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Bue, now the fund development manager at Hedberg Public Library, recounted how she met Bier when he gave his first presentation at the library.

鈥淚 was hooked immediately,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 love history, and Rob鈥檚 passion for local history is contagious.鈥� She has since assisted Bier with research, artifact management, and keeping the tours on track. Because, as she jokes, Bier tends to ramble.

The tour, divided into two parts, began with a sit-down discussion about the city鈥檚 broader railroad past. Bier described Janesville鈥檚 early days, when the first train rolled in in 1853.

鈥淚f you weren鈥檛 on the train line,鈥� he said, 鈥測our town was pretty much going to dry up and potentially wither away.鈥� He explained how two railroads eventually dominated Janesville: the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railway 鈥� also known as the Milwaukee Road 鈥� and the Chicago and North Western Railway

The 15-gauge tourist rail line 鈥� the Riverside & Great Northern Railway 鈥� that was the main focus of Sunday鈥檚 presentation was much simpler. It ran just three-quarters of a mile from South Park station in Riverside Park to the Washington Street terminal north of the Memorial Bridge.

The tour explored the story of Elmer Sandley and his son Norman, two railroad enthusiasts whose work forged the Riverside & Great Northern line.

鈥淲hen you walk through here,鈥� Bier said Sunday, 鈥測ou鈥檙e walking over history. People like Norman built this city, and if we don鈥檛 tell their stories, they鈥檒l disappear.鈥�

Bier recounted Elmer鈥檚 early life in Argyle, Wis., his service in World War I, and his eventual move to Janesville to work in the Chicago and North Western yard. Norman, following in his father鈥檚 footsteps, became a 鈥渨hiz kid鈥� of engines, building fully functional steam engines and experimenting with rail efficiency.

鈥淣orman was a perfectionist,鈥� Bier said. 鈥淗e wanted his trains to be the best. And the price he paid for that was immense: for family, for money, for time.鈥�

Artifacts, old photographs, and models were displayed during the talk, highlighting the painstaking work of building the miniature Riverside & Great Northern trains by hand.

鈥淭hey literally made every part themselves,鈥� Bier explained.

Bier and Bue invited participants to take a walk along the old rail line.

鈥淵ou鈥檒l get to see where different parts of the railroad once stood and hear the stories behind them,鈥� Bier said.

Sadly, Bier shared, that the miniature train line through Riverside Park mostly carried children was ultimately its downfall. Many locals never saw it as anything more than a ride for kids, and some residents living nearby opposed it.

Sandy Hendricks, a member of Friends of Riverside Park whose family lived nex to the rail line, shared with Bier that her father forbade her from riding it because he disliked its presence so much.

鈥淪he鈥檇 watch everyone else climb aboard, but she never got to go. That鈥檚 how divided people were about it,鈥� Bier said.

Despite the tension, the train initially thrived. In its inaugural season in 1948, 15,000 riders bought tickets to experience the miniature marvel, a remarkable number out of the gate.

But frequent Riverside Park flooding in 1949 and 1950 forced shutdowns that crippled the line financially. It went on for a couple more seasons but by 1953, vandalism, opposition, and mounting costs brought the Janesville operation to an end.

Norman and his crew packed up the engines and tracks and moved north to the Wisconsin Dells, where the Riverside & Great Northern Railway found new life, Bier said.

鈥淓verything that was here went up there,鈥� Bier said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 still running today.鈥�

For Bier and Bue, the tours are about more than trains. They said they鈥檙e about sharing the history of a visionary who, for a short time, was a huge part of Janesville.

Bier and Bue are hosting one more walking tour next Sunday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. More information on their Facebook page: .