A Summer Morning on the Wisconsin Northern
Wisconsin Northern 1500 and 1501 are getting a start on the day’s journey just after sunrise on this July day as they roll past a local bovine population near Cameron, Wisconsin. The crew had started over to the Jennie-O turkey plant at the western-most point of their operations in Barron, WI. They will spend most of the day making a slow 10 mph trip back to their home base at Chippewa Falls to interchange with the UP. Bob Welke and I were on our way back from a trip to the former Missabe and thanks to a kind railroad employee we had a tip they would be running. It made for a fun, if slow, shortline chase.
“The rest of the story” for those who care:
The Wisconsin Northern, an offshoot of Minnesota-based Progressive Railway, got its start in November 2004, right as I was also getting my start as a railfan. I lived along the Wisconsin and Southern, and was fascinated by the idea of another Wisconsin-named railroad, especially one with such sharply-painted, former-Frisco GP15-1s. So when Bob and I were going to be nearby on this trip I really wanted to see them. This turned out to be my favorite shot of the day.
The WN at startup operated the former C&NW line leased from the UP from Chippewa Falls north to Cameron, WI. The line from there north to Rice Lake as well as a former SOO route that crossed at Cameron over to Barron, WI was owned by the CN and leased to the startup as well. If I recall correctly, for the first few years the railroad survived on modest but seemingly steady carloads of commodities like chicken feed, utility pole loads, and other agricultural and forest products.
And then in the late 2000s came the great frac sand boom, and this territory was in the heart of it. That led to true boom times for the Wisconsin Northern north of Chippewa Falls as lots of “sand mines” were hastily built and load-outs opened shipping hundreds of cars a week. But it also meant the CN was suddenly very interested in the line to Barron and resumed operations on it, cutting the WN back to just the Chippewa Falls to Cameron line. Increased carloads meant an influx of 6-axle units but they were painted for parent Progressive Railway or just leasers instead. To date only the WN 1500 and WN 1501 have ever worn the sharp Southern-inspired paint seen here. The 1500 was eventually shipped by Progressive Railway to a new startup out in California leaving only the 1501 left on the property just over 20 years after the start of this shortline.
A Summer Morning on the Wisconsin Northern
Wisconsin Northern 1500 and 1501 are getting a start on the day’s journey just after sunrise on this July day as they roll past a local bovine population near Cameron, Wisconsin. The crew had started over to the Jennie-O turkey plant at the western-most point of their operations in Barron, WI. They will spend most of the day making a slow 10 mph trip back to their home base at Chippewa Falls to interchange with the UP. Bob Welke and I were on our way back from a trip to the former Missabe and thanks to a kind railroad employee we had a tip they would be running. It made for a fun, if slow, shortline chase.
“The rest of the story” for those who care:
The Wisconsin Northern, an offshoot of Minnesota-based Progressive Railway, got its start in November 2004, right as I was also getting my start as a railfan. I lived along the Wisconsin and Southern, and was fascinated by the idea of another Wisconsin-named railroad, especially one with such sharply-painted, former-Frisco GP15-1s. So when Bob and I were going to be nearby on this trip I really wanted to see them. This turned out to be my favorite shot of the day.
The WN at startup operated the former C&NW line leased from the UP from Chippewa Falls north to Cameron, WI. The line from there north to Rice Lake as well as a former SOO route that crossed at Cameron over to Barron, WI was owned by the CN and leased to the startup as well. If I recall correctly, for the first few years the railroad survived on modest but seemingly steady carloads of commodities like chicken feed, utility pole loads, and other agricultural and forest products.
And then in the late 2000s came the great frac sand boom, and this territory was in the heart of it. That led to true boom times for the Wisconsin Northern north of Chippewa Falls as lots of “sand mines” were hastily built and load-outs opened shipping hundreds of cars a week. But it also meant the CN was suddenly very interested in the line to Barron and resumed operations on it, cutting the WN back to just the Chippewa Falls to Cameron line. Increased carloads meant an influx of 6-axle units but they were painted for parent Progressive Railway or just leasers instead. To date only the WN 1500 and WN 1501 have ever worn the sharp Southern-inspired paint seen here. The 1500 was eventually shipped by Progressive Railway to a new startup out in California leaving only the 1501 left on the property just over 20 years after the start of this shortline.