Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WC) started in US in the mid-1980s using most of the originalWisconsin Central Railway's rights of way and some formerMilwaukee Road rights of way after theSoo Line Railroad acquired the Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Minnesota holdings of the bankrupt Milwaukee Road and divested its older railway trackage in Wisconsin. In 1993 the Wisconsin Central also acquired theGreen Bay and Western Railroad and theFox River Valley Railroad.
In 1995, Wisconsin Central acquired the 322-mile (518 km) CanadianAlgoma Central Railway whose tracks ran north of Sault Saint Marie to Hearst, Ontario. The Algoma Central runs a popular tourist passenger train through theAgawa Canyon and Agawa Canyon Wilderness Park near Lake Superior Provincial Park.
In 2001, the Wisconsin Central was purchased byCanadian National.[1] Along with the formerIllinois Central Railroad, the former Wisconsin Central became part of Canadian National's United States holdings and its property integrated into the CN system.
In November 2020, as part of celebrations for the 25th anniversary of CN's privatization, the company unveiled a series of locomotives repainted in the schemes of its predecessor and/or subsidiary railroads.GE ET44AC No. 3069 was repainted in the burgundy and yellow livery of Wisconsin Central, along with the logos of that company.[2]
1993: A Wisconsin Central-led consortium acquiresNew Zealand Rail through a new subsidiary, Wisconsin Central International, and renames itTranz Rail in 1995[4]
1995: WC acquires theAlgoma Central Railway through a new subsidiary, Wisconsin Central Canada Holdings[5]
January 30, 2001: Wisconsin Central andCanadian National announce plans for CN to purchase the former for$800 million and the assumption of $400 million of WC's debt, it is completed on October 9, 2001[11]
June 28, 2007:Deutsche Bahn announced it had agreed with CN/WC to purchase EWS, subject to receiving regulatory approval,[12][13] in exchange for £309 million.[14] At the time of the acquisition, EWS had a market share of around 70% in the United Kingdom rail freight sector and had around 5,000 employees.[15] After the transaction was approved by theEuropean Commissioner for Competition,[16][17] the transaction was completed on 13 November 2007.[18]
