In 1877, the St. Paul, Stillwater, and Taylors Falls Railroad Company proposed building tracks from Hudson, Wisconsin to River Falls, Wisconsin if Hudson, Troy, and River Falls Townships would issue bonds to buy the right-of-way and grade the road. In 1878 the Hudson and River Falls Railway Company was formed. The right-of-ways were soon purchased and work on the grade was started. On Saturday, October 26, 1878 rail service began. The service ran two passenger lines per day; later, a freight service was introduced. In 1880 area railroads (including the Hudson and River Falls) merged to form the North Wisconsin Railroad Company. The North Wisconsin was bought out by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railway in 1881, and locally and affectionately became known as the Omaha Line. The Omaha Line was owned and operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway Company. Passenger service between River Falls and Hudson was stopped shortly after World War II, but freight service continued until February 19, 1966 when declining traffic made the railroad unprofitable. Shortly afterwards, Duane Paulson, a farmer in the River Falls area, and other local land owners (fearing that the railroad right-of-way would be bought up by developers) initiated plans to buy that right-of-way.
