Soo

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Thanks Nordique. However, the link doesn't work.:confused:

Looks like SOO engines are a disappearing breed. Hope we can get some contemporary shots in the gallery before they are gone forever.:(
 
I just find it funny that the Upper Michigan and most Wisconsin railroad lines were built by Soo's predecessor, DSS&A, and were sold off in the late 80's when CP bought into Soo initially, and WC is not part of CN, so the lines "up there" switch between Canadian railroads...
 
2005
the yard south of o'hare (the name just doesn't stay in my had...)
me trying to figure out how to work then new camera

0804-vi.jpg
 
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pic was taken on the yard south.
the unit that i've seen month ago or so was in the yard (or near it on the sa,e line) circled in red (i take the north central metra home) and i think it was one of the geep's. again, not to sure thoguh.
 
Bernie-

Flickr was down for several hours this afternoon- it has since come back online so the link should work for you now.
 
UP2CSX said:
Guess how many miles of railroad in Canada are owned by US railroads? That's right, zero, except for a few miles at border crossings. The Canadian government has never approved the applications of any US railroad to buy trackage in Canada. Free trade has worked out very well...for Canada. :mad:
Click to expand...

Not true at all.

BNSF runs into Vancouver, and owns a shortline in Manitoba (the old Burlington Northern Manitoba - google "BNML"), CSX still owns track in Southern Ontario that used to be part of a larger system there, formerly C&O, formerly Pere Marquette, formerly Lake Erie & Detroit River RR, ...). CSX also has a connection into Montreal, as does the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic.

The Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo used to be jointly owned by CP, NYC and Michigan Central (NYC subsidiary) until CP bought out full ownership in the late 1980s. Michigan Central (NYC) also had their own line through Southern Ontario connecting Buffalo to Detroit via Ontario. Eventually, Conrail pulled out and parts were sold to CN/CP and the rest abandoned. And NS had running rights over the CN to St. Thomas which they cancelled a couple years ago, which had been in place for about 100 years, dating back to a GT/Wabash agreement.

And the acquisition of the Algoma Central by Wisconsin Central, an American road, definately disproves your last statement about American RRs never purchasing anything in Canada. WC didn't become part of CN until about 6 years later. Also, there are several shortlines in Canada owned & operated by RailAmerica, OmniTrax, and Genesse Rail One, a Canadian subsidiary of Genesse & Wyoming Railroad. All three of those are American companies.
 
Chris, the WC did not buy the Algoma Central. It was bought by a Canadian subidiary, Wisconsin Central Canada Holdings, a Canadian registered company that was majority owned by Canadian shareholders, including 30% by the CN. The CN was always a major investor in the WC, and its massive debt led to a purchase by the CN to keep the WC holdings afloat. With this purchase, the CN also gained control of New Zealand Rails (Tranz Rail) and a part interest in railroads and freight operators in the UK and Australia.

My point was not that any American railroad has never owned any part of a line in Canada. I'm talk the post NAFTA days. The amount of trackage owned by American railroads never produced more than a tiny percentage of revenue for any American railroad. By contrast, the CN now produces 51% of its revenues from US operations. The CP produces about 35% of its revenue from US operations. The expansion of Canadian lines into the US has been dramatically large over the past 25 years. There has been no such expansion of US lines into Canada. As I said, NAFTA has been a boon to Canadian railroads, with no offsetting gain for US railroads.
 


Bernie, let's see....

Number of Class 1 railroads in the US in 1975 - 56. Number owned by Canadian railroads - 0

Number of Class 1 railroads in the US in 2007 - 7. Number owned by Canadian companies - 2

Number of Class 1 railroads in Canada owned by US railroads in 1975 - 0

Number of Class 1 railroads in Canada owned by US railroads in 2007 - 0

It sure looks like something has changed on one side of the border. :)
 
Still see some old Soo's up here in Wisconsin. Most notably in La Crosse and Portage yards. Here is a couple photos from earlier this year, some with the old Milwaukee Road still showing through! Sorry about the file sizes.
 
Wow, those beat up ex-MILW units I expected to see, but those SOO red and white units look almost new. I get the feeling some former SOO line employees are giving those units a little extra care. :)
 
I saw a red and white Soo Line SW1500? switcher running near the storage tracks on the north east side of ohare this afternoon. I was on I294 southbound just before the iIrving Park exit. She looked fairly clean... sorry no camera
 
Saw this lashup in Portage, Wis last weekend on a very dark winter day. It was about 10 am when I shot these photos!
 
Not really sure. This group heads down from Portage to Madison 5 or 6 times a week, I think. Wish I could look up times when trains go places...

Seems like they never pull many cars, so not sure whats going on, but I've seen an old Milw Rd Bandit in between in the past too.
 
Saw a red and white Soo GP with a patched MILW "pumpkin" heading into Clearing Yard last Sunday as I was driving home from Midway Airport.

Next time I drive to O'Hare, I'll try to pay more attention to Bensenville Yard to see what's there.
 
UP2CSX said:
Bernie, let's see....

Number of Class 1 railroads in the US in 1975 - 56. Number owned by Canadian railroads - 0

Number of Class 1 railroads in the US in 2007 - 7. Number owned by Canadian companies - 2

Number of Class 1 railroads in Canada owned by US railroads in 1975 - 0

Number of Class 1 railroads in Canada owned by US railroads in 2007 - 0

It sure looks like something has changed on one side of the border. :)
Click to expand...

Ok, but let's PROPERLY compare your numbers there:
In 1975, # of class 1s in the US: 56, # of class 1s in Canada: 2
In 2007, # of class 1s in the US: 7, # of class 1s in Canada: 2

(Oh, and by the way, was Grand Trunk Western Railroad considered a class 1 in 1975? It's always been a fully owned subsidiary of CN since it was created in 1928 to operate CN's lines in Michigan. Similar story for Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific (Minnesota) and Central Vermont (New England)).

There's a heck of a lot more opportunity for a Canadian road to expand south than vice-versa.

And also, many secondary lines that have been spun off have been taken over by American shortline companies like RailAmerica or Gennessee & Wyoming (via a Canadian subsidiary Genesee Rail One). None of those directly connect to any US class 1, so there's no reason that they'd be interested. What trackage that CSX and Conrail used to operate in Canada they've pretty much gotten rid of. And NS cancelled a 100+ year old trackage rights agreement (made between Grand Trunk and Wabash) a few years ago after losing a key Ford contract.

Plus, don't forget that about 10 years ago CN and BNSF tried to merge (but it was killed by the regulators), and there's a popular rumour that UP would be interested in CP but I don't know how grounded that is.
 
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UP2CSX said:
Chris, the WC did not buy the Algoma Central. It was bought by a Canadian subidiary, Wisconsin Central Canada Holdings, a Canadian registered company that was majority owned by Canadian shareholders, including 30% by the CN.
Click to expand...

So you're saying that because they used a paper Canadian subsidiary to complete the sale, that WC did not take over ownership and control of the Algoma Central? It's pretty common for things to be organized or consolidated under separate subsidiaries when operating in other countries.

BTW, apparently all of the Algoma Central's equipment was bought by some competely different company called Wisconsin Central Railcar Corp. :rolleyes:
 
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