The Worthington Subdivision or Worthington 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 operated by

Union Pacific Railroad 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 ...

. It runs generally southwest-northeast and begins at a

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

in St. James Township, Minnesota, where the

Mankato Subdivision The Mankato Subdivision or Mankato Sub is a railway line operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. It runs generally southwest, starting at Chestnut Street in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where it crosses the Mississippi River, then runs south along the ...

ends, and it continues to

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

. The line has yard facilities in

Worthington Worthington may refer to: People * Worthington (surname) * Worthington family, a British noble family Businesses * Worthington Brewery, also known as Worthington's * Worthington Corporation, founded as a pump manufacturer in 1845, later a dive ...

and Sioux City, as well as a small yard north of Worthington in

Hersey Hersey may refer to: Places United States * Hersey, Maine, a town * Hersey, Michigan, a village * Hersey, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Hersey Township (disambiguation) * Hersey (MBTA station), below-grade commuter rail station in Needha ...

and Lorain townships called Elk Creek. The line passes through many small towns and villages with grain elevators along its route, and it is the origin of numerous grain unit trains. the line sees 4 freight trains daily. The line began as the St. Paul and Sioux City railroad and was constructed between 1871 and 1872. It then became a division of the

Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway or ''Omaha Road'' was a railroad in the U.S. states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. It was incorporated in 1880 as a consolidation of the Chicago, St. Paul and Minne ...

(Omaha Road), which in turn became part 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 1882. The Chicago and North Western Railway was acquired by Union Pacific in 1995. Authority to occupy the main track is dispatched via CTC from West St. James to South Butterfield. From there,

track warrant control A track warrant is a set of instructions issued to a train crew authorizing specific train movements. The system is widely used in North America. The warrant is issued by the train dispatcher and delivered to the train crew via radio. The train cr ...

(TWC) is used, and it is

dark territory Dark territory is a term used in the North American railroad industry to describe a section of running track not controlled by signals. Train movements in dark territory were previously handled by timetable and train order operation, but since t ...

until Le Mars, Iowa, where automatic block signaling is used in conjunction with TWC. Union Pacific has trackage rights over CN's track from Le Mars to Sioux City, although UP dispatchers grant the authority to occupy the main track.

Accidents

On November 18, 1999, an empty northbound Union Pacific grain unit train was stopped on the main track at Carnes to meet a southbound UP manifest train which was to take the siding. For reasons unknown, the southbound train did not enter the siding and struck the stopped northbound train head-on, derailing 30 cars, five locomotives, and claiming the life of 23-year-old conductor Paul Schmidt of Boone, Iowa on the southbound train. Dale Evans, the driver of a crew transport van parked nearby was also killed. This accident was a prompt for legislation for the implementation of Positive Train Control, which could have prevented the accident. On May 16, 2021, a Union Pacific manifest train bound for North Platte, Nebraska derailed and caught fire in

Sibley, Iowa Sibley is a city in Osceola County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,860 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Osceola County. Hawkeye Point, the highest point in the State of Iowa, is also nearby. History Sibley ha ...

. The derailment involved 47 cars which were carrying asphalt,

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...

, and

potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

. Approximately 80 people were evacuated from a 2.5 mi radius around the derailment site, and the derailed cars were allowed to burn for nearly two days. No injuries or deaths occurred.

References

{{refend Union Pacific Railroad lines Rail infrastructure in Minnesota