The Farlin Terminal Railroad is a shortline railroad that covers approximately 10 miles of track in Northeastern Wisconsin.  It has always been its own independent railroad.  The line was built by the Milwaukee Road to serve the fictional town of Farlin, Wisconsin and its growing farming industry.  Over the years the line saw mixed growth, never growing beyond its 10-mile origins.

In the 1950's a rock quarry was developed to provide limestone for various customers on the Milwaukee's route, but the quarry closed in 1970 and the line fell into disrepair. In 1980, as part of the Milwaukee's scaling back efforts, the line to Farlin was abandoned and left for dead.  However, about 6 months later the local co-op (Farlin Feed and Seed) petitioned the state of Wisconsin for the right to operate the line as it was needed for the future growth of its business.  The state agreed and granted the Farlin Terminal Railroad operating rights over the 10-mile branch, with a future option to operate the line to the east to access the quarry if it were to reopen.

The line saw moderate growth and had been recognized as a line with a lot of potential.  In 1986 the line was purchased from the Farmers Feed and Seed by Michael Ostertag.  Since then, many improvements have been made to the line including a transloading facility and a new fertilizer plant.  In 1990 the Farlin Terminal was approached by Wisconsin Timber Inc. (WTIX) to operate its OSB (oriented strand board) plant in northern Wisconsin.  The Farlin Terminal agreed and as of 1991 operates as the Farlin Terminal Railroad Inc.  Its goal is to gain operating rights on small industrial as well as common carrier lines throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.  

To date I am currently building both the S scale original Farlin Terminal Railroad layout and the first Farlin Terminal Railroad Inc., an HO Layout depicting the operations at the Wisconsin Timber Inc. OSB Plant.

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