Oconomowoc, Wisconsin — CPKC Watertown Subdivision
Main Street crossing on the Empire Builder's route through Wisconsin
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin — CPKC Watertown Subdivision
CPKC — Watertown Subdivision, milepost 117.95 (Milwaukee–Portage) · Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, United States
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Tavern League of Railfans watches the CPKC Watertown Subdivision from the Thirsty Bird Saloon at 119 S Main Street, Oconomowoc, across from milepost 117.95. CPKC freight between Milwaukee and Portage shares the line with Amtrak's Empire Builder and the Borealis.
About this cam
Tavern League of Railfans runs this camera from the Thirsty Bird Saloon at 119 S Main Street in Oconomowoc, across from milepost 117.95 on the CPKC Watertown Subdivision. The traffic is CPKC freight running between Milwaukee and Portage, Wisconsin, joined by two passenger services: Amtrak's daily Empire Builder and the Borealis. The operator publishes the schedule, which is unusually helpful for planning a watch — eastbound Empire Builder number 8 in the 2pm hour, westbound number 7 after 5pm; westbound Borealis number 1333 around 1:15pm, eastbound number 1340 just after 5pm. The camera faces southwest. Trains moving left to right are westbound for Portage; right to left are eastbound for Milwaukee. A radio feed monitoring 161.370 (AAR 084) for the Watertown Sub is mixed into the stream, and the hotbox detectors at milepost 118.0 — just out of frame to the west — and milepost 123.0 are regularly heard.
What to watch for
The published passenger timetable is the reason to bookmark this one: four scheduled trains a day at known hours, on a street crossing in the middle of a Wisconsin town. Between them, CPKC freight works the Milwaukee to Portage corridor. The hotbox detector at milepost 118.0 is barely out of frame to the west, so you hear a train called out seconds before it appears. Left to right is westbound, right to left is eastbound.
Best viewing times
The operator publishes the passenger schedule: eastbound Empire Builder #8 in the 2pm hour and westbound #7 after 5pm; westbound Borealis #1333 around 1:15pm and eastbound #1340 just after 5pm.