Wisconsin NRHS is a chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.
The NRHS was founded in 1935 by a group of rail historians. It has since grown from 40 founding members to include thousands of men and women of all ages and professions in every state and many foreign countries, making it the nation's largest rail preservation and historical society. More information about NRHS may be found at www.nrhs.com.
The Wisconsin Chapter was founded in 1950. Our purpose is to gather, preserve and disseminate information, both historic and current, pertaining to railroading in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest.
The chapter holds membership meetings on the first Friday evening of most months in Fox Point, just north of Milwaukee, and streamed online. Meeting programs are presented by leading local railroad historians, photographers, enthusiasts, and people involved with the railroad industry. Meetings are always open to the public, and no admission fee is charged. If you find yourself aligned with the goals of the chapter, or if you find value in our meeting programs, please consider joining.
Bookmark the chapter's YouTube channel (youtube.com/@NRHSWis) and follow us on Facebook.
Wisconsin Chapter meetings are held on the first Friday of every month (except July & August), at 7:30 p.m., in the lower level meeting room of the North Shore Congregational Church, 7330 North Santa Monica Boulevard in Fox Point, Wisconsin. Click here for a Bing map and directions.
Our meetings are always open to members and anyone who has an interest in railroad history or today's railroad operations. No admission fee is charged.
We stream our meetings via Zoom for the benefit of anyone who cannot attend in-person. To be advised of Zoom connection information, and to receive occasional chapter updates, become a member today.
Upcoming meetings:
Friday, December 5, 2025, 7:30 PM CST - Keith Kohlmann presents “Russ Porter, Consummate Railfan”
MILW 1006 leads a Savanna, Illinois-to-Milwaukee freight around the north wye at Sturtevant, Wisconsin in March 1973. The train is leaving the Southwestern Division and about to enter the Chicago & Milwaukee Division for the final leg of the journey to Milwaukee. Photo by Russ Porter.
Russ Porter distinguished himself as a prolific artist, photographer, modeler, author, historian, and preservationist. His creative artistry has left us with a fascinating record of railroading of the upper Midwest and the Milwaukee area in particular.
Russ photographed Milwaukee Road 79C blasting through the portal at Tunnel City, WI in 1976. Russ was a life-long railfan photographer. Photo by Russ Porter.
Learn about his lifetime of contributions to the railfan hobby through this presentation created by his son, Bob for the NMRA 2025. The presentation will be shown by Keith Kohlmann, who will give expanded coverage of Russ and his work.
Russ Porter's painting of Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha #1 passing the Sturtevant depot in 1935. The painting was inspired by a color slide Russ took at this location in the 1940s. Russ sold prints of this and many other of his paintings. Painting by Russ Porter.
If you are able, please attend in person at our regular meeting venue in Fox Point; doors open before 7:00 pm for social time. Those who cannot attend in person are encouraged to participate remotely, via Zoom. ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to access this event remotely. Connection information will be provided a few days before the program.
Friday, January 2, 2026, 7:30 PM CST - Nona Hill and Clark Johnson present “850,000 Miles by Private Rail Car”
The private railcar Caritas travelled over 850,000 miles throughout North America from its rebirth in 1984 until sold in 2019. Designed to carry 8 guests and a crew of two, it sports an open platform, full kitchen, dining for eight and a lounge with oversized windows. Many of its miles were on freight trains and off scheduled passenger routes. High Iron Travel, which owned the car, focused on “rare mileage” trips – on routes normally inaccessible. High Iron ran seventeen “Explorers’” trips, each extending over 7 days. In addition there were six trips to Mexico and many shorter excursions. In this presentation we will focus on some of the more exotic trips and on the nature of the “mileage collector” clan; our customers who will make enormous efforts to cover the last “100 yards” and how working with the railroads to arrange these adventures has changed (not for the better).
Clark Johnson is a physicist by vocation and a railroader by avocation. His interest in private cars resulted from his desire to cover as much railway trackage as possible. Since much of the North American rail network was “freight service only” he envisaged tacking a private car on freight trains. That worked for a while in the 1980s when his car Caritas started traveling. He found a small cadre of fellow mileage collectors that made special trains possible. The Caritas covered over 850,000 miles throughout North America. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and a Fellow of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers.
Nona Hill’s picture was published in the Wisconsin State Journal before she even had a name. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has served as an officer for both the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers and All Aboard Wisconsin. Both groups are advocates for more and better passenger service in that state. She met Clark Johnson in 1991 on a trip he was operating on the Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad. By 1992 she was part of High Iron Travel, Clark’s life and countless travel opportunities on planes, trains and automobiles. She has served as Treasurer for the Center of Railroad Photography and Art since 2013.
If you are able, please attend in person at our regular meeting venue in Fox Point; doors open before 7:00 pm for social time. Those who cannot attend in person are encouraged to participate remotely, via Zoom. ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to access this event remotely. Connection information will be provided a few days before the program.