Nowadays, the trains through Hatfield are a branch of the Canadian National
Railroad, going between Stevens Point (which is located on the C.N. main line) and East Winona on the banks of the Mississippi River. The major
industry on the line is the Ashley Furniture plant in Arcadia. Cars are also interchanged with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe in East Winona.
>From 1896 through 1993, the line was part of the Green Bay and Western Railroad. The railroad connected to the east by car ferries in Kewaunee,
Wis. and to points west at Winona, Minn. The railroad was very profitable,
mainly from shipping car parts from Detroit and vicinity to a large Ford plant in St. Paul, Minn. The return trip was filled with eastbound freight,
including Wisconsin cheese and butter, and paper products. High-speed trains twice a day each way was the standard operation.
Mark Mathu" <mark@mathu.com
Do they haul parts in one way and the completed furniture out the other
way?
No, shipments out go either east (to Wisconsin Rapids) or west (to East Winona) depending upon their final
destination. Empty cars can come from either direction also, although I suspect that most empty cars come from
Wisconsin Rapids since that is the connection to the main line of the Canadian National Railroad and a better source for nearby empty freight cars.