At La Crosse, connection was made with former Chesapeake & Ohio main line between Chicago and Cincinnati. That main line previously extended northwest of La Crosse, connecting with the Erie Lackawanna in Hammond, and subsequently via the Chicago & Western Indiana to enter Chicago. After Conrail abandoned the Erie Lackawanna line in 1976, the then Chessie System did not want to assume responsibility for the Erie Lackawanna line, instead opting to operate Chicago-Cincinnati freight trains via the former Baltimore & Ohio main line between Chicago and Wellsboro, and this line south to La Crosse. Amtrak's James Whitcomb Riley, later the Cardinal, also used this routing via Wellsboro. Beginning in 1986, most of the Chicago-Cincinnati line was abandoned or downgraded, with the Cardinal shifted to a new routing via Indianapolis.
Radio Frequency - unknown
ITALICS INDICATE ABANDONED SEGMENTS
35.2 New Buffalo (junction)
26.3 Belfast (NKP Crossing)
23.3 La Porte (NYC Crossing)
17.5 Magee (Wabash Crossing)
15.0 Wellsboro (junction-CSX Garrett Subdivision)
8.8 Hanna (CFW&E crossing/automatic interlocking)
6.1 Thomaston (NS Crossing/remote-NS dispatcher)
0.0 La Crosse
1 track, unsignaled.