Train talk with the owners of Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, Greg and Mardell Vreeland:

This track was actually built in 1879. It's primarily the reason Spooner exists.

At one time, 22 passenger cars a day went through Spooner and at one time 75% of people in town worked for the RR.

The Chicago NW RR abandoned tracks in 92. We leased in in 97, operating passenger trains ever since.

We are the sole user of the track. We have 20 miles, 40 miles total round-trip of track.

Today we are taking a group on a lunch excursion train ride... 2.5 hours and during the ride our group will be having lunch as they travel throughout the north woods.

We do everything from hour 1/2 sightseeing excursions to full sit down dinner trains. We do special events. We do train robberies in July where we have gunslinging robbers that ambush the train. Coming up the last weekend in Sept. we have our largest event. The Great Pumpkin Train where we take people on a 30 minute ride to our pumpkin patch for activities and then this year we're adding a lot of new events. Dec. 31st will be a new years eve train with fireworks, champaign, a really fun night out.

We have an actual chapel in a rail car. We based it off of the original chapel cars that traveled across the U.S. In the late 1800s. Of the original 13, only three are in existence. We based ours off the original and we are the only active chapel car in service.

I met him and that's how I got into railroading. Never in a million years did I expect to be railroading!

I actually grew up in the business in Duluth MN. Volunteered since I was a teen and literally grew up in this passenger train business.

I like to build I like to take old RR cars and reconstruct them.

The cars we start with are akin to 57 chevy abandoned all rusted out, totally bare. We bring them back. Takes about a year to restore them.

It's a lot of work. We are completely responsible for the RR. We have to do the road and highway crossing. We generally rebuild crossings every year, cut the brush, cook on board.

The kitchen is about size of house kitchen. We prepare food 150 kitchen. Every trip people poke head in and astounded we can do it. Everything well thought out... organized. choreographed dance.. same thing serving. as you witnessed people running up and down aisles and getting it done in a very organized manner.

This year our goal was totally repainting the train set in the lovely orange. We kind of have pumpkin fever around here so we have a tendency to go toward orange.

It kind of gives you this little glimmer of your preserving a little piece of history.

The great thing about these passenger RRs is the sense of nostalgia. The older folks they of course remember riding. The younger folks grew up watching them on TV. Kids naturally look to them.

That's what it's about-- the looks on people's faces as they enjoy the fruits of our labors.

For a link to the railroad website, look under "related links" below this story.