Waukesha Subdivision

The Waukesha Subdivision or Waukesha Sub is a railway line owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway. It meets the Neenah Subdivision to the north in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and runs south to Chicago, Illinois.

Waukesha Subdivision
CN 3198, a GE ET44AC, in Duplainville on May 2, 2020.
Overview
StatusActive
OwnerCanadian National Railway
LocaleWisconsin, Illinois
Termini
Service
TypeFreight, passenger
Operator(s)Canadian National Railway, Wisconsin and Southern Railroad, Metra
History
Commenced1882
Completed1886
Technical
Number of tracks1–2
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map

north to Neenah Subdivision
156.1
Fond du Lac
to Eden
Byron Hill
147.1
Byron
142.8
Lomira
138.3
Theresa
129.5
Allenton
122.6
Slinger
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
117.7
Rugby Junction
Union Pacific Railroad Adams Subdivision
106.6
Sussex
102.6
Duplainville
Canadian Pacific Railway Watertown Subdivision
97.7
Waukesha
97.2
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad
90.9
Vernon
86.2
Mukwonago
East Troy Electric Railroad
77.7
Honey Creek
72.7
Burlington
61.1
Silver Lake
58.3
Trevor
55.7
Antioch Metra
50.7
Lake Villa Metra
48.5
Round Lake Beach Metra
46.5
Washington Street Metra
MD-N
43.4
Prairie Crossing |
39.6
Mundelein Metra
35.7
Vernon Hills Metra
34.7
Prairie View Metra
32.0
Buffalo Grove Metra
29.9
Wheeling Metra
26.6
Prospect Heights
UP-NW
19.8
O'Hare Transfer
Blue / I-190.svg I-190
18.6
Rosemont
17.4
Schiller Park Metra
15.8
Belmont Avenue Metra
15.5
MD-W to Elgin
11.0
Forest Park
south

History

Construction of the line started in 1882 by the Wisconsin Central Railroad and was completed in 1886.[1][2] The railroad was reorganized from bankruptcy in 1897 and became the Wisconsin Central Railway.

The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (the original Soo Line) gained control in 1901 and leased the WC in 1902. The Soo Line operated the WC as its Chicago Division. After the 1961 Soo Line-WC-DSS&A merger that created the Soo Line Railroad, the railroad reduced the number of its operating divisions from five to three; the Schiller Park to Fond du Lac segment became the Soo Line's First Subdivision of the Eastern Division.

After the Soo Line acquired the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) in the bankruptcy auction, the line, among others, was placed in the Lake States Transportation Division in an attempt to cut costs. After the failure of this cost-cutting exercise, the LSTD was sold to Wisconsin Central Ltd. in 1987, which was then sold to Canadian National in 2001.[3]

Current operations

The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad has trackage rights over the line from Slinger to Waukesha, and freight cars are interchanged between the two railroad companies in Ackerville.[4][5] Metra, Chicago's commuter rail service provider, also operates on this line as its North Central Service route (between Chicago Union Station and Franklin Park, Illinois, NCS trains use the Milwaukee District West Line, but do not stop at any of its stations, with the exception of the River Grove station). In Forest Park, Illinois at Madison Street, the subdivision connects with the B&OCT (CSX)'s Altenheim Subdivision and continues into Chicago. Also, Soo Line passenger trains historically used this line at Forest Park to access the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's Grand Central Station (Chicago).

One of the obstacles faced by southbound trains is Byron Hill, which was a helper district when the line was operated by the Soo Line. Canadian National double-tracked that part of the line shortly after acquiring it.

References

  1. "Waukesha Subdivision (Wisconsin)". Chicago Transit & Railfan.
  2. "Waukesha Subdivision (Illinois)". Chicago Transit & Railfan.
  3. Mueller, Andrew (12 November 2019). "Duplainville Homepage". dupyrail.com.
  4. "CN Wisconsin Division" (PDF). Canadian National Railway.
  5. "CN Chicago Division" (PDF). Canadian National Railway.
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