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Elkader Depot project is preserving history with train attractions

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The Milwaukee Road Historical Society provided blueprints so the replica Elkader Depot building will be as close to the original design as possible. A June opening is planned.

Larry and Lenny Lerch work on the Elkader Depot building. They hope the space will be loved by both casual visitors and those who love trains as much as the committee members do.

This electric train purchased by the Elkader Depot will be a key feature once it is up and running.

This original coal stove was the first piece put into the Elkader Depot.

This is an historic image of the Elkader Depot, which was torn down in 1974.

By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register

 

The history of the famous “Milwaukee Road” rail line began in 1847, as a local carrier operating out of Milwaukee. By 1874, it had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 

 

It was in 1875 when the railroad first reached Elkader, with the initial train arriving in 1889. Over the following decades, it brought passengers and supplies to Elkader merchants until the line was closed in 1973 and the original depot torn down in 1974, taking a piece of history with it. 

 

Enter Larry Lerch, Elkader native and avid train enthusiast, who has long had a dream to keep that history alive and preserve it for future generations. To say it’s been a long process would be an understatement, but it’s a process Lerch and volunteers like Lenny Lerch, Mary Witt and countless others have dedicated themselves to for the last few decades. 

 

The first of these efforts was in 1989, when Lerch brought an original, Milwaukee Road-built 1949 ribside caboose from Bensenville, Ill., to the Elkader City Park, saving it from being scrapped. In 2015, he added a 1953 boxcar, which was purchased from the army at Fort McCoy, Wis.

 

Together, the two pieces sit on 90 feet of track next to the Elkader Depot. 

 

“I just wanted to save one,” Larry said. Lenny added that it’s about “keeping the history of the railroad that came into Elkader.” 

 

In between those two events, around September 2012, an idea for something else was born: constructing a replica of the original depot located in Elkader. 

 

With an established goal, the Elkader Depot Project began to emerge. Over the course of the last 10 years, the Elkader Depot Committee, with Larry as president, has been fundraising for the project, mostly through hosting an annual model train show and swap meet, selling Christmas wreaths and assorted pies during local events, and accepting donations. 

 

Those efforts lasted several years before construction on the depot building started in September 2019, on land that was donated by Elkader. The Milwaukee Road Historical Society provided Larry with depot blueprints so the replica would be as close as possible to the original design. 

 

This portion of the project, which cost an estimated $100,000, was finished in September 2022. The majority of the work was done by the depot committee’s countless volunteers, in an effort to keep the cost down. Local businesses were hired for aspects of the project the volunteers could not tackle, such as flooring, the ceiling and pouring the concrete. Larry said this decision was made because the committee wanted to “help support this town” as much as possible. 

 

With the building completed, the committee is looking to turn it into a museum for railroad memorabilia, consisting mostly of items related to the Milwaukee Road. The goal is for others to enjoy it and create a destination for tourists and anyone who loves trains as much as committee members do. 

 

When it comes to the items, there’s no shortage of history either. 

 

In the collection is an original telegraph machine donated by the daughter of Claude Paul, the last depot agent in Elkader. There are also old railroad tools, scales, caboose lanterns, model train layouts, a train order board, a desk that came out of the depot in La Crosse and a plethora of pictures. 

 

Many items were donated by people who also value the preservation of history and keeping it alive. Several of the donations have come from people who attended the model train show, showing the impact the event has had. 

 

Other items were sought out by the committee, such as a signal light and an old coal stove which Witt and Larry purchased. It came out of a depot connected to the rail line, though the specific depot escaped Larry’s memory. It’s the very first piece they put into the depot, and work continues on the rest of the displays. 

 

More recently, the committee appeared before the Elkader City Council to discuss a new feature and side project for the depot. It originated in June 2022, when Larry and volunteers traveled to Delaware County to meet good friend Tom Steffen to initially talk about a coal car Steffen was going to donate. During those discussions, an 8-by-6-foot electric train, with five six- to eight-foot cars and almost a quarter mile of train track to go with it, became available, so they purchased it.  

 

“We thought it would be a nice little add-on attraction,” Larry said. 

 

After purchasing the train, Larry and Lenny recalled the effort it took to get the entire set-up back to Elkader, which included the 800-pound train. They emphasized how hot it was during the moving process, which required a pick-up truck, flatbed and multiple days and loads to transport it all. 

 

The purchase, which required the use of limited depot funds, was done because of what the committee believes it can add to the community. 

 

“We thought it was a good investment,” Lenny said. Witt added it would be “good for the community,” due to its uniqueness around the country. 

 

City council members listened intently during the depot presentation, and supported the project. Said Eric Grau, “Nearly all of the towns not on major rivers owe their survival and growth to the railroad. Elkader is no exception. The story of the railroad coming to Elkader is a fascinating one, and I think sharing that history will provide another item in town for visitors and residents alike to enjoy.” 

 

Council member Tony Hauber added, “I support this project because it’s something that crosses the borders between three great city resources: tourist attraction, historical preservation and cultural heritage. It also has a lot of synergy with the adjacent George Maier Rural Heritage Center and Museum.”

 

The electric train, which will eventually be a key showpiece and attraction for the depot, will not just sit idle once it’s fully operational. The committee has every intention of having it run in a loop around the depot and rest in a still-to-be-built shed when it is not running. The shed will also store an original baggage cart that was roughly built in the late 1800s, which is a separate piece to the train. 

 

The timeline for the shed and train is unknown, though the committee is expecting it to be a multi-year project. The main focus is on opening the depot—something committee members hope to achieve by June of this year with a grand opening ceremony. 

 

The depot project is about preserving history, adding something of value to the community and giving people a learning opportunity to explore the history of the Milwaukee Road that once stopped in Elkader so many years ago. 

 

For the committee, trains are an important part of history because, as Witt exclaimed, it was “trains that built the country.” By extension, they helped build Elkader as well.

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