La Crosse station is an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

intercity train station in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

, served the daily ''

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northe ...

''. The station was built in 1926–27 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road), replacing an older station that burned in 1916. The station was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Depot and was renovated in 2001.

History

Original station

The La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad opened between its namesake cities in 1858, followed by the St. Paul and Milwaukee in 1867. Through mergers, both became part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) by 1874. The 1858-built station was replaced by in 1878 by the Cameron House, a combined depot and hotel located near downtown La Crosse. By 1910, La Crosse was served by six daily round trips on the Chicago–Milwaukee–Minneapolis corridor (including Chicago– Tacoma and Chicago–

Miles City, Montana Miles City ( chy, Ma'xemâhoévé'ho'eno) is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2020 census. History After the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the U.S. Army created fo ...

round trips), two La Crosse–

Savanna, Illinois Savanna is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,783 at the 2020 census, down from 2,945 at the 2010 census. Savanna is located along the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Plum River. Going from north to so ...

round trips, one La Crosse–

Wessington Springs, South Dakota Wessington Springs is a city in central Jerauld County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 956 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jerauld County. History The Wessington Springs townsite was founded in 1880 and platted i ...

round trip, and one La Crosse–

Madison, South Dakota Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,191 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University. Geography Madison is located at (44.007734, -97.114738). ...

round trip. North La Crosse station, located at the junction of the mainline and the spur to downtown La Crosse, was served by some trips.

New station

The Cameron House station was gutted by fire on December 24, 1916; a temporary station was constructed nearby. A decade of public debate followed about a potential

union station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

to serve all five railroads in La Crosse. The powerful Milwaukee Road insisted on a station in North La Crosse, away from the downtown area, to avoid the time-consuming backup move that crossed busy city streets. In 1925, the Milwaukee Road was given permission to construct its new station in North La Crosse, slightly east of the old North La Crosse station. Construction began in 1926 and lasted about six months. The station cost $300,000 (equivalent to $ million in ), plus $60,000 (equivalent to (equal to $ million) for the acquisition of sixteen lots to make room for the structure. It opened on January 31, 1927. The location on the mainline saved 24 minutes for through trains compared to the downtown location. The Milwaukee Road authorized a taxi company to carry passengers between downtown La Crosse and the station for a flat fee. A downtown freight house remained in use until 1955. By 1955, the station was served by one daily Chicago–Tacoma round trip (''

Olympian Hiawatha The ''Olympian'' and its successor the ''Olympian Hiawatha'' were passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. The ''Olympian'' operated from ...

''), three daily Chicago–Minneapolis round trips ('' Morning Hiawatha, Afternoon Hiawatha'', '' Pioneer Limited'', ''Fast Mail''), one daily La Crosse–

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

round trip, and a Minneapolis-to-Chicago local. Over the years, service gradually decreased as subsidies for automobile and air travel cut into the profitability of passenger rail. Service to Austin was eliminated in 1960, and post office mail contracts were cut in 1967. By October 1970, only the daily ''Morning Hiawatha'' round trip plus the Minneapolis-to-Chicago ''Fast Mail'' served La Crosse.

Amtrak era

took over intercity passenger service on May 1, 1971. Amtrak retained the

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the e ...

's , but rerouted it between Minneapolis and Chicago, replacing the ''Morning Hiawatha'' on a similar schedule. On November 14, 1971, Amtrak added a second daily Chicago–Minneapolis round trip. It ran between Chicago and Seattle three days a week as the ''North Coast Hiawatha'', and between Chicago and Minneapolis the other four days as the ''Hiawatha''. The ''Hiawatha'' was renamed ''Twin Cities Hiawatha'' on January 16, 1972, but returned to ''Hiawatha'' on October 29; it shared the ''North Coast Hiawatha'' name beginning in 1974. The ''Empire Builder'' and ''North Coast Hiawatha'' were combined east of Minneapolis in 1977, with the ''Twin Cities Hiawatha'' operating daily. On April 30, 1978, the and ''Twin Cities Hiawatha'' were merged to form the Chicago–Duluth . The ''North Coast Hiawatha'' was discontinued on October 6, 1979, though the ''Empire Builder'' continued to run. The ''North Star'' was cut back to a Minneapolis–Duluth service in October 1981, leaving only the daily ''Empire Builder'' serving La Crosse. The station was listed on the

in 1997. A renovation that included an accessible platform was completed in 2001. A second daily Chicago–St. Paul round trip, the , is planned to begin in September 2023. Resumption of the ''North Coast Hiawatha'' is being studied in 2022–2023.

References

External links

{{Registered Historic Places Amtrak stations in Wisconsin Railway stations in the United States opened in 1926

Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in La Crosse County, Wisconsin 1926 establishments in Wisconsin La Crosse, Wisconsin