[2] A former freight railroad, it was incorporated in 1902 for the R. Connor Company of Marshfield, Wisconsin, to haul lumber to its mill in Laona and then transport it to the Soo Line interchange 8 miles north in Laona Junction.

When the railway converted to diesel in the mid-1950s, the company held on to only one steam locomotive, No.

4 or 4 Spot, for reserve power and burning weeds from the rail line.

By 1965 the Connor Company used the locomotive for mixed trains[clarification needed] to Laona Junction, taking passengers on a 2+1⁄2-hour ride.

In 1983 the Connor Company gave the Laona and Northern No.