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The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, Through Northwestern Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad is a tourist railroad which operates excursion trains over former Chicago & North Western Railway trackage between Spooner and Springbrook, Wisconsin. The railroad has steadily grown over its last decade of operating excursion trains and now host’s dinner trains between February and December each year. Along with dinner trains the railroad also operates season specials, such as during Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

To give a brief history of the C&NW, of all the many granger roads which sprawled out across the Midwest, the Chicago and North Western Railway is likely the best remembered of all. When the railroad was merged unto the Union Pacific in 1995 it was one of the oldest railroads in the Midwest, its name unchanged since 1859. Because of its age the C&NW actually has the distinction of being the first railroad to operate a train out of Chicago, the Pioneer. The C&NW's main line into that city is also a key link in the UP’s empire today. While its eye-catching green and yellow paint no longer adorns locomotives today the Chicago and North Western's legacy certainly continues to live on.

Although the railroad was no longer in the passenger business by the 1970s and 1980s it began to streamline operations and earn healthy profits. One way it did this was by opening a modern new rail line into the lucrative Powder River coal basin in the mid-1980s allowing it to tap the highly demanded low-sulfur coal found in the region. It also renewed its partnership with the Union Pacific at this time and for the next decade the road prospered. Alas, however, the inevitable happened in the 1990s, like so many roads before it the Chicago and North Western became another part of the Union Pacific in 1995.

While the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad currently takes you on a sightseeing journey through northwestern Wisconsin the hope for the railroad is to not only operate passenger trains but to one day resume freight service as well. In any event, in the meantime your trip between Spooner and Springbrook offers not only beautiful scenery but also a great meal aboard the train. Costs for the trip are usually very reasonable at around $30 for a single adult although they do offer family packages and children discounts.

For the train itself you will ride in vintage heavyweight passenger cars that range in age from 83 to 96 years. All have been rebuilt into either coaches or diners and offer a pleasant riding experience during trips. For power you will ride behind either a streamlined EMD F7 diesel-electric locomotive or an EMC SW1 diesel-electric switcher locomotive, which have been painted in a resplendent version of the Great Northern Railway’s passenger livery (dark green and orange).

Other features offered on the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad include charters of cabooses and if you have a group of 200 persons you can even charter the entire train itself!

In any event, a trip aboard the WGN is most certainly a memorable experience with the fine food served during your trip and the passing scenery. So, if you’re ever in northwestern Wisconsin or just interested in something different to do consider taking a ride on the railroad, if nothing else it is a great way to relax. And, as railroad president Greg Vreeland says himself, “I hope that you will drop in and take a ride on our railroad if you're ever in Northern Wisconsin.”

For more information on tourist railroads like the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad you might want to consider the book Tourist Trains Guidebook from the editors of Kalmbach Publishing's Trains magazine. Given excellent reviews by readers this guidebook covers nearly all of the tourist railroads and museums (over 400) operating in the country in fine detail with accompanying reviews about each. So, if you’re interested in locating a tourist train or railroad near you, or simply want to know more about a particular one, you will certainly not be disappointed in Trains’ guidebook to tourist railroads and museums. In any event, if you're interested in perhaps purchasing this book please visit the link below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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