Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
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'
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.
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
Watch my videos on-line at https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewNeilFalconer
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.
Soo Line Cabooses have been restored for active service. That is something great.
Stevens Point, Wisconsin was orginally owned by the Wisconsin Central, then Soo Line, then back to the Wisconsin Central. Stevens Point was a important car building and locomotive repair shop. There is still a Steam Locomotive on display.
Joel Hodgson was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Then he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to create Mystery Science Theater 3000, the heart of the Soo Line.
I like the Soo Line and Mystery Science Theater 3000, but I did not know that there was much of connection to be squeezed out.
Have you seen the WC Gondolas painted in the CN Paint Scheme?
My guess is that the repainting of the WC freight cars is being done in Illinois because of the style of stencils being applied. It looks strange. What is even stranger is that Illinois Central Gondolas are still rolling buy in very deteriorated paint compared to WC cars.
Add up all the facts and it looks like the CN and IC people are attempting to paint over and remove all traces of the Wisconsin Central.
Andrew Falconer wrote: Stevens Point, Wisconsin was orginally owned by the Wisconsin Central, then Soo Line, then back to the Wisconsin Central. Stevens Point was a important car building and locomotive repair shop. There is still a Steam Locomotive on display. Joel Hodgson was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Then he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to create Mystery Science Theater 3000, the heart of the Soo Line. I like the Soo Line and Mystery Science Theater 3000, but I did not know that there was much of connection to be squeezed out. Andrew
It is hard to say which is better - trains or MST3K. Both are great hobbies, but I laugh a whole lot more at MST3K.
The water towers on CN lines in the U.S.A. are kept with the original road logos based on what I have seen in Battle Creek, MI. There the former GT building logos are all replaced with CN now, that is most likely because it was easier. The Water Tower change at Stevens Point could be considered to be too difficult. It also could be considered a way to keep people from getting too mad at the CN management.
The Milwaukee Road freight cars all went to the Soo Line. Not too many were painted with the SOO markings in the 1985-1992 time period. Some of the MILW Boxcars were in such good shape that repainting them was not required. Now the MILW Auto Racks on Trailer Train Flats were repainted in 1988 as a part of regular maintenance. The SOO Auto Racks got a distinct Bright Red color scheme that was rarely used on other freight cars. The few bright red SOO Boxcars were CP Rail Repaints after 1992.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.