The Wyeville Subdivision or Wyeville 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 owned and operated by the

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 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 in ...

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 2021 of 8,817. The city is a railroad terminal on the Union Pacific Railroad. History The settlement o ...

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 147 at the 2010 census. History The West Wisconsin Railway was authorized in 1876 to build from St. Paul, Minnesota thr ...

to the east where it connects with the Adams Subdivision. 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 Omah ...

and was completed in 1872. The line then became part 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 ...

in 1878; 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 ...

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 Schedu ...

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

Union Pacific 4014 Union Pacific 4014, also known as the "Big Boy", is a steam locomotive owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad (UP) as part of Union Pacific Heritage Fleet, their heritage fleet. It is a four-cylinder simple Art ...

, a 4-8-8-4 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, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

, 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