Spring 1997 Issue

IN EVERY ISSUE

Soo News
WC News
Editor's Report
Executive Report
Gallery
Rip Track
Letters
Transfer Table
Less-Than-Carload

STAFF

Editor
Rick Johnson

Associate Editor
Ken Soroos

Associate Editor/Soo News
Jason Korth

Soo News
tom Mastoras

Wiconsin Central News
Galen Fromm

Modeling Editor
Chuck Derus

Contributing Editors
Andy Roth, Guy Kieckhefer, Doug Fleming

Editorial Consultants
Jack Witmer, Gregg Condon

Technical Consultants
Stuart J. Nelson, Wallace W. Abbey

Commercial Accounts
Joe Lallensack

Advertising Manager
Burnell Breaker

Back Issues
John Strenski

Spring 1997 Issue Hightlights

Invincible Warriors

Soo Line's GP9 Locomotives

by Rick Johnson and Guy N. Kieckhefer

In a bold move following two disappointing years and WC's recent emergence from receivership, the two railroads ordered 59 new diesel locomotives. After their delivery in December 1954 and January 1955, Soo and WC became among the earliest American railroads to operate entirely under diesel power. The following fall, the Soo did reactivate some steam power to handle the annual grain rush, but WC made it clear that revenue steam was gone forever from its rails. The addition of eleven additional GP9s to the MStP&SSM's and WC's rosters in 1956 and 1957 made certain that no more steam power would ever be operated on the Soo and elevated the initial number of GP9s running on the Soo to 45.

The original 1954-55 GP9 orders included units in three configurations: freight, passenger and dual-control passenger. These 1750-h.p. road-switchers broke the pattern of cab units for the mainline fleet, even though EMD offered a similarly 567C-powered F9 covered wagon. As road-switchers, they offered more flexibility than the "Queen Mary" style F-units. As the seven GP7s delivered in 1950 through 1952 demonstrated, the walkways around the units and the visibility they provided made the Geeps well-suited to branchline and even yard work. Unlike the covered wagons which tended to be operated in combinations of two or three units as a single locomotive, the GP9s had multiple-unit connections at both ends and, therefore, could be run combined in lashups of as many units as necessary. The 1500 h.p. GP7s, like the remainder of the switcher/road-switcher fleet, lacked m.u. connections altogether and so were limited to single-unit assignments.

All of the new Geeps were delivered in the maroon and gold colors indicative of mainline service. One WC passenger unit, 2555, was equipped with dual controls for use on passenger routes where turning facilities weren't available, and so had the gold pine-tree design applied to both ends.

Of the 34 GP9s, the old Soo received eleven freight units and seven passenger units while WC received eight of each. The passenger versions differed from the freight units in several ways. They were equipped with steam generators, housed in the short hood, to heat passenger cars. Longer, narrower fuel tanks made room for water tanks along side of them. Air reservoirs, located behind the fuel tank on freight units, were replaced by longer tanks, known as "torpedo tubes," located on the roof.

To meet increased traffic demands in 1956, the Soo took delivery of one more freight GP9 and two passenger units, and the WC one more of each. Business growth continued in 1957 and the two railroads each acquired three additional freight units, which completed their GP9 rosters

Last Train to Fordville

by Shane Amundson

With the recent sale/lease of the Wheat Line and remaining portion of the erstwhile Fordville-Drake line to the Northern Prairie Railroad looming in the air, I took it upon myself to visit this famous section of Soo Line lore.

I got the call early that special morning around 6:30 a.m. advising that we would be departing Thief River Falls yard about 8 a.m. for Fordville. Our locomotives would be Soo 4513 (ex- Milwaukee Road) and CP locomotives 3017 and 3036. Our train would consist of three loads, 39 empties and 1,821 tons and no caboose (crews on the Wheat Line usually have the luxury of a caboose). The weather was somewhat mild. Skies were overcast, and the temperature was running about 25 degrees. A cold, southwest wind was ripping across the open prairies and a touch of snow was filling the steel gray skies.

We received our track warrant from the CP Dakota dispatcher and loaded ourselves into the trainmaster's Suburban for the ride out to the north end of the yard where our locomotives and train were waiting. Our engineer was Paul Krubsack; our conductor, Mark Jenkins and our brakeman was Jerome Engen. All of them as well as their fathers had a long history of employment with the Soo Line.

The Road Switch Job at Thief River had been "pounding the leads" early that morning, assembing our train. With our crew on board and track warrant in hand, we departed Thief River Falls at 8:15 a.m. ahead of trains 560 from the west and 561 from the east. As we left the yard, we crossed Minnesota Route 32 and BNSF's ex-GN Warroad (Minn.) branch. After clanking over the diamond, we diverged from the main line to Noyes, Minn, and entered the Wheat Line, curving westward as we crossed Highway 59 and disappearing into the woods and prairies of northwestern Minnesota.

Once we settled into more-routine running, we began to talk about the sights and sounds along the route, discussing how things were done back when and reminiscing about my grandfather and great uncle--both of whom had worked with these same men on this job.

Drake, North Dakota

The rail-served industries of Drake

by Don Tank

In the previous issue of the SOO, we covered the founding of Drake, N. Dak., as a Soo Line community. The first installment also spoke of Drake's depot(s), yard and engine facilities. In this concluding installment, we'll look at more of the rail facilities of Drake as well as its rail-served industries over the years.

Car repair shop at Drake

Soo Line had car-repair forces at Drake for many years, having moved them there from Harvey in 1912. The facilities were never too imposing: a grounded boxcar office located east of the present-day Farmers Union fertilizer warehouse building sufficed as "headquarters" for the car-repair shop. In the days of friction journal bearings packed with oily waste material, bad-order cars set out by passing trains were far above the bad-order ratio of today's roller-bearing-equipped cars, hence the need for a greater number of car-repair facilities on railroads early in the 20th Century.

Although the facilities were not designed to catch the eye, Drake carmen had a large region to serve. Their territory included the Bismarck line west to Max, then to the end of steel on the Sanish/New Town branch. They also served the Drake-Fordville line as far as Devils Lake, west on the main line to Minot and Portal, and as needed on the Wheat Line.

Some of the earliest employees at the Drake repair facility included John Sunt as R.I.P. (repair in progress) track foreman with P. Hannenberg, E. Dahlman and Jack Lassila helping. The total labor force for the R.I.P. track in earlier days reportedly amounted to 12 men. In 1917 a tragedy occurred when Samuel Zimmerman, a car inspector, died after being struck by a special freight moving through the Drake yard without headlights.

The administration and paperwork for the car department was handled by the roundhouse foreman at Drake until that job was abolished, and Bill Fors, lead carman, then took over the paperwork in addition to his other duties

What goes around, comes around: The R.I.P. track operation that had been moved from Harvey was moved back to Harvey in 1961 after almost 50 years in Drake. Car repairs continue to be handled by the car department in Harvey.

Although the facilities were not designed to catch the eye, Drake carmen had a large region to serve. Their territory included the Bismarck line west to Max, then to the end of steel on the Sanish/New Town branch. They also served the Drake-Fordville line as far as Devils Lake, west on the main line to Minot and Portal, and as needed on the Wheat Line.

Some of the earliest employees at the Drake repair facility included John Sunt as R.I.P. (repair in progress) track foreman with P. Hannenberg, E. Dahlman and Jack Lassila helping. The total labor force for the R.I.P. track in earlier days reportedly amounted to 12 men. In 1917 a tragedy occurred when Samuel Zimmerman, a car inspector, died after being struck by a special freight moving through the Drake yard without headlights.

The administration and paperwork for the car department was handled by the roundhouse foreman at Drake until that job was abolished, and Bill Fors, lead carman, then took over the paperwork in addition to his other duties

What goes around, comes around: The R.I.P. track operation that had been moved from Harvey was moved back to Harvey in 1961 after almost 50 years in Drake. Car repairs continue to be handled by the car department in Harvey.

Order Here: GP9 POSTER

Because of the generous dimensions of our deluxe, all-color GP9 poster that accompanies this issue of the SOO, we were unable to bind it directly into the magazine as a set of pages. Rather, we simply had them folded and inserted with all issues going to regular paid SLHTS members; this poster is a bonus to all members. If you are not a member of the SLHTS and have purchased this issue of the SOO over the counter at your favorite hobby shop, you can still obtain your own GP9 poster, shipped unfolded in a tube.

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