DARLINGTON — The Lafayette County Historical and Genealogy Society is the owner and operator of the Darlington Depot Museum and Visitor Information Center in Darlington. Over the last few years they have leveraged grant funding and volunteer labor to paint the Depot and its accompanying warehouse, and refreshed the Railroad and other historical displays inside both buildings.  

Now they are working on a project that was started many years ago — the addition of a full-size rail car to the existing set of tracks on the non-trail side of the Depot, for the use and enjoyment of the public, becoming a local history attraction and asset to the community.

Many are unaware that original rails are still beside the Depot on the non-trail side because they are hidden by grass on the Depot property. To prepare the site to display a refurbished train car, they will clear away the soil and grass, temporarily remove the rails and prepare a new bed for the rails to be re-set on new ties. Railroad folks are encouraged to volunteer their expertise in the form of consultation or labor. 

This is a project with many phases including location of a railroad car, purchase of same, transportation to our site and restoration for use. These steps are in the works and LCHGS is asking the public for many types of help. They could use funds, consultation with retired railroad employees regarding history of the trains that served the area, maintenance and restoration, and volunteer labor and donated materials to prepare the site and restore the car. 

There will be many fundraisers held to accomplish this long time dream. Direct donations for this effort can be made by marking the donation as “For Train Car,” and sending to LCHGS at 525 Park Place, Darlington, WI, 53530.  

Volunteers, or questions, are directed to phone the society at 608-776-8340, or email at info@lafayettecohistoricalandgenealogy.com.