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Wisconsin Railroads (Wisconsin)

Last Updated: June 5, 2025, 18:18 pm UTC
Category Report

Frequencies

Railroads

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF)

BNSF operates in Wisconsin along the Mississippi River (between East Dubuque, IL at the state line and northwest of Hager, WI) and in the Twin Ports (Duluth & Superior) area.

The Aurora Subdivision covers Aurora, IL to LaCrosse, WI

The St. Croix Subdivision covers from LaCrosse, WI to the WI/MN state line

Portions of the Hinckley and Lakes Subdivisions cover the Twin Ports area of Wisconsin

The Allouez Subdivision covers a small area in the Superior, WI area that covers the taconite facility and vicinity 

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.695WQPJ857 BM AAR 3939 BNSF St. Croix Subdivision FMN Railroad
161.100KCT494 BM AAR 6666 BNSF Aurora (Savanah - N. LaCrosse), Hinckley, Lakes Subdivisions FMN Railroad
161.160WQQS908 BM AAR 7070 BNSF Aurora Sub (Aurora to Savanah) FMN Railroad
161.250KNIV200 BM AAR 7676 BNSF Allouez (Superior) Terminal FMN Railroad
161.010 BM AAR 6060 BNSF Allouez (Superior) Docks FMN Railroad
161.5425KNIV200 BM 1 RAN AAR 484 BNSF Superior Yard (NXDN) NXDN48 Railroad
160.560 BM AAR 3030 BNSF Superior Shops FMN Railroad
160.590 BM AAR 3232 BNSF Superior Shops FMN Railroad
160.650 BM AAR 3636 BNSF Yard FMN Railroad
161.355 BM AAR 8383 BNSF Yard FMN Railroad
Canadian National (CN)
FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.260 BM AAR 1010 CN Manitowoc Sub, Plover Sub, Saukville Sub, Shawano Sub FMN Railroad
160.335 BM AAR 1515 CN Ashland Sub, Bradley Sub, Iron Mtn Sub, Marinette Sub, Pembine Sub, FDL Yard FMN Railroad
160.350 BM AAR 1616 CN Superior Sub FMN Railroad
160.785 BM AAR 4545 CN Fox River Sub, Neenah Sub, West Bend Sub, New London Sub FMN Railroad
161.295 BM AAR 7979 CN Waukesha Sub, Medford Sub, Dresser Sub, Mpls Sub, Superior Sub, Valley Sub, Whitehall Sub FMN Railroad
161.385 BM AAR 8585 CN Plover Sub FMN Railroad
160.845 BM AAR 4949 CN Yard - Shops South, Green, Fox Valley, Stevens Point FMN Railroad
161.070 BM AAR 6464 CN Yard/Switching - various FMN Railroad
161.250 BM AAR 7676 CN Yard/Switching - various FMN Railroad
161.550 BM AAR 9696 CN Yard - Pokegama FMN Railroad
160.950 BM AAR 5656 CN Maint. of Way, various Subdivisions FMN Railroad
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway (CPKC)
CPKC is the combination of two historic railways – Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS). Today, we are CPKC and have created the first and only transnational rail network in North America. Drawing on our strong foundations and heritage, CPKC moves essential goods across our 20,000-mile network to support economic growth throughout Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.770 BM AAR 4444 CPKC C&M Sub, River Sub, Portage Yard FMN Railroad
161.370 BM AAR 8484 CPKC Watertown Sub FMN Railroad
161.520 BM AAR 9494 CPKC Tomah Sub FMN Railroad
160.725 BM AAR 4141 CPKC Rail Menomonee Belt (Milw) FMN Railroad
161.430 BM AAR 8888 CPKC Rail Muskego Yard - west (Milw) FMN Railroad
161.085 BM AAR 6565 CPKC Rail Bayview switching (Milw) FMN Railroad
161.085 BM AAR 6565 CPKC Rail Maintenance of Way FMN Railroad
Union Pacific (UP)
FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.485 BM AAR 2525 UP Milwaukee Sub FMN Railroad
160.890 BM AAR 5252 UP Adams Sub, Wyeville Sub, Altoona Sub, Clyman Sub, Granville Sub FMN Railroad
161.040 BM AAR 6262 UP Kenosha Sub (with Metra), Shoreline Sub FMN Railroad
161.175 BM AAR 7171 UP National Ave.and Butler Yard Switching (Milw) FMN Railroad
161.220 BM AAR 7474 UP Janesville Yard FMN Railroad
161.265 BM AAR 7777 UP Butler Yard FMN Railroad
160.455 BM AAR 2323 UP Maintenance of Way FMN Railroad
Watco

Watco Companies, L.L.C. (Watco) Watco is an American transportation and logistics company based in Pittsburg, Kansas. The company’s core services are freight transportation, material handling and storage, logistics, railcar repair and maintenance. Currently, Watco operates the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR) and the Fox Valley & Lake Superior Railroad (FOXY) within Wisconsin.

Note: FOXY frequency use has been heard in the Milwaukee area, contrary to licensing.

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.575WSCG848 BM AAR 3131 WSOR Road FMN Railroad
161.145WSCG848 BM AAR 6969 WSOR Yard FMN Railroad
160.530WRNE484 M AAR 2828 FOXY mobiles FMN Railroad
161.430WRNE484 M AAR 8888 FOXY mobiles FMN Railroad
Escanaba & Lake Superior (ELS)

E&LS operates from Green Bay, WI north into the UP of Michigan where most trackage is. 

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.320 BM AAR 1414 Road FMN Railroad
160.290 BM AAR 1212 Yard FMN Railroad
161.310 BM AAR 8080 Yard FMN Railroad
161.550 BM AAR 9696 Yard FMN Railroad
Genesee & Wyoming

Arguably one of the most diverse operations in G&W’s North American footprint, Tomahawk Railway (TR), nestled in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, is a three-pronged business that combines rail, warehousing and a shuttle service that supports the area’s pulp and paper sector.

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.305 BM AAR 1313 Tomahawk Railway Ops FMN Railroad
Lake Superior & Ishpeming (LSI)
FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.230 BM LS&I1 Road Road FMN Railroad
160.950 BM LS&I2 MOW Maintenance of Way FMN Railroad
161.370 BM LS&I Yard Yard FMN Railroad
161.490 BM LS&I Yard Yard FMN Railroad
161.205 BM LS&I Police Police FMN Railroad
Progressive Rail

Progressive Rail, Inc operates the Wisconsin Northern Railroad (WN) between Chippewa Falls and Cameron, Wisconsin

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.350WQBT768 BM AAR 1616 Wisconsin Northern Ops FMN Railroad
Amtrak (AMTK)

Amtrak uses the host railroad's subdivision channel(s) to communicate with the host railroad dispatcher

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
160.365 BM AAR 1717 AMTK Police FMN Law Tac
160.395 RM 131.8 PL AAR 1981 AMTK Police FMN Law Dispatch
161.205 RM 413 DPL AAR 7317 AMTK Police FMN Law Dispatch
160.545 BM AAR 2929 AMTK Special Agents FMN Law Tac
161.325 BM AAR 8181 AMTK Maintenance FMN Railroad
Metra (METX)

Metra serves the City of Kenosha with 10 trains per day (May 2024) in and out of Chicago. The route is owned by Union Pacific and is part of the Kenosha Subdivision.

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
161.040 BM AAR 6262 METX North Line (UP Kenosha Sub) FMN Railroad
160.605 BM AAR 3333 METX Police Control FMN Railroad
East Troy Electric Railroad

The East Troy Electric Railroad (reporting mark ETER) is an interurban heritage railroad owned and operated by the East Troy Railroad Museum. Passenger excursions run on a 7-mile (11 km) stretch of track from East Troy to Mukwonago, Wisconsin.

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
161.115WQLY483 RM AAR 6719 ETER Ops Repeater FMN Railroad
Railroad Data/Telemetry

With the continued buildout of new track signaling systems as part of the PTC systems, legacy ATCS monitoring is becoming more difficult. Monitoring the HOTD and EOTD channels is a good indicator of nearby freight rail traffic.  

FrequencyLicenseTypeToneAlpha TagDescriptionModeTag
452.9375 M AAR HOTD Head of Train Device Telm Data
457.9375 M AAR EOTD End of Train Device Telm Data
452.925 M DPU 1 Distributed Power Units Ch. 1 Telm Data
452.950 M DPU 2 Distributed Power Units Ch. 2 Telm Data
457.925 M DPU 3 Distributed Power Units Ch. 3 Telm Data
457.950 M DPU 4 Distributed Power Units Ch. 4 Telm Data