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Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad

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Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad
A postcard advertisement for the railroad's service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Duluth/Superior, circa 1910
Overview
Parent companyCanadian Pacific Railway, Canadian National Railway
HeadquartersMinneapolis, Minnesota
Reporting markSOO
LocaleNorth Dakota to Chicago
Dates of operation1883–1961
SuccessorSoo Line Railroad, Canadian National Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (MStP&SSM) (reporting mark SOO) was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwestern United States. Commonly known since its opening in 1884 as the Soo Line[1] after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961, to form the Soo Line Railroad.

Passenger service

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A well-used Soo Line ore car, built in 1916. Hauling iron ore was an important part of the Soo Line's business.

The Soo Line was never a major carrier of passenger traffic since its route between Chicago and Minneapolis was much longer than the competing Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road), Chicago and North Western Railway, and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route) routes.[2] It also had no direct access to Milwaukee.

The primary trains operated by the Soo Line were:

  • The Laker which operated an overnight service from Chicago's Grand Central Station to Duluth–Superior with a portion to Minneapolis–St. Paul. An additional portion served Ashland, Wisconsin, until January 1959. The Laker was discontinued completely on January 15, 1965.
  • The Winnipeger which operated overnight between Minneapolis–St. Paul and Winnipeg. It was discontinued in March 1967.[3]
  • A Minneapolis–St. Paul to Western Canada service. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Soo Line operated the Soo-Pacific, a summer-only Chicago to Vancouver service with the Canadian Pacific Railway. This later became The Mountaineer, which was then reduced to Minneapolis–St. Paul to Vancouver, before being discontinued in early August 1960. The Mountaineer was a summer-season-only train that carried exclusively sleeping cars but no coaches.[4] During the non-summer months, the train ran as the Soo-Dominion from Minneapolis–St. Paul to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where it was combined into Canadian Pacific's The Dominion transcontinental passenger train. It was cut back to a St. Paul to Portal, North Dakota, run after CP discontinued passenger service to Portal at the end of 1960,[4] before being discontinued entirely in December 1963.[3]
  • A Minneapolis–St. Paul to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, overnight train, which was discontinued in March 1959.

Additionally, local trains served Chicago to Minneapolis–St. Paul, Duluth–Superior to Minneapolis–St. Paul, Duluth to Thief River Falls, Minnesota, and some summer-only services which relieved The Mountaineer of the local work along its route.

Presidents

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The Presidents of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad were:[5]

Timeline

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The Soo Line Building in Minneapolis served as company headquarters.
  • 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.[6][7][8]
  • February 23, 1884: The presidents of the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie and Atlantic Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway sign an agreement allowing the MSSM&A to use in perpetuity NP track and facilities in Minneapolis and granting an entry to Saint Paul Union Depot.[9] NP's board of directors approved the agreement on March 6.[10]
  • March 1884: The first construction contracts are awarded for grading 60 miles (97 km) of line starting from a point near Turtle Lake, Wisconsin.[11] President Washburn receives authorization from the board of directors to place orders for rolling stock.[12]
  • November 7, 1884: The ceremonial first train departed Minneapolis to tour from there to Bruce, Wisconsin, the extent of the line that had been constructed so far.[13] On its opening for regular service on November 15,[1] the line measured 46 miles (74 km).[14]
  • 1887: Minneapolis is chosen to be the location of the primary repair shops for locomotives and cars. The "Shoreham" Shops were located on a 230-acre plot of land at the intersection of Central and 27th Avenues, anchored by a substantial machine and erecting shop capable of overhauling and building locomotives. In 1949 a new diesel shop was built as an addition to the roundhouse, but the shop site was closed in 1990. The other large repair shops were the former Wisconsin Central Railroad (1871–1899) shops at North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.[15]
  • January 5, 1888: The MSSM&A's first train departed Minneapolis with 102 cars of flour divided into five sections for Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, London, England and Glasgow, Scotland.
  • 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.
  • 1904: The Soo Line acquires the Bismarck, Washburn and Great Falls Railway.[16]
  • 1908: The Soo Line acquires a majority interest in the Wisconsin Central Railway, and obtains a 99-year lease of the property in 1909.
  • 1910: The Soo line acquires the Cuyuna Iron Range Railway.
  • 1913: The Soo Line acquires the Minnesota Northwestern Electric Railway and the Fairmount and Veblen Railway.
  • 1921: The Soo Line acquires the Wisconsin and Northern Railroad.
  • 1932: The Wisconsin Central Railway enters receivership.
  • December 31, 1937: The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway files for bankruptcy.
  • 1944: The Wisconsin Central Railway enters bankruptcy.
  • September 1, 1944: The Soo Line reorganization takes effect, emerging as the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad.
  • 1953: The Valley City Street and Interuban Railway is sold to the Soo Line.
  • 1954: The Wisconsin Central emerges from its bankruptcy as the Wisconsin Central Railroad.
  • January 1, 1961: The Soo Line Railroad is formed through a merger of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, Wisconsin Central Railroad, and Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad.[17]

Locomotives

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Main article: Soo Line locomotives

Preservation

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Soo Line 1003, a 2-8-2, in Slinger, Wisconsin, on November 2, 2019.

A number of the railroad's rolling stock have been preserved in museums across the United States, some in operational condition. This list includes some of the more notable equipment.

Steam locomotives

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Opening of the "Soo"". Eau Claire News. Eau Claire, WI. November 15, 1884. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Glischinski, Steve; Ingles, J. David (June 1, 2023). "Soo Line history remembered". Classic Trains News. Kalmbach Media. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Abbey 1984, p. 99.
  4. ^ a b Abbey 1984, p. 97.
  5. ^ Gjevre 1990, p. 203–207.
  6. ^ "Commendation and Wet Blankets". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, MN. August 19, 1883. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "A New Railroad in Northern Wisconsin". Chicago Tribune. August 17, 1883. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ "New Railway Enterprises". Chicago Tribune. October 2, 1883. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ "The Northern Pacific's Eastern Extension". Chicago Tribune. February 24, 1884. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ "Minnesota News". The Northern Pacific Farmer. Wadena, MN. March 6, 1884. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ "(untitled)". Eau Claire Leader. March 5, 1884. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ "The Sault Ste. Marie Road". Chicago Tribune. March 11, 1884. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ^ "A Minneapolis Road - The First Trip Over the Minneapolis and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, MN. November 8, 1884. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ "Railway Intelligence - Sault Ste Marie". The Gazette. Montreal, Canada. November 13, 1884. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ^ Starr, Timothy. The Back Shop Illustrated, Volume 2: Midwest Region.
  16. ^ Gjevre 1990, p. 19.
  17. ^ Lennon, J. Establishing Trails on Rights-of-Way. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of the Interior. p. 49.
  18. ^ Gilchinski, Steve (February 1997). pp. 24–25

Bibliography

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  • Abbey, Wallace W. (1984). The Little Jewel. Pueblo, Colorado: Pinon Productions. ISBN 0-930855-00-0. LCCN 84014873.
  • Dorin, Patrick C. (1979). The Soo Line. Burbank, California: Superior Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87564-712-X. LCCN 79012204.
  • Glichinski, Steve (February 1997). "Soo Line 2-8-2 back in steam". Trains Magazine. 57 (2): 24–25.
  • Gjevre, John A. (1990) [1973]. Saga of the Soo, west from Shoreham (second ed.). Morehead, Minnesota: Gjevre Books. OCLC 23244801.
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