The Wyeville Subdivision or Wyeville Sub is an

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

Altoona Subdivision The Altoona Subdivision or Altoona Sub is a railway line owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The line originates in Saint Paul, Minnesota, crosses the St. Croix River on the Hudson Bridge ...

to the west in

Altoona, Wisconsin Altoona ( ) is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,292 at the 2020 census with an estimated population in 2022 of 9,149. The city is a railroad terminal on the Union Pacific Railroad. History The settleme ...

and runs to

Wyeville, Wisconsin Wyeville is a village in Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on Wisconsin Highway 21. The population was 121 at the 2020 census. History The West Wisconsin Railway was authorized in 1876 to build from St. Paul, Minnesota thro ...

to the east where it connects with the

Adams Subdivision The Adams Subdivision or Adams Sub is a railway line owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. It meets the Wyeville Subdivision to the west in Wyeville, Wisconsin, and runs to Butler, Wisconsin in the east where it meets the Milwauk ...

. Construction began in 1868 by the

West Wisconsin Railway The West Wisconsin Railway was a small railroad in Wisconsin, connecting the Chicago and North Western Railway at Elroy, Wisconsin to Hudson, Wisconsin. It became part of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ("Omaha Road"). This Oma ...

and was completed in 1872. The line then became part of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway in 1878; 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 ...

acquired control of this road in 1882. The CNW then became part of UP in 1995. The last passenger train to run on the line was the CNW's ''

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 ...

'', which operated from 1935 to its discontinuation in 1963. In July 2019,

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 ...

, ran on the line as part of the "Great Race Across the Midwest" excursion.

References

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