're also always on the lookout for a suitable old building we could move onto the property.
Will the railway install working crossing signals?
We'd love to have them if someone wanted to donate them. It's probably not something that we'd want to spend a lot of money on.
Is there a map of the railway online?
Yes, we have a track-layout image on our website at egsr.us. You can open the image in a new tab to see it larger.
Track Construction
Why is most track laid without tie plates?
Cost and availability are the main reasons. We believe our light equipment and limited use can work adequately with screw spikes, and we've used or reserved the plates we have for places such as crossings. We'd be interested in more plates for 40-pound rail if we could find them at an affordable price.
What weight of rail is used?
We use 40-pound-per-yard rail for all of our mainline track. We also have a supply of salvaged 30- and 35-pound rail we may use for future yard tracks or sidings.
What are the sleepers/ties made from, and are they treated?
We use recycled highway guardrail timbers as ties. They were pressure-treated for ground contact before their highway use.
Why screw spikes rather than driven spikes?
We use screw spikes installed with impact wrenches. They're a practical, affordable choice for our relatively hard recycled guardrail timbers, and they've worked well for us so far.
What size are the ties, and how far apart are they spaced?
Our recycled guardrail timbers are 6 by 8 inches, and we space them two feet on center. Their lengths vary. Using mixed lengths saves sorting and cutting costs and avoids creating lots of treated-wood offcuts.
Why build the track piece by piece instead of laying prefabricated panels?
Much of our track is curved, so making panels for the different curves would be very complicated. If we used standard length sticks the panels would also be VERY large and VERY heavy. 30 or 40 feet long and weigh 3000 to 4000 pounds. Building the track piece by piece works well for us and also lets us stagger the joints.
How fast can the crew lay track, and how many people are needed?
On prepared roadbed, we can typically lay about 300 feet with an experienced crew. Our record is 420 feet in one day. Two or three people who know the work plus three or four willing helpers can be an efficient crew. Clearing trees, grading, drainage, and preparing the route take a lot of additional time.
Where does the railway buy its rail? Is it new or salvaged?
We've bought almost all our rail from Harmer Steel Products Co., working with Patti Flowers. We've purchased both used and new rail but the vast majority of our rail is salvaged from the The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway. They upgraded from 40lb rail to 65lb rail in 2017. So even though the rail was made in 1890 and 1896, since it was a cog railway there was very little wear on rails.
What keeps ties and rails from sliding while a curve is being formed?
The weight of the ties and their friction against the sharp ballast underneath help hold the track in place while we form the curve.
Why are the rail joints staggered?
We prefer staggered joints because we believe they give a smoother ride, reduce stress concentrated at the joints, and improve stability on our many curves.