Soo
Line Railroad - (en)
The Soo Line Railroad (AAR reporting marks SOO) is the United States
arm of the Canadian Pacific Railway, serving Chicago 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 the pre-1985 Soo Line and selected Milwaukee Road branchlines
as a wholly owned subsidiary, the Lake States Transportation Division.
Because of lackluster traffic levels and the need to pay off debt
resulting from the purchase of the Milwaukee Road, most of the LSTD (including
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
Soo Line 6022, an EMD SD60, pulls a train through Wisconsin Dells, WI,
June 20, 2004.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 North Western
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 Duluth/Superior with
additional service to Minneapolis until it was discontinued on January
15, 1965. During the 1920s and 1930s the Soo Line operated the
Soo-Pacific, a summer only Chicago-Vancouver service with the Canadian
Pacific Railway.
Timeline
The Soo Line Building in Minneapolis served as company headquarters.
It is still used by Canadian Pacific.
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.
June 2, 1982 The Soo Line buys the Minneapolis, Northfield and
Southern Railway AAR Mark MNS
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.
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