The Owatonna Subdivision or Owatonna Sub is a railway line in northern Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

 and southern Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 owned and operated by the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad

Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad

The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad was a Class II railroad operating in the north central United States. It has been controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway and operated as a part of its system since October 30, 2008...

 (IC&E) subsidiary of Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

. It extends about 124 miles (199.6 km) from Mason City, Iowa

Mason City, Iowa

Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....

 in the south to a junction at Comus north of Faribault, Minnesota

Faribault, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...

. U.S. Highway 218 closely follows the rail line between Lyle, Minnesota

Lyle, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 566 people, 211 households, and 148 families residing in the city. The population density was 733.2 people per square mile . There were 225 housing units at an average density of 291.5 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 99.82% White and 0.18%...

 and Owatonna

Owatonna, Minnesota

Owatonna is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,599 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County Free Fair in August....

.

Most of the line is dark territory

Dark territory

Dark territory is a term used in the North American railroad industry to describe a section of track not controlled by signals. Train movements in dark territory are controlled by track warrants or train order operation, with train dispatchers issuing orders by radio communication with train...

, meaning that it is not signaled and not equipped with centralized traffic control

Centralized traffic control

Centralized traffic control is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America and centralizes train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that...

 or automatic block signaling systems. The line is dispatched via radio using track warrant control

Track warrant

Track warrants are systematized permissions used on some railroad lines to authorize a train's use of the main line. Dispatchers issue these permissions to train crews instead of using signals. The crews receive track warrants by radio, phone, or electronic transmission from a...

.

This line had been under control of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...

 (Milwaukee Road) for many years, then became part of the Canadian Pacific system. Canadian Pacific eventually sold off the line to I&M Rail Link

I&M Rail Link

The I&M Rail Link was a railroad operating in the north central portion of the United States. The company commenced operations on April 5, 1997, acquiring lines from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Soo Line Railroad....

 in 1997, a company 67% owned by Washington Corporation (CP retained the remaining 33% ownership). Washington Corporation divested itself of I&M, so the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern was formed in 2002. The IC&E was owned by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad

Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad

The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a Class II railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States...

 holding company

Holding company

A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...

 Cedar American Railroad Holdings. In 2007, Canadian Pacific moved to purchase DM&E and its related companies, which was completed in 2008.

As of 2009 about four trains a day, carrying mostly agricultural products, operate on the line.