Soo Line Historical and Technical Society

Canadian Pacific's Portage, Wisconsin Depot Decked-Out for the Holidays.

by Todd Brown

The photographs above were taken on Saturday, December 11 which was one day after the annual CP Holiday Train passed through Portage on Friday. The weather on Friday was terrible - a freezing rain and snow mix. Living in Middleton and about 40 miles away, I decided it was safest for me, my car, and my camera to stay home and hope conditions are better for next year's Holiday Train. The weather improved enough on Saturday to warrant a trip up to see what was new in Portage, and to my delight, the depot was nicely decorated for the Christmas season. Another decoration that I liked was the porta-potty at the end of the lot that was obviously placed there for the CP event Friday night. It sure came in handy as I spent most of my Saturday afternoon around the depot waiting for trains to pass through. Having to drive to a local gas station to use the restroom is a bummer because you know that while you're away it's likely that a big consist of SOO SD60s is probably making a 5 minute crew-stop and will have departed by the time you have returned.

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