I

t was protracted. It was bitter. And it got downright personal at times.

Wisconsin Central's acquisition of Green Bay & Western and Fox River Valley via subsidiary Fox Valley & Western was more soap opera than textbook acquisition. Whether it was GB&W personnel scrawling "Better dead than live with Ed, " graffiti on boxcars, or WC President Ed Burkhardt exchanging barbs with Chicago & North Western President Robert Schmiege in the press, or the Unit ed Transportation Union organizing FRVR employees after the sale was approved, one thing was clear after the sale went through: railroading in Wisconsin was never going to be the same.
Two Different Personalities

T he main result of the Fox Valley & Western saga was the con solidation of another large chunk of Wisconsin trackage into Wis1 6 . J U N E 1 994

cons in Central's system. But, contrary to popular belief, this is not the story of a large regional stalking and gobbling up its lesser competitors. In fact, Itel Corp., former owner of both the Green Bay & Western and the Fox River Valley, approached Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp. with the idea of the sale. Itel wanted out of the railroad business , and it realized WCTC would be the ideal buyer because tremendous economies could be realized by merg ing the parallel properties. The resulting savings could support a higher sale price, which Itel felt WCTC would be willing to pay. Together, the GB&W and FRVR were an attractive property to Wisconsin Central ; yet, just a decade ago it would have been ab surd to suggest that this collection of rail lines might someday be offered as a single package. Though both railroads were owned by Itel, and in 1 9 9 1 they were consolidated under a common management, their histories couldn't have been more different. The 250-rnile, all-Alco-powered Green Bay & Western boasted more than a century as an independent carrier. The road traced its history to the Green Bay & Lake Pepin Railway, formed in 1866 to connect Green Bay with the Mississippi River valley. The railroad