# Watertown Subdivision

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Railway line in Wisconsin

Watertown Subdivision The Watertown Sub local in Oconomowoc switching cars from an industrial spur owned by Brownberry Overview Status Active Owner Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited Locale Wisconsin Termini Portage Milwaukee Service Type Freight, passenger Operator(s) Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, Amtrak History Commenced 1850 Completed 1864 Technical Line length 92.7 mi (149.2 km) Number of tracks 1–2 Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Route map v t e Legend west to Tomah Subdivision 178.2/93.0 Portage spur, formerly to Stevens Point, Horicon 177.0/92.6 to Madison (M&P Subdivision) 176.0/91.6 Pacific 169.0/84.6 Wyocena 164.3/79.1 Rio 159.3/74.1 Doylestown 153.6/68.4 Fall River 150.0/65.6 Columbus 146.2/61.0 Astico 140.8/55.6 Reeseville to Madison (Wisconsin and Southern Railroad) Union Pacific Railroad Clyman Subdivision 131.2/46.0 Watertown 123.6/38.5 Ixonia 117.9/32.8 Oconomowoc 116.9/30.8 Gifford 115.9/29.8 Okauchee Lake 113.0/27.6 Nashotah 111.8/26.6 Nagawicka 110.1/24.9 Hartland 106.9/23.0 Lakeside 104.2/20.3 Pewaukee CN Waukesha Subdivision flyover (proposed) 102.1/16.9 Duplainville Canadian National Railway Waukesha Subdivision 99.4/14.2 Brookfield 95.1/9.9 Elm Grove Union Pacific Railroad 90.6/5.4 Wauwatosa to North Milwaukee to Muskego Yard 85.7/0.0 Milwaukee Intermodal Station south to C&M Subdivision

The **Watertown Subdivision** or **Watertown Sub** is a 92.7-mile (149.2 km) [railway](/source/Railway) line in [Wisconsin](/source/Wisconsin) operated by [Canadian Pacific Kansas City](/source/Canadian_Pacific_Kansas_City) (CPKC) through its primary [United States](/source/United_States) [subsidiary](/source/Subsidiary), the [Soo Line Railroad](/source/Soo_Line_Railroad). It meets CPKC's [Tomah Subdivision](/source/Tomah_Subdivision) in the west in [Portage](/source/Portage%2C_Wisconsin) and runs to [Milwaukee](/source/Milwaukee%2C_Wisconsin) in the east where it meets the [C&M Subdivision](/source/C%26M_Subdivision).[1][2][3] The Watertown Subdivision had previously been operated by the [Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad](/source/Chicago%2C_Milwaukee%2C_St._Paul_and_Pacific_Railroad) (CMStP&P/Milwaukee Road), though the Soo Line Railroad took it over when the Milwaukee Road folded. Canadian Pacific gained ownership via taking over the Soo Line. CP consolidated its operations with the [Kansas City Southern Railway](/source/Kansas_City_Southern_Railway) on April 14, 2023, to form CPKC.

## History

This line contains the oldest stretch of track in Wisconsin, constructed by an early incarnation of the CMStP&P, the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad. Track was laid between Milwaukee and [Brookfield](/source/Brookfield%2C_Wisconsin) in 1850. The initial line then turned southwest from Brookfield and went toward [Waukesha](/source/Waukesha%2C_Wisconsin). The first passenger train ran between Milwaukee and Waukesha on February 25, 1851. The next segment of the present subdivision was finished between Brookfield and [Watertown](/source/Watertown%2C_Wisconsin) in 1855, and continued partway to Portage in 1857. This line didn't reach its present western end at Portage until 1864, though an alternate route farther north that ran through [Iron Ridge](/source/Iron_Ridge%2C_Wisconsin) and [Horicon, Wisconsin](/source/Horicon%2C_Wisconsin), had reached the city in 1856.[4]

Farther to the west, today's [Tomah Subdivision](/source/Tomah_Subdivision) was quickly built from Portage to [La Crosse, Wisconsin](/source/La_Crosse%2C_Wisconsin), in 1857 and 1858. The line finally crossed the Mississippi River into neighboring [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota) in 1866. This was the second line of the Milwaukee Road to reach the Mississippi. The original rail line to Waukesha had been expanded through [Milton](/source/Milton%2C_Wisconsin) and [Madison](/source/Madison%2C_Wisconsin), and reached [Prairie du Chien](/source/Prairie_du_Chien%2C_Wisconsin) in 1867.[4]

In 1935, the Milwaukee Road introduced the *[Hiawatha](/source/Twin_Cities_Hiawatha)* passenger train which ran at high speed between [Saint Paul, Minnesota](/source/Saint_Paul%2C_Minnesota), and [Chicago](/source/Chicago). It was one of the fastest passenger trains in the world at the time.[5] When [Amtrak](/source/Amtrak) took over passenger service in the United States in 1971, the former [Great Northern](/source/Great_Northern_Railway_(U.S.)) *[Empire Builder](/source/Empire_Builder)* was redirected to run along the *Hiawatha'*s route between Chicago and [Minneapolis–Saint Paul](/source/Minneapolis%E2%80%93Saint_Paul), Minnesota. Until 1972 the line saw commuter service between Milwaukee and Watertown on the *Cannonball* line.

## Current operations

Around 20–25 trains run on the Watertown Subdivision a day, with four of them being [Amtrak](/source/Amtrak)'s *[Empire Builder](/source/Empire_Builder)* and *[Borealis](/source/Borealis_(train))* passenger trains; numbers 7 and 1333 (westbound) and 8 and 1340 (eastbound). Stops exist in [Portage](/source/Portage_station), [Columbus](/source/Columbus_station), and [Milwaukee](/source/Milwaukee_Intermodal_Station). The Amtrak *[Hiawatha](/source/Hiawatha_(Amtrak_train))*, which now runs between Milwaukee and Chicago, was expected to be extended to Madison with stops in Watertown, Brookfield, and possibly another city. Initial plans to include a stop in [Oconomowoc](/source/Oconomowoc%2C_Wisconsin) were dropped.[6][7] However, these plans never came to fruition following then governor [Scott Walker](/source/Scott_Walker_(politician)) returning the funds to the federal government for use on passenger rail projects in other states.

Among the many mainline freight trains that run through the area, CP G64 stands out as the only local that serves the Watertown Subdivision. Also known as the patrol train, it switches [freight cars](/source/Freight_car) from many [industrial spurs](/source/Industrial_spur) from Portage to Milwaukee. The train also often goes to [Madison](/source/Madison%2C_Wisconsin) via the [M&P Subdivision](/source/M%26P_Subdivision), and to a [ballast](/source/Track_ballast) pit in [Waterloo](/source/Waterloo%2C_Wisconsin) via the [Wisconsin and Southern Railroad](/source/Wisconsin_and_Southern_Railroad)'s own Watertown Subdivision.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Watertown Subdivision"](https://www.chicagorailfan.com/amtkmsp1.html). *Chicago Transit & Railfan*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Don Winter. ["Portage to Watertown"](http://donwinter.com/Railroad%20Infrastructure%20and%20Traffic%20Data/Trunk%20Routes/Milwaukee%20Road%20Hiawatha%20Routes/Route%20Descriptions/Portage%20to%20Watertown.htm). Retrieved June 3, 2010.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Don Winter. ["Watertown to Milwaukee"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110710144435/http://donwinter.com/Railroad%20Infrastructure%20and%20Traffic%20Data/Trunk%20Routes/Milwaukee%20Road%20Hiawatha%20Routes/Route%20Descriptions/Watertown%20to%20Milwaukee_1991.htm). Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2010.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-trainsmag-sept2010_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-trainsmag-sept2010_4-1) Matt Van Hatten (September 2010). "Map of the Month: Milwaukee Road growth". *Trains*: 50–51.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-hiawatha-story_5-0)** [Scribbins, Jim](/source/Jim_Scribbins) (2007) [1970]. [*The Hiawatha Story*](/source/The_Hiawatha_Story). Minneapolis, MN: [University of Minnesota Press](/source/University_of_Minnesota_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8166-5003-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8166-5003-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Minnesota receives federal stimulus funds to study high-speed rail"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100206164629/http://www.dot.state.mn.us/newsrels/10/01/29_highspeedrail.html). Minnesota Department of Transportation. January 29, 2010. Archived from [the original](http://www.dot.state.mn.us/newsrels/10/01/29_highspeedrail.html) on February 6, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Sean Ryan (August 18, 2010). ["WisDOT nixes Oconomowoc high-speed rail stop"](http://milwaukee.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2010/08/16/daily41.html). *The Business Journal of Milwaukee*. Retrieved August 26, 2010.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Watertown Subdivision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watertown_Subdivision) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watertown_Subdivision?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.