After years of deferred maintenance, Milwaukee Road had to finally replace the first of three diamonds near Eau Claire Tower. This diamond was owned by MILW and served three purposes. First it was... (more)

This vintage shot was taken at Eau Claire Tower, capturing a classic piece of railroad history from the 1950s and 60s. The tower operator hands up orders to the engineer of train 172, powered by a... (more)

CNW 4445 brings as west side job strings of boxcars east past Eau Claire Tower on CNW's mainline from the Twin Cities. By 1982 the crossovers between main tracks have been removed, as well as the ... (more)

Eau Claire Tower was the heart of railroad operations through town from 1896 to 1991. This former Omaha Road (CNW) structure was actually originally built to a Milwaukee Road design. It protected ... (more)

A Milwaukee Road SW1 switcher returns across the Chippewa River bridge to the yard after working west side industries in Eau Claire, WI. The three truss bridge was light weight restricting diesel ... (more)

CNW SD40 883 leads a trio of power including a former Southern SD24 and torpedo-tube equipped GP35 on train 406 at Yukon Jct. as the train arrives in Eau Claire from Spooner, WI on its way to the ... (more)

CNW train 472 from East Minneapolis to Green Bay, WI rolls through Eau Claire, WI on its way to a crew change and some switching in Altoona. At this time there was still a short stretch of double ... (more)

PNCX 6323, a former Southern Railway SD24 is parked at Altoona, WI on CNW for fueling and sand. CNW leased a batch of these units in 1979 and later bought some of them converting them to SD18s (de... (more)

CNW SD45s 945 and 952 and a GP30 arrive in Eau Claire, WI from Spooner at Yukon, the junction with the Twin Cities-Chicago mainline. The distinctive flared radiators stood out more on CNW with the... (more)

While still working for CNW I had the chance to visit hometown, Eau Claire, WI and managed to capture train 472 heading east toward Altoona as it went under the old highway 53 bridge on Eau Claire... (more)

An eastbound freight from Minneapolis climbs the grade out of the Chippewa and Eau Claire River valley as it heads into Altoona yard. GP50 no. 5099 is brand new having been built earlier this mont... (more)

CNW 943, an SD45 and SD40-2 CNW 6815 pair up to handle an eastbound train 472 into Eau Claire from East Minneapolis, MN. The train is crossing the Chippewa River bridge with Old Wells Road bridge ... (more)

Milwaukee Road SDL39 581 became a regular on the Winona, MN-Eau Claire, WI branch by the early 1970s, replacing aging Alco RSC-2s. Milwaukee ended up with 10 of these units, nine of which made it ... (more)

CNW 4400 heads south with the Cornell wayfreight at Lake Hallie, north of Eau Claire, WI on the CNW's mainline from Eau Claire to Superior, WI. The train operated between Altoona and Cornell via C... (more)

CNW SD45 943 leads a former Chicago Great Western SD40 and two SD40-2s on an eastbound freight as the train crosses the Eau Claire River at Eau Claire, WI. The locos seem to dominate the bridge, w... (more)