The line was built using strap rail previously used on the Michigan Southern Railroad and Galena and Chicago Union.

[5] In 1858, amid the Panic of 1857, Galena and Chicago Union trains began using the Milwaukee and Mississippi's line to reach Janesville.

The company was reorganized on September 18, 1862, but kept the name Beloit and Madison Railroad and remained under lease to the Galena and Chicago Union.

[11][12] The Chicago and North Western abandoned the section between Evansville and Beloit, known as the Footville Subdivision, in 1979.

[13] The line north of Evansville is operated by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad as part of the Reedsburg Subdivision.