Bob Connelly, a retired railroader, looks at the Center's exhibit on its opening day at the state capitol. Photos by Henry Koshollek

"Even if you've never ridden a railroad, you use it every day. Without it, Madison would not have grown as it did, nor would it have the appearance it has today. Hats off to the men and women who brought railroads here and keep them going. May their tribe--and railroads--increase and set back global warming an impressive degree or so," said Jack Holzhueter, a retired researcher and editor for the Wisconsin Historical Society.

He spoke at the opening program for the Center's exhibit, "Faces of Railroading and the Making of Madison and Dane County." The exhibit at the rotunda (first floor) runs through June 22. The opening June 8 included the program and and a reception courtesy of Trains magazine, Waukesha, and Kitchen Hearth Catering, Madison.

The exhibit features 37 photographs, including views by Henry Koshollek, John Gruber, Richard Gruber, Robert Eineke, and Paul Swanson, plus images from the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Bob Connelly, a retired yardmaster-switchman, spoke briefly. John Gruber, president of the center, told about photographing workers on the job and how they shaped neighborhoods near the roundhouses. Joel Skornicka, director of the Center and a former Madison mayor, introduced the speakers and guests.

Railroad unions once met at the GAR Hall on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in downtown Madison, where the Risser Justice Building now stands. As the number of workers in Madison declined, the locals consolidated with unions in other cities. For example, the Madison local of United Transportation Union merged into the Portage local on January 1, 1978.

A grant from the Evjue Foundation, the charitable arm of the Capital Times, provides partial support for the exhibit and heritage project, bringing attention to railroad heritage, an otherwise overlooked aspect of Madison's history, during its sesquicentennial.

Faces of Railroading is part of "Representations of Railroad Work, Past and Present," a national program. The center, with support by the North American Railway Foundation, has created exhibits across the country that tell the public about the past and present importance of railroads in their own communities.

Fred Loften, Milwaukee, stands next to a 1971 photo of him as conductor on the last Milwaukee Road passenger train from Madison to Chicago.