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<p>In 1873, the Chippewa Falls & Western Railway (CF&W) constructed a short 10 mile railroad line, extending from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin to Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This short line provided connections from an existing mainline at Chippewa Falls to industries in Eau Claire. The CF&W was merged into the Wisconsin Central Railroad, which was renamed the Wisconsin Central Railway (WC) in 1899. In 1909, the WC would be leased by the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway (Soo Line), which itself was controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). The Soo Line had constructed a large network of railroads, connecting the Upper Midwest with Canadian Railroads. Traffic over this line was generally local traffic, and the line also was used by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) after they abandoned their own route between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. In 1961, the WC would be merged with other CP subsidiaries Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad and the Soo Line to form Soo Line Railroad, a company controlled by CP. In 1984, the Soo Line would be reorganized as the Soo Line Corporation, which was later fully merged into CP in 1990. In 1991, the entire line would be abandoned and purchased by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for trail use. Today, the line is used as part of the Chippewa River State Trail.</p><p><br></p>
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