Wisconsin Northern Railroad
In mid-August Anita and I travelled to Wisconsin to visit our parents. While most of our time was spent in doing various family things, we were able to take some time to investigate the operations of the newly-formed Wisconsin Northern railroad.
Friday, August 12, 2005 - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
	The railroad has no storage facilities, so their two locomotives spend their off-duty time tied down at the Pliant plastics plant on the north side of Chippewa Falls, WI. Their motive power is a matched and freshly-painted pair of EMD GP 15's numbered 1500 and 1501.
	WN # 1500 is named the "City of Barron" for one of the major cities on the line.
	Detail of the radiator end of the engines. Because of family commitments I arrived after Friday's work was done. That didn't stop me from making a few pictures of their equipment, however. Pictures of the days further adventures can be found on another page...
Saturday, August 13, 2005 - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
On our way to spend some time with Anita's dad, we stopped at Norma for another shot of two of the locos. But first we had to check out the old "Omaha Road" trail.
	This is the "Rails to Trails" bridge across Lake Wissota, on the Chippewa River, as seen from the west side (looking toward Chippewa Falls). Before the rails were stripped from the landscape, they extended from Norma Junction, on the north side of Chippewa Falls, northeast through Jim Falls and Cornell, all the way up to the small community of Hannibal in Taylor County.
	Looking north-west, this is where the Chippewa river comes into Lake Wissota.
	Anita heads back to the car after a nice stroll across the bridge. I'm not sure where those gulls came from... I was told you can now go from Chippewa Falls all the way to Cornell on this nicely paved trail. My source wasn't sure but what it may even continue to Eau Claire.
	Anita had on her brand new "Brett Favre" shirt, and made a pretty good match with the loco colors. I couldn't keep her off it; she said it smelled like a new car. Here's Brett! Here's Anita!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 - Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
On Tuesday we had some spare time so we drove on up to Bloomer to see if we could catch the train returning south from Cameron. We were in luck; as we drove into Bloomer we heard chatter on the scanner and, looking up the track, saw a headlight. We drove on up to the north side of town where they were picking up empties at the plastics plant there.
	WN # 1500 hooks onto the empties in the spur at the plastics plant.
	WN # 1500 pulls the empties out of the spur. These will be pushed back onto the main, then the crew will use 1501 to pick up some loads that had been stashed on the siding in town. They'll be shoved back in here before the crew puts their train back together for the return to Norma.
	A Progressive Rail high-railer and a Jeep service vehicle parked in the plastics plant lot.
	The siding in Bloomer near a farm implement dealership.
	A shot of the "City of Bloomer," # 1501 across the spur, from the field adjacent to the spur at the plastics plant. The train will be put back together and they'll continue their journey back to Norma.
	The "City of Barron" makes her last shove into the plastics plant spur.
	Locomotives are again coupled together and tied onto their train. Pumping air now...
	The dairy farm across the field provides an interesting contrast with the industrial scene here.
	You never know what you'll come across when you're chasing trains! I think this "Boy Racer" was as surprised to see a guy with a camera as I was to see him...
	My favorite shot of the day. They've picked up a couple of empty steel coil cars on the south side of Bloomer and are approaching the CTH 'S' grade crossing.
Click here for a Wisconsin Northern Locomotive Roster Click here for Maps of the Wisconsin Northern Railway Click here to return to Picture Links page Click here to return to Ron's Rec Room