The Adams Subdivision or Adams Sub is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line owned and operated by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

. It meets the Wyeville Subdivision to the west in Wyeville, Wisconsin, and runs to Butler, Wisconsin in the east where it meets the

Milwaukee Subdivision Milwaukee is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the 31st-most populous city in the United States and the fifth-most populous city in the Midwest with a population of 57 ...

. It was constructed in 1911 by the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

. The Milwaukee, Sparta, and Northwestern Railroad, a subsidiary of the

, began the "Air Line" or "Adams Cutoff" from

Adams, Wisconsin Adams is a city in Adams County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,761 at the 2020 census. The city is located within the Town of Adams. History Adams was originally called South Friendship, but after a petition from residents w ...

towards

Sparta, Wisconsin Sparta is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. The population was 10,025 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Sparta is located on former Ho-Chunk territory acq ...

in 1910. The Adams Cutoff avoided the steep grades of the Elroy to Sparta cutoff on the route from

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. The ''

Twin Cities 400 The ''400''Chicago & North Western Railway Route of the "400" The Streamliners and the Challengers ime Table Rand McNally, January 15, 1939. Chicago, IL (later named the ''Twin Cities 400''Chicago & North Western Railway Through Passenger Sche ...

'' ran on the Adams Subdivision from its creation in 1935 to its discontinuation in 1963, and was the last routinely operated passenger train to run on the line. In July 2019, an excursion train ran on the Adams Subdivision as part of the "Great Race Across the Midwest" celebratory tour. The train was led by

Union Pacific 4014 Union Pacific 4014 is a preserved 4884-1 class 4-8-8-4 "Union Pacific Big Boy, Big Boy" type steam locomotive owned and operated by the Union Pacific (UP) as part of Union Pacific Heritage Fleet, its heritage fleet. Built in November 1941 by Am ...

, a

4-8-8-4 A 4-8-8-4 in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is a locomotive with a four-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck. Only one model of locomotives ha ...

Big Boy type

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

References

Rail infrastructure in Wisconsin Union Pacific Railroad lines {{US-rail-transport-stub