Nostalgia & History > CNW Memories from the La Crosse WI area

Back when the CNW had the Wisconsin Electric coal contract in Wausau, the CNW ran some awesome consists through La Crosse on their trains such as the CNW #6539 leading a SD60/50 consist past the Grand Crossing Tower. CNW SD50 #7002 leads an all star consist of SD40 types, UP #3097, CNW #6849 and Milwaukee Road GP40 #2042 - SWEET! and last, a new CNW SD50 #7012 passes through Dakota Minnesota with another Wausau bound load of coal. Nice wave!

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Love that first shot, you can't beat Grand Crossing!

Martin Young

> Back when the CNW had the Wisconsin Electric coal
> contract in Wausau, the CNW ran some awesome
> consists through La Crosse on their trains


I'm not an expert on operations in that area, but I believe what you were seeing there were SOO/CP trains rather than CNW trains. As I recall, the WPS contract into Wausau has swapped back and forth between SOO/CP and WC/CN over the years. I believe the trains you were seeing were running via LaCrosse when SOO/CP happened to have the contract, with the CNW/UP power operating there on a runthrough basis, interchanged via St. Paul.

Take care,

Mark

I would believe these to be CNW trains on Soo tracks with Soo crews just as today there are BNSF trains on CP tracks or CN tracks to Wausau with CP crews.

They were CNW trains.

Martin Young