WN Chetek River Bridge

In 1880, the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway (Omaha Road) constructed a line between Spooner, Wisconsin and Trego, Wisconsin as part of a larger project to construct towards Bayfield, Wisconsin.  In 1881, the Omaha Road constructed 9 miles from Trego, Wisconsin to Lakeside, Wisconsin.  The same year, the Chippewa Falls and Northern Railway (CF&N) constructed 15 miles between Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and Bloomer, Wisconsin.  In 1882, the Omaha Road constructed an additional 52 miles from Lakeside to Itasca, Wisconsin; and the CF&N completed an additional 54 miles between Bloomer and Spooner.  Also in 1882, the Omaha Road came under control of the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW), which had begun to construct and acquire a large railroad network throughout the Midwest.  In 1883, the Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls Railroad (EC&CF) constructed 11 miles between the existing Omaha Road mainline at Eau Claire, Wisconsin and Chippewa Falls.  By the end of 1883, the CF&N and EC&CF were both consolidated into the Omaha Road.  In 1884, the Superior Short Line Railway (SSL), a subsidiary of the Omaha Road, completed an additional 6 miles to the St. Louis River at Superior, Wisconsin.  By using trackage rights over the Northern Pacific Railway, the SSL completed an additional 2 miles in Duluth, Minnesota in 1886.  The SSL would be formally merged into the Omaha Road in 1895.  This line served as one of the northern mainlines of the Omaha Road, and would share the right-of-way with the other mainline between Spooner and Trego, Wisconsin.  These two mainlines formed a large X through northwest Wisconsin.  The line was critical to serving a booming logging and forestry industry in northwest Wisconsin.

The C&NW constructed and acquired a large amount of trackage through the Midwest, and the Omaha Road provided additional lines in western Wisconsin, southern Minnesota and parts of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.  By the early 20th Century, the Omaha Road operated a respectable network of railroad lines, serving in conjunction with the C&NW lines.  The Omaha Road would be leased by the C&NW in 1959, and formally merged into the C&NW in 1972.  Throughout the mid-20th Century, the line remained critical to the Omaha Road and C&NW.  During the late 20th Century, the C&NW sought to sell or abandon unprofitable and excess lines.  In 1992, the Cameron, Wisconsin to Itasca segment would be sold to Wisconsin Central, Ltd. (WC) as part of a larger sale of the other mainline between Cameron, Wisconsin and Superior, Wisconsin. Soon after, the Rice Lake to Gordon, Wisconsin segment would be abandoned in favor of the parallel Soo Line Route; and the Soo Line Route between Gordon and Itasca would be abandoned in favor of the C&NW route.  The abandoned lines would be acquired for trail use.  In 1995, the C&NW was purchased by Union Pacific Railroad (UP).  In 2001, WC would be acquired by Canadian National Railway (CN), and become the American subsidiary of the railroad.  Starting in 2004, the Wisconsin Northern Railroad (WN) leased the Chippewa Falls to Cameron line from UP.  Today, the Wild Rivers Trail uses the former railroad between Rice Lake and Gordon.  UP owns and operates two separate segments, including from Itasca to Superior and from Eau Claire to Chippewa Falls.  CN continues to own and operate two segments, including from Cameron to Rice Lake, and from Gordon to Itasca.  WN continues to operate over UP-owned tracks between Chippewa Falls and Cameron, serving a booming frac sand industry.