Union Pacific Kenosha sub/Metra UP North line - Trains Magazine

KCSfan

As I recall from many visits to Waukegan in the 50's and 60's when it was the CNW  there never was much freight traffic on the Kenosha Sub, mostly just commuter and through passenger trains. Perhaps there were some through freights that ran in the wee hours of the morning so I wouldn't have seen them. I always thought that CNW through trains to Milwaukee and points north ran on the double track freight only line located on the Gurnee side of Waukegan some 5 miles or so west of the Kenosha sub. I think this was the Milwaukee Sub which ran through Bain and I seem to remember was referred to as "the new line". Are my recollections correct?

What is today Union Pacific's Milwaukee Sub was, as I recall, CNW's New Line Sub, while the UP Kenosha Sub was the CNW Old Line Sub.  The Old Line did have a few freights on it, I briefly lived about 3/4 mile from it in Racine and saw and heard them regularly.  May have just been a wayfreight-type operation, I had little knowledge of the operations of 1:1 railroads at the time.  One of the Proviso-Butler freights was using the Kenosha Sub last year as well.

One of the bonuses of the line was and is a ready detour route in case anything happens on the freight New Line/Milwaukee Sub!  That has happened on a regular basis as well, at least as regular as detours can get.