"鈥ounting every mile of railroad track that leads me back鈥�" is part of the lyric from that old popular tune, "Sentimental Journey", a song about yearning for and returning home. In the day it was written the railroad was the most likely means a person would use for a long trip back home, and there is just something about the remembrance of railroading days and travel that evokes a feeling of romance in us. Song鈥檚, movies, even mystery novels that center on their use of a train and its passengers have unique appeal to the public. Collecting railroad memorabilia continues to be a growing interest worldwide. Who wouldn鈥檛 like to take a trip on the 鈥淥rient Express鈥�?
Calmar, at one time, was a major railroad hub of the Milwaukee Road between Marquette and Mason City. Passenger trains ran on this line up until some time in the 1960鈥檚. These passenger trains ran between Madison, Wisconsin and into South Dakota. At Madison, there were connections with other passenger trains and going into Milwaukee and Chicago. In addition to hauling passengers, these trains handled express shipments for all the stops along the line. There was also a direct line running northwest to Austin, Minnesota.
Twice a day, there would be meat trains from the Hormel plant in Austin, heading for Chicago and points east. One train ran in the early morning hours and the other ran in the afternoon. There were trains transporting meat from the Morrell Plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. These trains received top priority over other trains running on the line because, even though the merchandise was in refrigerated cars, it was very important that they were not delayed. Calmar also had livestock yards where cars hauling livestock could be spotted on the track and the animals unloaded for feed and water. This procedure was required to be done on the line every 24 hours, and Calmar was one of the stations that had these facilities.
The station in Calmar was staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year. There was a station agent, clerks and four operators to handle the station duties. The operators received train orders for each passing train and for the trains originating in Calmar.
In 1864, the McGregor-Western Railroad began acquiring land and word spread that the railroad would run through the town of Calmar. This was exciting news to a relatively undeveloped town, as it would make Calmar a central market place. Also, it would be the direct and only line between Chicago and the Twin Cities, as there was no line existing in Wisconsin to join these points. Previously, farmers and businessmen traveled 40 to 50 miles to river towns to purchase supplies, but this could change all that.
Fortune smiled on Calmar, in 1868, when it became the eastern terminus and junction with the main line for the I & D branch of the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, which was built as far as New Hampton, Iowa. This added value to Calmar鈥檚, location, and in 1869, the train terminal was transferred from Conover, Iowa to Calmar. Decorah was happy and held a sizeable celebration at Luther College, which was now a few years old and going strong. The stagecoach was no longer needed and the county seat had access to railroad facilities.
The facilities in Calmar included a well-equipped freight depot, and a passenger depot with a hotel. Passengers could get meals and lodging as well as train tickets at the hotel. Plans for the 10-stall roundhouse were completed in 1911. Once this was built, large engines could be switched to fall another direction by use of the turntable. There were also pits within the roundhouse that allowed workers to do repairs under the engines. East of the roundhouse, a tall coal chute provided fuel for the steam engine fires, and a nearby watertower and pumphouse kept water readily available for direct connection to the engine.
In 1902, there were two passenger trains and two freight trains running daily between Calmar and Minnesota. A similar load ran on the east-west line that linked Chicago and Rapid City, South Dakota. A freight and passenger train ran daily south, through Jackson Junction to Cedar Rapids. Four trains ran daily between Calmar and Decorah.
It is to this scenic spot that Norwegians Thore P. Skotland and his family came one delightful day in the spring of 1850. Perhaps his heart was warmed by a terrain that reminded him of the rugged beauty of Norway. Whatever his reason, he put his roots down in a piece of land two miles north of the town to be know later as Calmar, Iowa on a tract of land called the Rhuben Boe Farm. His descendents still occupy on part of this land. A German settler in the southern part of the township had preceded Skotland, but nothing is known of him.