CN to divest themselves of 400+ miles in Wisconsin and UP

[buzz456]

https://www.wxpr.org/post/cn-divest-sev ... Y#stream/0

CN.jpg

[DrewG]

Great opportunity for short lines.

[gtrtroger]

I would imagine G&W will be all over this as they already have a foothold at Tomahawk.....

[GogebicChief]

Wow.. I am surprised that the track from Marengo Jct. to White Pine even is till around. That is the DSS&A route that ran next to our farm. I know the mine in White Pine is closed, and they are growing pot & "Magic" mushrooms, in the shafts . Maybe there is more money in that stuff, than I realize. Stefan

[buzz456]

If I understand a lot of this is not being used which is why they are trying to divest.

[GSkid]

I lived in Milwaukee from 1998-2010. The closest CN comes to the city is their single track north-south Waukesha Subdivision about 18 miles west of downtown. It crosses CP's double tracked east-west Watertown subdivision via diamond junction at Duplainville.... a popular railfan hotspot. I don't really know CN's level of business on these lines they are trying to get rid of, but obviously not enough for them to hold on to them.

In Milwaukee, the county took a lot of old abandoned Milwaukee Road lines and turned them into running/bike paths. The county has a very extensive biking path and trail system. I imagine if a short line railroad doesn't grab these lines, some parts of it will be turned into bike/hiking paths.

The truth of the matter is that a lot of Wisconsin's industries like manufacturing in the Milwaukee/Racine/Kenosha/Janesville areas and the paper mills in the northern half of the state have declined greatly over the years. And with that decline of customers comes a re-evaluation on the sustainability of some of these lines.

In Milwaukee, UP has two yards.... Butler Yard on the north-side and Mitchell yard on the south-side. Butler is their main yard. Mitchell yard is barely used and has no locomotives based at it. It's only facilities is an engine sanding tower. The heavy industries on the south-side have diminished so much that this yard remains relatively empty most of the time. A perfect barometer of the decline of the state in general.