Chippewa Valley Motorcar Association
Group of rail enthusiasts running ex RR maintenance cars on over 7mi of former Milwaukee Road rails near Durand, WI through the Tiffany Wildlife area.
Chippewa Valley Motor Car Association, Limited
2024 Tiffany Bottoms Train Ride Schedule (as of 2-14-24)
Remember, schedule your groups early as the schedule fills fast. Time slots can be modified to suit your needs.
Please Contact Dave if you have a Group that would like to ride the train.
CVMCA Train Trip Coordinator:
Dave Linderud
[email protected]
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May 4, Sat. 7a-12p - Wisconsin Sierra Club - Libby Stupak [email protected] 715-833-1941
May 4, Sat. 1p-5p - Wings Over Alma - Julene Rohrer [email protected] 608-685-3303
May 11, Sat. 7a-12p - Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and DNR - Christine Tanzer Christine.Tanzer .gov 608-409-3122 **Ride sponsored by the Lower Chippewa River Alliance**
May 11, Sat. - 1pm-5pm Landmark Conservancy - Sara Norman [email protected] 715-235-8250
May 17, FRIDAY. 1:30p–4p Thousand Lakes Region of the NMRA - Pat Thoney
May 18, Sat. 7:30a-12p - The Prairie Enthusiasts 7:30 am - Katie Hahn theprairieenthusiasts.org email: [email protected]
May 18, Sat. 1p-5p - Wings Over Alma - Julene Rohrer [email protected] 608-685-3303
Sept. 7, Sat. 8a-12p Visit Pepin County
Sept. 7, Sat.1p-5p Visit Pepin County-info for these rides can be found on the Visit Pepin County page.
Sept. 8, Sun. - Annual CVMCA Members Picnic 11:00am Durand Memorial Park ***note change of location from prior years***
Sept 14 , Sat. AM-OPEN
Sept. 14, Sat. 1p-5p - Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and DNR - Christine Tanzer Christine.Tanzer .gov 608-409-3122 **Ride sponsored by the Lower Chippewa River Alliance**
Sept. 21, Sat. 7:30a-12p - Wings over Alma - Julene Rohrer [email protected] 608-685-3303
Sept. 21, Sat. 1p-5p - Wings over Alma - Julene Rohrer [email protected] 608-685-3303
Sept. 28, Sat. 8a-12p – Alma Knights of Columbus - Bryce Lisowski - [email protected] 715-495-0488
Sept 28 Sat. 1P-5P - Rustic Road Gallery - Tom Hansen [email protected] 715-714-7428
01/10/2023
07/09/2023
Our fall season rides are just around the corner. Take a look at our ride schedule if you are interested in a riding with us. https://www.cvmca.info/events
If you have a group that would like a ride we still have September 30th from 1-5 open.
09/06/2023
https://www.facebook.com/100037237104251/posts/961308155120412/?mibextid=cr9u03
The Fall birding train is already starting to fill up. What a wonderful time of year to ride the train. Print out your registration and send in as soon as possible if you are considering going. The Spring train filled up two months ahead of time.
Featured Event: Mini-Train Rides!
Saturday, September 23, 2023
Birding by Mini-Train in the Tiffany Bottoms: 7:30 to Noon, with a warm brat lunch. Cost $45.
Train Enthusiasts Ride in the Tiffany Bottoms: 1pm to 5pm, no meal. Cost $20.
Please call Wings Over Alma to inquire about registration: 608-685-3303. Or print registration form and send by mail. No online registration. Mail in or drop off at Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center
https://cms.wingsoveralma.org/assets/pdfs/Train.Registration2023.pdf
22/05/2023
Check out this video from a guest on the afternoon ride-5/20/23. What a great documentary of our trip! Be sure to go to his YouTube channel for other historical rail content.
Mr B's Adventure at the Chippewa Valley Motor Car Association A ride on the Chippewa Valley Motor Car Association's Motor and crew cars Train. This is the old Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad from 1881-82 and some ...
18/05/2023
Thank you to KSTP-TV for the fantastic video about the CVMCA and the wonderful groups that joined us for a ride in the Tiffany Wildlife Area!
This video was made last Saturday and aired on Minnesota Live this morning 5/18/23
Chippewa Valley Motor Car Association Minnesota Live photojournalist Bill Middeke heads to Menomonie, WI, to check out the Chippewa Valley Motor Car Association!
18/05/2023
What a great day for a ride. Thanks to the Learning in Retirement group for joining us.
16/05/2023
What a beautiful painting of our pony truss bridge by Greg Lecker Arts!
"Bridge Over Colored Water", 12"x16", oil painting on panel. I painted this piece in Tiffany Bottoms floodplain forest near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Historic railroad motor cars transport tourists deep into the heart of this 13,000 state natural area, an otherwise inaccessible swamp. Thank you Chippewa Valley Motorcar Association for making this railroad transportation possible!
https://wisconsinlife.org/story/railroad-motor-cars-transport-nature-lovers-to-tiffany-bottoms/
14/05/2023
It was great seeing everyone these past two Saturdays. A big thank you to Wings Over Alma Nature & Art Center, Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, and Landmark Conservancy.
https://www.cvmca.info
13/04/2023
Happy spring, everyone. Our May rides are fast approaching. Please take a minute to review the ride schedule and see what day works for you.
We completed tree removal and motor car maintenance this past weekend. Thank you to the Lower Chippewa River Alliance crew for the help in clearing trees from the line.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone in May!
07/03/2023
Are you interested in motorcars (speeders)?? If so, please stop by the Chippewa Valley Motorcar Association table at the Onalaska Wisconsin Train Show on March 18 and 19. Club members will be there with pictures and information explaining the club and its operation. We hope to see you there.
https://www.cvmca.info
29/01/2023
29/01/2023
Head on over to our updated website at cvmca.info to learn more about us. Not only will you find our story, but also pictures/videos and more to hold you over until spring!
Train Ride | Chippewa Valley Motor Car Association | Durand The Chippewa Valley Motor Car Association was organized by founding members Gary and Brian Corkill, Nathan Molldrem and Nathan Harris in February 1995 for the purpose of restoring and operating motor car equipment on the former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad branch line from Durand....
05/11/2022
Several members of the Chippewa Valley Motorcar Association took advantage of the weather last weekend to perform some maintenance and take a ride.
23/10/2022
Today, Saturday October 22, member Chris Bandel took his speeder to the Randolph, MN Train Show and visited with train fans that are interested in speeders.
Here is a picture of Chris, on the right, with club member Jay Thompson. Also attending the Train Show was club member Ted Hazleton who was inside buying more model trains at the time of the picture.
If you know anyone else who may be interested in joining our club, please let a club officer or me know and we can send them information- Arlyn Colby
25/09/2022
Today was a great day for a ride on the CVMCA line. This was the last day of our 2022 season. Thanks to everyone that was able to ride with us this year.
21/09/2022
Saturday, 9/17, what a great day for a motor car ride. Thanks to everyone that makes it possible. We had an exciting group of speakers today. Thanks to the speakers for sharing your vast wealth of knowledge with us.
11/09/2022
It was great seeing everyone who made it out for a ride today. Thanks for riding with us!
03/09/2022
The Chippewa Valley Motorcar Association fall ride season is just around the corner. Check out our fall schedule if you want to join us for a ride.
03/09/2022
The 703 is ready for our fall rides. Thanks, Arlyn Colby, for making the 703 look so good.
31/07/2022
A big thank you to member Arlyn Colby for the hard work on CP Rail 702. Check out the 702 when our rides resume this September. https://sites.google.com/cvmca.net/cvmca/events .xf48rsxphbwi
31/07/2022
The Santa Fe 249845 is looking fantastic! A big thank you to the members that took the time to paint and decal the Santa Fe this summer.
Please check out the Santa Fe when our fall rides start in September. Check out our schedule. https://sites.google.com/cvmca.net/cvmca/events .xf48rsxphbwi
16/07/2022
CVMCA members Chris Bandel and Arlyn Colby represented the club today at the train sale at Copeland Park in La Crosse. Several people showed great interest in joining the club.
30/06/2022
The wonders of nature. I was out performing maintenance this past weekend and found hundreds of these amphibians along the rails. Is it a frog or a toad? It was fun watching them move around.
Our Story....
In January 1977, use of the 14 miles of rail from Durand, Wisconsin south to the Mississippi River was discontinued by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St.Paul & Pacific Railroad due to a derailment which made the tracks unusable. The railroad was in bankruptcy at the time and did not deem repairs as prudent. This railbed was purchased in June of 1979 by Northern States Power (now Xcel Energy) to preserve it for possible transport of coal off the BNSF to a future steam generating plant north of Durand. That plant never came to fruition. In 1995 several former railroaders, rail fans, and owners of motorcars approached NSP with the request to buy or lease the rails for use by private individuals.
This lease request was granted with the stipulation that a insurance/liability policy be in force year after year as long as the lease was to be in force.
A Board of Directors was established and a system of by-laws adopted for the safe operation of the line. All operators of motorcars must be members of the Chippewa Valley Motor Car Association and must pay annual dues. The board of directors has the power to increase dues as needed. We welcome new members and will provide rides of our rails for prospective members.
At present, there are about 30 families involved in this project and all maintenance is done by members.......including the initial three years from 1995-1998 that it took to clear cut all the trees and brush which had grown up around and through the rails from 1977 to 1995! It truly is a labor of love and will always be "a work in progress"!
Videos (show all)
