Duplainville is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

located within the city of

Pewaukee, Wisconsin Pewaukee is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 15,914 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The name of the city of Pewaukee comes from that of the name of the village, the ori ...

. It is around three miles north of Waukesha, and around 15 miles west of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. The area is mainly industrial, but is most known among

railfan A railfan, train fan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff, anorak (British English), gunzel (Australian English), trainspotter (British English) or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally in ...

s because of the

diamond junction A double junction is a Junction (rail), railway junction where a double-track railway splits into two double track lines. Usually, one line is the Main line (railway), main line and carries traffic through the junction at normal speed, while the ...

between the

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Trade name, doing business as CPKC (known as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited until 2023), is a Canadian railway holding company. Through its primary operating railroad subsidiaries, Canadian Pacific Railw ...

Watertown Subdivision The Watertown Subdivision or Watertown Sub is a railway line in Wisconsin operated by Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) through its primary United States subsidiary, the Soo Line Railroad. It meets CPKC's Tomah Subdivision in the west in Porta ...

and the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

Waukesha Subdivision The Waukesha Subdivision or Waukesha Sub is a railway line owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway. It meets the Neenah Subdivision to the north in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and runs south to Chicago, Illinois. History Construction of ...

History

In 1855, the

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced financi ...

(Milwaukee Road) built a railroad line from Brookfield to Watertown, which eventually went to

Portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

. In 1885, the Wisconsin Central Railroad built a railroad line from Rugby Junction to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. This eventually led to their tracks crossing in Duplainville. In 1890, a tower was built in the northwest quadrant of the diamond. Because of heavy winter snow, help was hired to keep the tracks and switches clear. Although there were signals and gates at the Duplainville Rd crossing, there were numerous accidents and some fatalities. The tower burned down on January 1, 1929. A new brick building was then built, which was torn down in 1987 after an interchange track was installed in the northeastern quadrant of the diamond connecting the two lines. The line built by the Milwaukee Road eventually fell under the ownership and control of the

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is one of the primary United States railroad subsidiaries for the CPKC Railway , one of six U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Saul ...

in 1986. Canadian Pacific assumed full ownership and control of the line in 1990 after purchasing the Soo Line (CP merged with Kansas City Southern in April 2023 to form CPKC). The line built by Wisconsin Central went through the ownership of various railroads before being handed to Canadian National in 2001. The interchange switch on the CP side was removed on or around August 1, 2019 due to a dispute over where in Chicago the railroads should interchange and a lack of activity.

Current railroad operations

The diamond junction in the center of Duplainville attracts many rail enthusiasts and railroad photographers due to around 20–25 trains that run through each line per day. The east–west mainline belongs to CPKC's double-tracked

Watertown subdivision The Watertown Subdivision or Watertown Sub is a railway line in Wisconsin operated by Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) through its primary United States subsidiary, the Soo Line Railroad. It meets CPKC's Tomah Subdivision in the west in Porta ...

, which operates under the

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

although Amtrak's

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak 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 North ...

and Borealis services also use this line. Duplainville is at milepost 102.2. The north–south mainline belongs to the

's single-tracked

, which operates under the

Wisconsin Central Ltd. Wisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of Canadian National. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada (Algoma Central Railway), the United Kingdom (DB ...

subsidiary. Duplainville is at milepost 102.6. The

Wisconsin and Southern Railroad The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad is a Class II regional railroad in Southern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois currently operated by Watco. It operates former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) and ...

also has

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

over this line.

References

External links

Railroad Picture Archives
{{Authority control Geography of Waukesha County, Wisconsin Neighborhoods in Wisconsin