In the book Crescent Moon, the author describes characters hiking to Altoona to catch a freight train. Altoona is a small city just east of Eau Claire. It was settled as a railroad town. In the early 1900's Altoona and most of the Chippewa Valley were undergoing a lot of changes. The majority of them included the railroad. In this part of the linked websites you will learn about the city of Altoona, trolleys,  Altoona/Chippewa Valley railroads, and the Altoona Roundhouse.