The Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway or ''Lake Shore Road'' (reporting mark MLS&W) is a former railroad company whose mainline connected

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by t ...

and northwest

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 ...

with connection to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

by way of the

Chicago & North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a 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 track in seven states befor ...

. It was acquired by the C&NW August 19, 1893.Stennett, William H.. Yesterday and Today: A History of the Chicago and North Western Railway System. United States: Winship Company, Printers, 1910.

History

The MLS&W could trace its origin to the granting of a right-of-way to the Manitowoc and Mississippi Railroad in December 1853. The MLS&W had its beginnings in 1872 with the reorganization of several predecessor roads. *Appleton and New London Railway - Chartered April 9, 1866, to build a railroad from

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

New London, Wisconsin New London is a city in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, Outagamie and Waupaca County, Wisconsin, Waupaca counties Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1851, the population was 7,295 at the 2010 census. Of this, 5,685 were in Waupaca County, and 1,640 ...

. *Milwaukee, Manitowoc & Green Bay Railroad - Chartered March 10, 1870 to build a railroad from Milwaukee to

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc () is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626, with over ...

and

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

. *The Vieux Desert & Lake Shore Railroad Company *The Wolf River Railroad Company As grading continued from Port Washington, the railroad sought to enter Milwaukee along the right bank of the Milwaukee river and use the existing Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway depot. The competitor railroad declined to permit it. A new route into Milwaukee was creatied by heading towards the Lake Michigan shore, and coming down the bluff near North Point. By 1888, the Lake Shore was operating daily mainline passenger trains on the Milwaukee to Ashland route as well as frequent branch service to Rhinelander, Wausau, Oconto, Two Rivers and Oshkosh. Schedules indicate that almost eleven hours were required for the 367-mile Milwaukee-Ashland run. By 1893, the MLS&W had become a major Wisconsin carrier and attracted attention from the

(C&NW). Since the MLS&W depended upon the C&NW for a Chicago connection as well as numerous interchange locations, it was apparent that the interests of both lines could be well served by merging the railroads. This was accomplished by September 1893. Some 733 miles of Lake Shore road as well as 112 locomotives, 77 passenger train cars, and over 5000 freight cars became the property of the C&NW. C&NW would continue to operate the MLS&W mainline into the 20th century, however many sections were abandoned including the section from Sheboygan to Manitowoc and most of the trackage northwest of Appleton. In 1995

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 Paci ...

bought The Chicago & North Western Railway and today continues to operate the Chicago to Sheboygan section. The southern section of the line between Kenosha and Chicago continues to host passenger service,

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. I ...

uses the section for its commuter services on its

Union Pacific North Line The Union Pacific North Line (UP-N) is a Metra line in the Chicago metropolitan area. It runs between Ogilvie Transportation Center and Kenosha, Wisconsin; however, most trains terminate in Waukegan, Illinois. Although Metra owns the rolling stoc ...

References

{{reflist Defunct Wisconsin railroads Railway companies established in 1872 Railway companies disestablished in 1893 Predecessors of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company