In the past, traffic consisted of shipments of resins, scrap materials, lumber, logs, fertilizer, steel, feed grade grains, and tallow.[citation needed] However, in December 2011, EOG Resources opened an online sand processing plant. Sand now represents 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, an EMD SD38-2, and two new EMD SD40M-2s. [8] units operating along the system.[9]
Progressive Rail, Inc. - Official parent company website
Railroad Picture Archives - Photographs of the Wisconsin Northern Railroad
March 04, 2023
wisconsin, northern, railroad, reporting, mark, trade, name, employed, progressive, rail, operate, miles, railroad, northern, wisconsin, began, operations, november, 2004, wisconsin, northern, locomotives, 1501, chetekoverviewparent, companyprogressive, rail, . 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 RailroadWisconsin Northern locomotives 1501 42 and 43 in ChetekOverviewParent companyProgressive Rail Inc HeadquartersLakeville MinnesotaReporting markWNLocaleNorthern WisconsinDates of operationNovember 29 2004 presentPredecessorChicago and North Western RailwayTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeLength62 3 mi 100 3 km OtherWebsiteprogressiverail wbr com wbr rrwnr wbr wnr wbr htmlRoute mapLegendCN to Rice LakeCanadian National RailwayCameronChetekNew AuburnBloomerNormaChippewa FallsUnion Pacific Railroad Contents 1 Trackage 2 Major commodities 3 Equipment 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksTrackage EditThe 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 Railway 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 EditIn the past traffic consisted of shipments of resins scrap materials lumber logs fertilizer steel feed grade grains and tallow citation needed However in December 2011 EOG Resources opened an online sand processing plant Sand now represents 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 EditThe railroad s locomotive roster is on loan from parent Progressive Rail and includes one EMD SW1500 two EMD GP15 1s an EMD SD38 2 and two new EMD SD40M 2s 8 units operating along the system 9 Number Model Lettered1500 EMD GP15 1 City of Barron42 EMD SD38 243 EMD SD40M 245 EMD SD40M 2See also EditList of United States railroads List of Wisconsin railroads Progressive Rail Inc References Edit Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation Progressive Rail Begins Operations accessed February 2009 Wisconsin Northern gets rolling Trains March 2005 page 12 STB Finance Docket No 34597 October 29 2004 Interstate Commerce Commission 137 I C C 1 1928 Valuation Docket No 549 Chicago Saint Paul Minneapolis and Omaha Railway Company STB Finance Docket No 34600 November 12 2004 Interstate Commerce Commission 143 I C C 547 1928 Valuation Docket No 370 Minneapolis St Paul amp Sault Ste Marie Railway Company et al Frac sand mining spurs rural rail Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Retrieved 2013 12 02 Wisconsin Northern adds SD45Rs to roster Trains Retrieved 2018 27 02 The Diesel Shop Wisconsin Northern Locomotive RosterExternal links EditProgressive Rail Inc Official parent company website Railroad Picture Archives Photographs of the Wisconsin Northern Railroad Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wisconsin Northern Railroad amp oldid 1131325619, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
