Butler has played a role in UP’s Midwest Region as an important switching and crew change location between the densely-trafficked Proviso Yard in Chicago, Ill., and the South Saint Paul Yard in the Twin Cities via the Milwaukee, Adams, and Altoona subdivisions. During boom times, mainly around the holiday season, Butler has served as an overflow yard for Proviso, just 80 miles away. This allowed manifests between the two terminals to sort their trains in Butler, rather than Proviso. The yard also serves as a connection to the Shoreline Subdivision, a line used daily by local freight train LPA79, based out of Butler, and occasionally unit coal trains for the Edgewater Generating Station in Sheboygan, Wis., which consumes thousands of tons of Wyoming black diamonds throughout the week. There are also numerous locals that are based out of Butler, serving Milwaukee-area industries. It is still unclear at this time what will happen to the remaining locals, whether they continue to use Butler as their home terminal, or swap locations to somewhere that will continue to be in operation.
