by Peter Fetterer

The railroads of Sheboygan County have left behind a legacy of stories … some tragic, some humorous, and some almost unbelievable.  The stories bear testimony to the men and women who worked on the early rail lines that served the county … the engineers, firemen, brakemen and conductors who ran the trains … the shop men and track gangs who kept them running … the station agents, freight handlers and railroad officials supporting the operations, and the passengers and hobos who rode the rails.

The railroaders working these lines for nearly 150 years and the passengers riding their trains have been an integral part of our history. These are some of their stories … tales from the rails of Sheboygan County.