Wisconsin Northern Railroad

The Wisconsin Northern Railroad (reporting mark WN) is the trade name employed by Progressive Rail to operate 62.3 miles (100.3 km) of railroad in northern Wisconsin and began operations on November 29, 2004.[1][2]

Wisconsin Northern Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersLakeville, Minnesota
Reporting markWN
LocaleNorthern Wisconsin
Dates of operation2004–
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length62.3 mi (100.3 km)

Trackage

The railroad operates on trackage leased from the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and Wisconsin Central Limited (WC). The UP trackage extends north from Norma, a junction with the UP in northern Chippewa Falls, to Cameron.[3] It was completed by the Chippewa Falls and Northern Railway, a predecessor of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company, in 1883.[4]

At Cameron, the Wisconsin Northern splits, with WC trackage continuing north to Rice Lake and west to Almena.[5] The Rice Lake line was opened by the Rice Lake, Dallas and Menomonie Railway in 1894, and the Almena line by the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie and Atlantic Railway in 1884. Both became part of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (Soo Line),[6] and were spun off to the WC in 1987.

Major Commodities

In the past, traffic consisted of shipments of: resins, scrap materials, lumber, logs, fertilizer, steel, feed grade grains, and tallow. However, in December 2011, EOG Resources opened an online Sand Processing Plant. Sand now represent over 90% of the shipments, with the railroad hauling an estimated 160,000 tons of sand per month. This volume of traffic has required a total rebuilding of much of the trackage as well as construction of new interchange and car staging yards. This new booming mining business, while making the Wisconsin Northern quite profitable, has also killed the railroad's hopes of expanding its trackage rights. Progressive Rail had planned to contract with the state of Wisconsin to operate a 45-mile extension that would have connected the Wisconsin Northern with the Canadian National mainline, however when the CN discovered the booming Wisconsin sand market, they backed out of the sale of the rail line they had attempted to previously abandon.[7]

Equipment

The railroad's locomotive roster is on loan from parent Progressive Rail and includes one EMD SW1500, two EMD GP15-1s and new EMD SD45-2[8] units operating along the system.[9]

Model[9]NumberLettered
EMD SW150034
EMD GP15-11501City of Bloomer
EMD SD45R43
EMD SD45R45

See also

References
  1. Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation, Progressive Rail Begins Operations, accessed February 2009
  2. Wisconsin Northern gets rolling Trains March 2005 page 12
  3. STB Finance Docket No. 34597, October 29, 2004
  4. Interstate Commerce Commission, 137 I.C.C. 1 (1928): Valuation Docket No. 549, Chicago, Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway Company
  5. STB Finance Docket No. 34600, November 12, 2004
  6. Interstate Commerce Commission, 143 I.C.C. 547 (1928): Valuation Docket No. 370, Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company et al.
  7. "Frac sand mining spurs rural rail". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Retrieved 2013-12-02
  8. "Wisconsin Northern adds SD45Rs to roster". Trains, Retrieved 2018-27-02
  9. "The Diesel Shop". Wisconsin Northern Locomotive Roster
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