Railroads in La Crosse The first railroad to reach La Crosse was the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad in 1858. Through mergers and the like, this line became the Milwaukee & St. Paul and formed the nucleus of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, also known as the Milwaukee Road. It was this line that was granted a charter by Congress to bridge the Mississippi River between La Crosse County, Wisconsin, and Houston County, Minnesota, at a point of the railroad company's choosing in 1872.

The site the Milwaukee Road selected was two miles north of La Crosse but deemed inconvenient to the other minor railroads that would be affected and was not convenient for passenger travel in and from La Crosse. The mayor of La Crosse and the Board of Trade were opposed to this site. The siting of the bridge sparked its own controversy, and ultimately a battle in the United States District Court ensued, essentially between the Secretary of War (Corps of Engineers), the Attorney General, and the Milwaukee Road, but the railroad bridge was completed in November 1876 at the location that the CM&StP selected. It wouldn't be until 1891 that a wagon bridge spanned the Mississippi River at La Crosse, leaving from Mt. Vernon Street without any railroad or streetcar component.

City officials, the Board of Trade and La Crosse residents and capitalists continued to try and attract other railroads to La Crosse in an effort to offer competition and thus help keep shipping and passenger rates low. Eventually four major railroads serviced La Crosse by 1885: Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; Chicago & North Western Railroad; and the Green Bay lines.

Union Depot Debate The devastating fire and subsequent demise of the Milwaukee Road's Cameron House in December 1916 sparked a public debate about having a union passenger depot in La Crosse. The Wisconsin Railroad Commission was also involved in the discussion over many years. It became evident that such a station would likely be located in North La Crosse rather than the convenient downtown area so that the big and powerful Milwaukee Road would not have to back their trains into La Crosse.

Resolutions in the collection show the dissatisfaction of this idea with business owners through petitions. Finally the issue was officially dead in 1925. Following this decision, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad wasted no time in putting through plans for a new passenger depot on La Crosse's North Side on St. Andrew's Street, the site of the Amtrak station today (2021) to replace the "shack" that was hastily constructed after the fire while the debate of a union station raged on.

Refer to the related materials section of the finding aid for a list of suggested further reading on this topic of railroads and railroading in La Crosse.

Streetcars in La Crosse The La Crosse Horse Railway Company was organized in 1868 but apparently never got off the ground. However, the first streetcars were pulled by horses. It wasn't until 1893 when the entire route was electrified. The La Crosse Common Council passed an ordinance regarding the operation of street railways November 1878. The first company was the La Crosse Street Railway Company and the major goal was to connect the North Side with the South Side of La Crosse. The first route in 1879 was from 3rd and Main streets, over the Plank Road (the first Causeway), up to Mill Street (now Copeland Avenue) and to Windsor Street, a distance of two or three miles. By 1888 an extension on the northern part of the route accommodated the workers employed at the Chicago, Burlington & Northern Railway (CB&Q) roundhouse and shops.

Another streetcar line was organized as the La Crosse City Railway Company and recognized by Council in July 1881. Their goal was to build in downtown and then south on 4th Street to Gund's Brewery. Eventually the two lines merged. Later names of the streetcar lines are the Wisconsin Railway Light & Power Company, the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company and the La Crosse Transit Company, all private companies owning and operating a public utility. A short line railroad called the La Crosse & Onalaska Street Railway or Short Line Railway also carried passengers to and from La Crosse.