{{Infobox rail line , box_width = , name = Hinckley Subdivision , color = , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = Ore train on the Stinkley Sub.jpg , image_width = 300px , image_alt = , caption = A

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

EMD SD70ACe The EMD SD70 is a series of diesel-electric locomotives produced by the US company Electro-Motive Diesel in response to the GE Dash 9-44CW. Production commenced in late 1992 and since then over 5,700 units have been produced; most of these are t ...

leads an empty taconite train through

Nickerson, Minnesota Nickerson is an unincorporated community in Nickerson Township, Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located between Sandstone and Duluth along State Highway 23 ( MN 23); near the boundary line for Pine and Carlton counties. ...

. , type =

Freight rail Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons ( International Union of Railways) haule ...

, system = , status = , locale = , stations = , routes = , daily_ridership = , ridership2 = , open = , close = , owner = BNSF Railway , operator = BNSF Railway , character = , depot = , stock = , linelength_km = , linelength_mi = 136.9 , linelength = , tracklength_km = , tracklength_mi = , tracklength = , tracks = , gauge = {{RailGauge, sg, al=on , old_gauge = , load_gauge = , minradius = , racksystem = , routenumber = , linenumber = , electrification = , speed_km/h = , speed_mph = 50 , speed = , elevation_m = , elevation_ft = , elevation = , website = , map = {{Hinckley Subdivision , map_state = The Hinckley Subdivision is a railway line that connects the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

to the

Twin Ports The Duluth MN-WI Metropolitan Area, commonly called the Twin Ports, is a small metropolitan area centered around the cities of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. The Twin Ports are located at the western part of Lake Superior (the weste ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. This line was originally built by the Great Northern railroad. It branches north off the Staples Subdivision At Coon Creek junction in Coon Rapids, MN, and ends at Boylston junction where the tracks run to Duluth/Superior ( The Twin Ports) via the Lakes subdivision. BNSF is the operator of the Hinckley sub.

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

also run frequent traffic via trackage rights. The CN had trackage rights in the past until it bought out Wisconsin Central Railway, which now allows them to run traffic up to the twin ports via their own route, the Superior subdivision.

Trains

The Hinckley sub mostly sees

manifest Manifest may refer to: Computing * Manifest file, a metadata file that enumerates files in a program or package * Manifest (CLI), a metadata text file for CLI assemblies Events * Manifest (convention), a defunct anime festival in Melbourne, Aus ...

, grain, coke & taconite trains. It occasionally sees

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

trains. As of January 2023, this line sees around 2-5 trains per day.

Locals

The Hinckley Local runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and sometimes Fridays. It serves industries in Hinckley and Cambridge.

Sidings

There are nine sidings on the Hinckley Subdivision. The Sidings are located in

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andove ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, Grasston, Brook Park,

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England. It is administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in the administrative county of Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughbo ...

Askov Askov is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 364 at the 2010 census. Minnesota State Highway 23 serves as a main route in the community, and Interstate 35 is nearby. History The village was originally within ...

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

, Nickerson, & Foxboro. The longest siding is in Andover with a length of 9,000 feet (1.75 miles)

Railfanning

The Hinckley Subdivision is a TWC (track-warrant controlled) line, meaning there is no way to monitor traffic on the line with the help of ATCS monitor. A scanner with a decent antenna, or a heads up from fellow railfans is your best bet for railfanning here. 70% of traffic that runs on the Hinckley sub is usaually under the cover of darkness.

Steam excursions

Steam Excursions have been hosted on this line in the past. The

Milwaukee Road 261 Milwaukee Road 261 is a class "S3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York in July, 1944 for the Milwaukee Road. It was used for heavy mainline freight and passenger work ...

hosted steam excursions for a few years up until the FRA mandated PTC on all locomotives that lead trains in the US. The Union Pacific Big Boy #4014 also hosted a steam excursion in 2019 that ran on the Hinckley Subdivision up to the Union Depot in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

Passenger service

There is currently no operating passenger service on this line. The NLX is a proposed intercity passenger route between Minneapolis and Duluth, read more about that

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

External links

BNSF Subdivisions
BNSF Railway lines Rail infrastructure in Minnesota Rail infrastructure in Wisconsin Great Northern Railway (U.S.)