Talk about the Wisconsin Central and the SOO Line here! Since the WC inherited SO much of the SOO’s lines in Wisconsin and Michigan, I decided to have this a 2 railroad disscussion! Alec
The Soo is one of those railroads that I really miss. One of my earlier memories is of camping with my family in the Apple River area of NW Wisconsin and listening to an eastbound Soo freight with four Geeps in Run 8 follow the valley slope around the area. The sound of the four engines were so well synchronized, it produced a rythmic beat.
i wish the WC SD45s were as plentiful as the SOO SD60s. CP is so much better than CN
Love the Soo Line. My father-in-law worked for the railroad for many years as a machinist at Shoreham shops, and he loved to work there. Nice people and a nice shop - all in all a great place to work. He said that afer they bought the Miwuakee in 86 that things got a little tight - quite a few people didn’t know if they would be keeping their jobs or not, and so he left for what he thought was a better outfit. I guess he still wonders if that was the right choice or not…
Also a big fan of the WC - when I am able to watch some trains there is usually more action on the former WC lines then there are on the Milwaukee lines. Plus you can still catch those loud-mouthed SD45’s if you are lucky.
I miss it, and I wasn’t even around when it was running!
Phil, N9’SOO’
I fondly remember the SOO Line when I lived in WI back in the seventies. I used to go to Stevens Point and watch them shuttle cars and power around the yard and near the roundhouse. Gotta love those F’s (especially the F7 with the high nose light removed due to an accident), the Geeps, SD units and older GE U-Boats. I loved to chase the mainline freights either westbound towards Marshfield or eastbound to the Valley. I miss the SOO and also liked WC very much as I am a big fan of the SD45 variants, especially the F and FP-45’s of which they had several over the years. I kinda hate seeing the Canuks in Stevens Point these days when I am able to go up and visit them (I live in the Chicago are nowadays).
WC was a class act!
One of my regrets was that I did not go with the WC when it was first formed. Ed Burkhardt offered all of the CNW employees the opportunity to join the WC at startup. The talk (at the time) was that Burkhardt didn’t know what he was doing, and that the venture would fail. I opted for the “security” of the CNW instead of the “risk” of starting over. As the WC was hitting it’s peak I began to regret my decision; now that it is CN I’m not so sure.
You and me both Eola! Down here in New Brighton, ive only seen 4, yes 4, real WC units down here since summer started. Only 1 SD45, but a good one at that. 7525 SD45 OLS 2500 SD35 3009 GP40 6004 SD40-2 The WC was a great road, and I think you would have loved to work with them. But the CN is pushing things WAY too far at the moment, and im not exagerating either. They have made some contracts and just stupid decisions that make the railroad life even worse. Alec
any examples of what they did? all i see is them buying out WC to get a clear route to Chicago and scrapping SD45s because it’s power they dont need.
I HATE THEM!
I miss the Soo Line fleet of Covered Hoppers from the 1960’s and 1970’s that used to be on the GTW during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Now with all the mergers and sales they are rare.
It was great to see the SOO in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan in the 1970’s, too bad that is gone.
What was strange during the 1990’s was that the Soo Line Gondolas were more plentiful on the GTW than on the Soo Line.
Andrew
Yea, Andrew ive looked at pictures of the UP of Michigan, and I cant believe ALL of that is gone. Time changes, and I guess so does business, and I suppose thats business the SOO and the WC didnt need. Alec
Now all we have left is photos and scale models of the Soo Line as it used to be.
Even 10 years ago there were still many parts of the Soo Line left on the Wisconsin Central and Canadian Pacific Railway.
The ICE and CN changes have seriously altered what remained.
There are still many scale models of the Soo Line yet to be produced.
The upcoming book of Soo Line Freight Cars from the Soo Line Historical & Technical Society is a long awaited publication.
Andrew
When did they start the book? The SOO’s 7 post boxes are neat, so shall the book! On the WC, 406 left with WC 3006 (GP40) leading! Got a bunch of shots. Alec
Alec, which were the 2 SOO units that got into a crash that CP actually repainted in their original SOO colors?
CP is awesome 
Two SD60s- 6009 and 6030. It’s interesting though, the engines are dirty with brand new patches of paint.
yes but you cant help but love CP for doing that. and really the only SOO locos they repaint into CP colors are probably the ones in horrible shape. the CP is cool and the CN sucks. canada has the yin yang effect on their railroads. think about it. how many roads did CP buy out? only one i can think of was the SOO, and there’s plenty of those red and white locomotives still out there. CP is great!
and only bad and sad news are with the WC. SD45s not bought and now being tossed into the furnace. many of which will be reduced to mere number boards (and hopefully a hand brake too if i can get someone to fetch it for me.) not one museum bought one. sad… CN may have a nice color scheme, but Hunter is…grrrr breaks something i feel better…
They got D&H as well, although nobody had really wanted it at that point.
I drove past Markham Yard today and spotted and photographed a ton of SD45’s.
I jotted down a few numbers…7581 6587 6598 6579 6584 6596 6521 6578 7523 6590 6604 6556 6620. I would guess there were probably double that many in the scrap line.
Sad, as the SD45 was a great locomotive to photograph, almost achieved E or F unit status.
ed
6620!! HE’S STILL ALIVE!!!
must go to homewood…
Hey Ed! You mind emailing me those photos when you get time? wcnewbrighton2atyahoodotcom Thanks! Also, a living SD45, getting pretty rare, was down in my woods this morning! 7522, I got shots at my site. wctransfer.rrpicturearchives.net Alec