The River Subdivision or River Sub is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

that runs approximately from

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

south to La Crescent.

U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated ...

closely parallels the route between La Crescent and Red Wing. The line is operated by the

Canadian Pacific Railway 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 ...

through its primary

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

, the

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...

BNSF Railway 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 ...

operates a complementary

St. Croix Subdivision The St. Croix Subdivision or St. Croix Sub is an American rail line operated by the BNSF Railway. It runs approximately from La Crosse, Wisconsin to Saint Paul, Minnesota, following the Mississippi River. It runs through the communities of La Cro ...

which traces the eastern side of the river in

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 ...

. The two routes share some track between Saint Paul and St. Croix Junction, near

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

History

The line's origins trace to the Minnesota and Pacific Railroad Company, which started building a line from Saint Paul southward along the river in 1865. The line was completed to Minnesota City in 1870, and made a junction with the

Winona and St. Peter Railroad The Winona and St. Peter Railroad was a railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was founded in 1861 in Winona, Minnesota. The first from Winona to Stockton, Minnesota, were completed by the end of 1862, making the it the second operational ...

(under control of the

Chicago and 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 ...

) in 1871. In December 1871, the river line was sold to the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, and it continued to be operated by the Milwaukee Road for over a century. The Milwaukee Road had a crossing in

Winona Winona, Wynona or Wynonna may refer to: Places Canada * Winona, Ontario United States * Winona, Arizona * Winona, Indiana * Winona Lake, Indiana * Winona, Kansas * Winona, Michigan * Winona County, Minnesota ** Winona, Minnesota, the seat of Wi ...

and immediately made use of their new connection to Saint Paul. They extended the line south to La Crescent in 1872 and built a new bridge over the river to

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 ...

. While most of the route has been used by passenger trains since it first opened (the southern crossing was primarily used for freight), one of the most famous trains to use it was Milwaukee Road's '' Hiawatha'', which began service in 1935. Infrastructure for automatic

cab signaling Cab signaling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an ...

had been installed in the 1920s or 1930s, allowing the railroad to operate trains at high speed along the route with a good level of safety. The ''Hiawatha'' ran at up to along the river for brief stretches, but the train really made a name for itself by regularly running at over through Wisconsin on its way to

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

Current usage

Today,

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 ...

's '' Empire Builder'' follows the ''Hiawathas former route between the Twin Cities and Chicago, and stops at Red Wing and Winona along the River Sub.

References

{{reflist Canadian Pacific Railway lines in the United States Rail infrastructure in Minnesota