Adams Subdivision

{{Short description|Railway line in Wisconsin}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox rail line

| name = Adams Subdivision

| image = Adams Subdivision by Adams, Wisconsin.jpg

| caption = Adams Subdivision by Adams, Wisconsin

| type = Freight

| status = Active

| locale = Wisconsin

| start = Wyeville

| end = Butler

| yearcompleted = 1911

| owner = Union Pacific Railroad

| operator = Union Pacific Railroad

| linelength_mi = 139.2

| tracks = 1–2

| gauge = {{Track gauge|ussg|allk=on}}

| map = {{Adams Subdivision}}

| map_state = uncollapsed

}}

The Adams Subdivision or Adams Sub is a {{convert|139.2|mi|adj=on}} railway line owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. It meets the Wyeville Subdivision to the west in Wyeville, Wisconsin, and runs to Butler, Wisconsin in the east where it meets the Milwaukee Subdivision.{{Cite web |last=Yuhas |first=Mike |title=Union Pacific Adams Subdivision Photos |url=http://www.mikeyuhas.org/albums/upadamssub |website=Mike's Railroad Pages}} It was constructed in 1911 by the Chicago and North Western Railway. The Milwaukee, Sparta, and Northwestern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Chicago and North Western Railway, began the "Air Line" or "Adams Cutoff" from Adams, Wisconsin towards Sparta, Wisconsin in 1910.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=21w0AQAAMAAJ |title=History of Monroe County, Wisconsin: Past and Present Including an Account of the Cities, Towns and Villages of the County |publisher=Unigraphic |year=1912}} The Adams Cutoff avoided the steep grades of the Elroy to Sparta cutoff on the route from Madison, Wisconsin.{{Cite book |last=Tom Murray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yuCjrsnEykUC |title=Chicago & North Western Railway |publisher=Voyageur Press |isbn=978-1-61673-154-0}}

The Twin Cities 400 ran on the Adams Subdivision from its creation in 1935 to its discontinuation in 1963, and was the last routinely operated passenger train to run on the line.{{Cite web |title=Adams Subdivision |url=https://www.chicagorailfan.com/rfttucad.html |website=Chicago Transit & Railfan}} In July 2019, an excursion train ran on the Adams Subdivision as part of the "Great Race Across the Midwest" celebratory tour. The train was led by Union Pacific 4014, a 4-8-8-4 Big Boy type steam locomotive.{{Cite web |date=8 July 2019 |title=The Great Race Across the Midwest: Big Boy No. 4014 Locomotive To Cross Rock River In Wisconsin and Illinois |url=https://rockrivertrail.com/the-great-race-across-the-midwest-big-boy-no-4014-locomotive-to-cross-rock-river |website=Rock River Trail}}