Towers to different eras Sitting forlornly amongst the growing soybeans of a farmer’s field is a concrete coaling tower on the abandoned Chicago and North Western “Ridgerunner Line” at Montfort, Wisconsin, on May 21, 2014. Now surrounding the tower and making it look diminutive are new towers erected to harness the power of wind. From coal power in the 20th Century, to wind power in the 21st… The original rail line here was constructed 3-foot narrow gauge in 1878-79, but quickly standard-gauged shortly after C&NW control in 1881, except for a 16.5-mile branch from Fennimore to Woodman which operated as narrow gauge for another 40 years. Yes, there was a dual-gauge (three rail, 3-foot gauge and 4-foot 8.5 inch gauge track) C&NW terminal in Fennimore! The C&NW finally abandoned the “Ridgerunner Line” through here in 1980.
