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The Soo Line Railroad is the United States arm of the Canadian Pacific Railway, serving Chicago, Illinois and the areas to the east and west. Formerly known as Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (and commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic pronunciation of Sault), the present name was adopted as a trade name in 1950. In late 1960 the company was consolidated with several subsidiaries and reorganized under the current name.
In 1985 the Soo Line purchased the Milwaukee Road and attempted to operate it as a wholly-owned subsidiary, the Lake States Transportation Division. This plan didn't work out too well for the Soo; most of the LSTD and most of the original Wisconsin Central Railway was sold in 1987 to the newly formed Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation.
The Soo Line is a part of the Canadian Pacific Railway system. As time passes, more and more Soo Line equipment is being repainted into the Canadian Pacific's current paint scheme, slowly erasing the Soo's identity as a subsidiary railroad.
Passenger service
The Soo Line was never a major carrier of passenger traffic since its route between Chicago and Minneapolis was much longer than the competing Milwaukee Road, Chicago and Northwestern and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad railroads. The Soo Line also had no direct access to Milwaukee.
The primary train operated by the Soo was the Laker which operated from Chicago's Grand Central Station to Minneapolis until it was discontinued in 1966. During the 1920s and 1930s the Soo Line operated the Soo-Pacific, a summer only Chicago-Vancouver service with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Timeline
- September 29 1883: A consortium of flour mill owners in Minneapolis form the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie and Atlantic Railway to build a railroad between its two namesake cities to avoid sending shipments through Chicago.
- June 11, 1888: The Canadian Pacific Railway acquires control of the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie and Atlantic Railway, consolidating it with the Minneapolis and Pacific Railway, Minneapolis and St. Croix Railway and Aberdeen, Bismarck and North Western Railway to form the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway.
- 1908: The Soo Line acquires a majority interest in the Wisconsin Central Railway, and obtains a 99-year lease of the property in 1909.
- December 30, 1960: The Soo Line Railroad is formed through a merger of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway, Wisconsin Central Railway and Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway.
- February 21, 1985: The Soo Line Railroad obtains a controlling interest in the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and renames it Milwaukee Road, Inc.
- January 1, 1986: The Milwaukee Road is merged into the Soo Line Railroad.
- April 4, 1987: The Soo Line Railroad announces the sale of its Lake States Transportation Division to private investors, forming the new Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation.
- 1992: The Canadian Pacific Railway, which had owned a controlling interest in the Soo Line Railroad for many years, finishes buying up all remaining stock.
Preservation
A number of the railroad's rolling stock has been preserved in museums across America, some in operational condition. Some of the more notable equipment is:
- Soo Line 1003 - A restored 2-8-2 built in 1913 by ALCO.
- Soo Line 2719 - A restored 4-6-2 built in 1923 by ALCO. This locomotive hauled the Soo Line's last steam-powered train in revenue service in 1959.
References
External links
- Soo Line Historical and Technical Society
- Soo Line Online
- A 100-year Timeline History of The Soo Line Railroad and its Predecessors
Soo Line Railroad | 1883 establishments | Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway
"Soo Line Railroad"