Butler has played a role in UP’s Midwest Region as an important switching and crew change location between the densely-trafficked Proviso Yard in Chicago, Ill., and the South Saint Paul Yard in the Twin Cities via the Milwaukee, Adams, and Altoona subdivisions. During boom times, mainly around the holiday season, Butler has served as an overflow yard for Proviso, just 80 miles away. This allowed manifests between the two terminals to sort their trains in Butler, rather than Proviso. The yard also serves as a connection to the Shoreline Subdivision, a line used daily by local freight train LPA79, based out of Butler, and occasionally unit coal trains for the Edgewater Generating Station in Sheboygan, Wis., which consumes thousands of tons of Wyoming black diamonds throughout the week. There are also numerous locals that are based out of Butler, serving Milwaukee-area industries. It is still unclear at this time what will happen to the remaining locals, whether they continue to use Butler as their home terminal, or swap locations to somewhere that will continue to be in operation.
I lived in Butler for several years, Beside the park, my favorite place to go was to watch the Butler Yard activity.
At least they haven’t bull-dozed it, unlike CSX in Atlanta. It’s always a lot less expensive to leave under-utilized assets intact and available than to remove them to satisfy someone’s short-sighted agenda. When billion-dollar plans are bandied about to relieve Chicago area congestion, corporate might want to consider that.
@Cliff Davis
It is always dissappointing when jobs are lost, but unneeded is still unneeded. I’m from Flint, Mi. where we have gone from 80,000 GM employees to about 15,000 GM employees. The original AC Spark Plug , Fischer Body, Buick and Chevrolet plants are all gone. Business changes always effect someone.
@Curtis Larson, I’m sorry that you didn’t find the Butler operations interesting but perhaps you could be a little more concerned for the 40+ people who were just laid off.
Not sure how respectful it is to say that a yard “will not be missed” when people are losing their jobs. I have enough seniority to hold Proviso and can keep working. A lot of other guys don’t.
It is always preferable to stay “on-topic and respectful,” thus avoiding ad hominem posts.
When we lived in Wauwatosa we had a spectacular view of UP trains approaching or leaving Butler Yard. Don’t know about now – back then there was a long-distance light engine move for servicing locomotives bringing coal to We Energies at Oak Creek, about twenty-five miles away.
It’s been a long time since CNW days – traffic to Sheybogan to the northeast and the Adams line to the northwest seems to have held up, as local deliveries in the Milwaukee area limp along.
Actually, the main facilities are in Milwaukee, not in a suburb. The southerly approach tracks are in Wauwatosa. No part of the yard is in Butler, a small village which is in Waukesha County to the west. There is an awesome view of the yard from the Hampton Avenue overpass, easily reachable by bicycle from anywhere.
I can’t speak to yard operations, a subject I know nothing about. I do think Butler would be a great location for an intermodal lift. Highways to Proviso and other Chicago-area TOFC lifts are just too congested.
I stand corrected. Since the train runs overnight to Sheboygan, I made my observations by the cars in the yard & activity by the local. Thanks Steve.
Already started. No road freights originating or terminating at Butler. MSSBU gone. MBUNP gone. MBUSA gone. Funny thing is, when PSR was started on that end of the railroad, the BUNP and MBUFW (later the MBUSA) were put on in order to bypass Proviso.
As for the Sheboygan wayfreight, as far as I know it runs 5 nights a week. I know the conductor on the job.
The freight to Sheboygan is not daily. 3-4 times a week. Likewise the coal train is cut back to 2-3 times a week since only 1 generating unit is still in operation at the Edgewater Plant.
Charles, you are right. Butler would make for a good intermodal lift location with the yard right off of I-41 and avoid the Chicago congestion. Lots & lots of stack trailers heading north from Chicago every day.
Butler, in spite of its busy, never was particularly interesting, so will not be missed.