UP Sunset Road Bridge (Port Washington)

In 1872, the Milwaukee, Manitowoc and Green Bay Railroad (MM&GB) constructed 49 miles of new railroad, extending from Lake Shore Junction on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  The MM&GB changed its name to the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railroad (MLS&W) after completion of the line.  The following year, the MLS&W resumed construction, completing an additional 32 miles to Two Rivers, Wisconsin, via Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  The MLS&W was reorganized as the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway (MLS&W) in 1885, which again was reorganized with the same name in 1883.  The MLS&W had constructed a handful of lines in northeast Wisconsin during the late 19th Century, primarily to connect Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.  This line initially provided the MLS&W with a connection to the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) at Milwaukee, which allowed the MLS&W to access Chicago. Due to the success of the MLS&W, the railroad was purchased by the Chicago & North Western Railway in 1893.  The C&NW had acquired and constructed a vast network of railroad lines throughout the Midwest during the late 19th Century, and the MLS&W system provided more opportunities for expansion.  

During the early 20th Century, the C&NW sought to improve operations by constructing new lines and improving existing lines.  The C&NW had become one of the premiere Midwest railroads, and sought to stay profitable and competitive.  The Manitowoc, Green Bay and North Western Railway (MGB&NW) was incorporated as a subsidiary of the C&NW in 1904 to construct a new connection between Manitowoc and Green Bay.  A 36 mile line was completed between the two cities in 1906, and the MGB&NW was sold to the C&NW in 1909.  Also in 1906, a bypass around the west side of Sheboygan was constructed to avoid the congested lakefront line.  These new lines provided the C&NW with a faster route between Chicago and Green Bay, serving Milwaukee and bypassing the industrial areas along Lake Winnebago.  As traffic on the route grew in the 20th Century, the Village of Whitefish Bay became concerned with the growing amount of trains through the Village.  In response, the C&NW constructed a short 4 mile cutoff between the north side of Whitefish Bay and Wiscona, a railroad junction on the north side of Milwaukee in 1929.  The portion of the line between Lake Shore Junction and Whitefish Bay would be removed immediately after completion of the cutoff.  Throughout the 20th Century, this line remained a core mainline for the C&NW, and was known as the Shoreline Subdivision.

By the late 20th Century, the C&NW sought to consolidate operations and abandon or sell unprofitable lines.  In 1988, the C&NW sold the Cleveland, Wisconsin to Green Bay segment and the Two Rivers Branch to the Fox River Valley Railroad, which became the Fox Valley and Western Ltd. (FV&W) in 1993.  The FV&W was a subsidiary of the successful Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WC), which had acquired a large amount of former Milwaukee Road and Soo Line trackage in Wisconsin.  The C&NW was purchased by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1995. In 1996, the segment between Denmark, Wisconsin and Rockwood, Wisconsin was abandoned and acquired for future trail use.  In 2001, WC was purchased by Canadian National Railway (CN), and became the American subsidiary of the railroad. The Two Rivers Branch was abandoned in the 1990s or early 2000s.  Much of the original line through Sheboygan was abandoned in approximately 2005, and CN abandoned the line between Manitowoc and Cleveland in 2013.  In 2021, the Green Bay to Denmark segment was sold to the Fox Valley & Lake Superior Rail System (FOXY).  Today, UP operates the Shoreline Subdivision between Wiscona and Cleveland; and CN operates the Shoreline Subdivision between Manitowoc and Rockwood.  FOXY continues to operate the Denmark Branch between Green Bay and Denmark.  The Rockwood to Denmark segment is known as the Devils River State Trail, and much of the original line through Sheboygan has been reused as a trail.  Much of the UP segment between Sheboygan and Cleveland is out of service, and its future uncertain.