The Emergence of Stevens Point as a Railroad Hub
Part two of on ongoing series
By Lucas Jagodzinski
Wisconsin Central completed work on its principal railroad shop in Stevens Point in 1876. Three main components comprised the shop: a machine car shop, a roundhouse and a paint shop. The completion of this project marked the emergence of Stevens Point as the commercial hub for the Wisconsin Central railroad in the region. By 1880, Stevens Point’s railroad hub was responsible for $2,600 dollars in passenger revenue per month and between $4,000 and $5,000 of freight income per month. In addition, Stevens Point’s hub exported around 12.5 million lbs. of freight per month and imported around 2.5 million lbs. of freight per month.
In 1880, 200 employees were employed at the Wisconsin Central’s train shops. That number would balloon to 450 in 1887. From 1876-1881, the machine shop in Stevens Point produced 170 freight cars. The paint shop in Stevens Point oversaw all three of the eventual color changes the Wisconsin Central would undergo. The paint shop in Stevens Point repainted all of the train cars in the company on 3 separate occasions between 1871 and 1889. The hub in Stevens Point also possessed the region’s first train whistle. The whistle is said to have cause many complaints as it was rumored to have been heard as far Waupaca and been known to rattle windows and cause plates to crash off of shelves.
Along with the success of the railroad came a few setbacks. Six fires occurred between 1876 and 1881 at railroad facilities. Most of the fires were the result of wood being the main construction material used in combination with inadequate firefighting capabilities due to lack of water close to the facilities. Two buildings were lost in the fires. A wooden blacksmith shop and the wooden paint shop. Both of these buildings were eventually replaced with stone buildings. Both of which were still in use as of the 1990s. Other upgrades included the building of a new depot in 1882.