Wisconsin Railroading and Railfanning In "The Badger State"

Historically Wisconsin railroading has featured everything from intermodal and ore traffic to main lines and light density branch lines (many of these served grain elevators or other agricultural traffic). Perhaps, though, what Wisconsin railroading is best remembered for is the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad whose nickname, The Milwaukee Road became the railroad’s unofficial adopted name, forever putting the City of Miwaukee on the map. Today, Wisconsin continues to feature much of the same traffic as always (containers, coal, ore, grain, etc.) except now different railroads serve the state such as BNSF Railway, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National instead of the Milwaukee Road, Chicago & North Western and the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range.

Of these railroads, perhaps no other blanketed Wisconsin quite like the Chicago & North Western Railway, which like a spider web reached virtually every corner and crevice of the state. The very familiar C&NW name of today has its roots dating back to the late 1840s when the Galena & Chicago Union was chartered to reach Freeport, Illinois and the Mississippi River from Chicago, which it accomplished via two separate lines. The other railroad to make up the original C&NW was the Chicago & Fond du Lac, chartered to build throughout northeastern Illinois and the UP of Michigan.

The C&NW was born in 1859 when the C&FL was reorganized as the Chicago and North Western and then merged with the G&CU in 1864. After the CN&W’s formation it began to aggressively expand and grow, mostly in the form of acquisitions and mergers although it did construct a number of its own lines, particularly branch lines to serve the Heartland and agricultural regions. By the late 1860s the railroad had completed its most important line, which connected Council Bluffs, Iowa with Chicago, essentially a straight shot across Illinois and Iowa (this is the line used today by Union Pacific to reach and serve Chicago, it sees dozens of trains daily).

Throughout much of the C&NW’s life it did two things; serve the Heartland and northern Great Lakes regions as well as ferry traffic to and from Chicago, particularly the Union Pacific, a close ally for years. The railroad’s final growth period came during the late 1950s when it acquired the Litchfield & Madison giving the CN&W entrance to St. Louis. Other acquisitions included the much larger roads of the Minneapolis & St. Louis in 1960 and Chicago Great Western in 1968, totaling nearly 3,000 miles in additional trackage. While this swelled the railroad’s size to over 10,000 total rail miles it lost much of this in the 1970s when America’s breadbasket could no longer support so many railroads and thus the C&NW dumped many of these unprofitable lines.

Today, many of the hundreds of miles of branch lines laid down by the C&NW and Milwaukee to serve grain elevators and other agricultural business have been abandoned although some still operate under names like the Wisconsin & Southern and the Tomahawk Railway. The key main lines that see movements of things like coal and intermodal are the realm of BNSF, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National.

In total, these railroads operate about 3,400 miles of track although prior to the massive abandonments of light density branches Wisconsin railroading featured over 7,500 route miles. For more information on the Badger State’s rail mileage over the years please have a look at the chart below.

While the CMStP&P's famous Hiawathas no longer fly through the Heartland at 100+ mph Amtrak still uses the name for its passenger operations between Chicago and Milwaukee, and the Empire Builder makes several stops in the state.

In all, Wisconsin railroading offers a little of everything whether you’re interested in main line railroading or just a relaxing ride behind a steam locomotive while watching Wisconsin's bucolic countryside roll by.

Also, for more reading about Wisconsin's rail heritage you might want to consider a copy of Steam and Cinders: The Advent of Railroads in Wisconsin from author Axel Lorenzsonn. The book includes over 300 pages of information and historic photographs covering the state's rail history. 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.