|
|
|
|
Winter 2002 Issue IN EVERY ISSUE Soo News STAFF Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor/Soo News Soo News Wiconsin Central News Modeling Editor Contributing Editors Editorial Consultants Technical Consultants Commercial Accounts Advertising Manager Back Issues
|
Winter 2002 Issue Hightlights |
|
|
|
Building the Chicago, Wisconsin & Minnesota Railroad throughBurlington, WisconsinBy David J. Leider Moses Smith and William Whiting staked a claim at the present site of Burlington in 1835. Other settlers followed shortly and a dam was built at the confluence of the White and Fox Rivers, forming Echo Lake. A mill was erected in 1836, the same year that Congress passed the act establishing Wisconsin Territory. The first wheat flour shipped to the east from the Wisconsin Territory came from that mill, appropriately called “Echo.” At first the settlement was known as Drover’s Fork. In 1837, a post office was established and it became known as Foxville. The name Burlington was adopted July 15, 1839. In 1855 a railroad was constructed from Racine, passing about a mile south of the town center, eventually becoming part of the Milwaukee Road. By the early 1880s Burlington was a thriving town, catering mostly to local clientele. The town was blessed with ample water power from the Fox and White Rivers, and was intent on becoming a prosperous manufacturing town. In March 1883, the Waukesha, Mukwonago and Geneva Lake Railroad Company was incorporated with a capitalization of $200,000. It proposed to link Lake Geneva with Waukesha, passing near Burlington and Mukwonago, a distance of thirty one miles. “It will take its course through two of the fairest valleys in Wisconsin, ...with some of the finest farming lands on the continent as well as a number of points which would be of special interest to the class known in the rural districts as “Summer Resorters.” The incorporaters were H. A. Youmans of Mukwonago, A. F. Stebins, T. W. Haight, H. W. Enos and E. W. Chafin of Waukesha, and C. S. Miller of East Troy. All were prominent citizens and staunch Republicans, a fact not forgotten by the Waukesha Democrat. Enos was the Waukesha postmaster, Haight was county commissioner and Doctor Youmans was director of the bank and father to the editor of the competing Waukesha paper, the Freeman. Surveying began in spring and was finished by July, with two routes chosen. Confident of the progress of the railroad, Haight and Chafin purchased nine acres of land east of the lake in Mukwonago, with an eye toward developing it into a resort. The new enterprise was endowed with plenty of talent, but no practical railroad experience, and progress stagnated. Over the years, numerous railroad rumors had surfaced and just as quickly faded. So it was greeted with some skepticism when another surveying party appeared in late 1883. They were looking over a route from Wilmot, north through Burlington. Nothing more was heard of the party, only vague rumors associating the survey with this railroad or that, until the end of January. Then the Chicago Tribune surmised that the survey must be the work of either the Wisconsin Central or Milwaukee. The next day the Milwaukee Sentinel published a report that the surveyed road was to “start at a point five miles west of Chicago north through Illinois into Wisconsin as far south as Schleisingerville (now Slinger), Washington County, the junction point of the Wisconsin Central with the La Crosse division of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway.” Officials of both the Central and Milwaukee denied that they had any interest in the survey. |
|
 |
||
 |
Soo Line 353This restored 0-6-0 now operates at Rollag, Minnesotaby Jeff Terry After thirty-five years of faithful service, the No. 353 was retired by the Soo Line in 1955, but unlike most of the railroad’s 0-6-0s, the No. 353 was not scrapped. It began a new life working at the Koppers Company coke plant in St. Paul. In 1955 this firm purchased both the 353 and sister 346 to switch cars at their coal gasification plant. The one major alteration to the 353’s appearance was the addition of a Koppers herald on the tender, but otherwise, it retained much of its MStP&SSteM looks. By the mid-1960s the 353 was in poor shape, and was subsequently retired and placed in storage. It was later donated by Koppers in 1965 to the Minnesota Transportation Museum of St. Paul, who stored the 0-6-0 outdoors on a Minnesota Transfer Railway spur in St. Paul’s Midway District. By this time the 353 was a sad sight. Due to exposure to the elements, rust was everywhere, and boiler insulation was leaking out from beneath the rotting boiler jacket. The wood and steel cab had deteriorated to the point where it was falling apart, and although mechanically complete, the engine was in rough condition from years of abuse at Koppers. As for the 353, it would sit quietly beside the Transfer roundhouse until 1972, facing an uncertain future. Owner Minnesota Transportation Museum was still in it’s infancy at this time, and its members were concentrating their efforts on the construction of the Como-Harriet Streetcar line in Minneapolis. Only later would a steam locomotive become part of that group’s focus (the restoration of Northern Pacific 4-6-0 No. 328, began in 1976). A plan by the MTM to move the 353 to the Mid-Continent Railway museum in the late 1960s fizzled, so when several members of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers came calling in December of 1971 with an offer to buy the 353, the museum sold them the locomotive for a mere $800 (perhaps a fair price for a mechanical basket case). The sale to the Threshers satisfied the Minnesota Transportation Museum members who had expressed the twin desires to have the engine remain in the state of Minnesota, and to go to a home where it could be returned to service |
|
 |
Saving the Frederic depotBy William F. Johnson The renovated depot at Frederic, Wisconsin, (about midway between Minneapolis and Superior) has been operating as a museum for several years, and has generated much interest from the public. It’s also a rest stop for those using the Gandy Dancer Recreation Trail (former Soo Line right-of-way). The museum depicts the railroad history of the Frederic area, since the coming of railroad service was a major reason that Frederic came to be. The first construction in Frederic was a depot, enginehouse, and section house in 1901. The cost of the depot was $1,525.34, the enginehouse expenditure was $646 and the section house set the Soo Line back $613.74. In 1902 a scale was purchased and a stockyard and shed were built, as cattle were shipped into and from Frederic. A disastrous fire destroyed the North side of Oak Street (Frederic’s main street) in 1908. There’s no evidence at this time that the depot was damaged, even though it was close to the burning buildings. In 1912 the line was extended to Danbury and a three-position train order signal was needed for train control, at a cost of $135.05. A 24x24-foot extension, which cost $562.67, was made to the freight room in 1916. The depot hasn’t been added to since that time, and its dimensions remain 24x80 feet. Inside restrooms and an Arcola hot water heating system were installed, at a cost of $6,500, on August 25, 1949. An oil burner was used in the last years the depot was in service, although it’s possible that it originally used coal for fuel. An April 3, 1952 , Soo Line Authority for Expenditure form indicated foundation and “Insul-Brick” covering of the exterior of the depot at an estimated cost of $3,685. Another Soo Line Authority for Expenditure form, dated August 12, 1985, states “Retire and sell depot. Install a second-hand signal bungalow to house voice repeater.” The reason given is “The depot is in poor condition, is vacant and no longer needed for railroad operation”. Words such as, eliminate future maintenance expense, eliminate trespasser liability and improve the appearance of the property” were used to explain the request. Across the paper is the word “VOID.” With the writing of that one word, the life of the Frederic depot was saved. |
|
 |
Remembering the Soo LineMy first Soo Line encounter: 1977by Byron C. Babbish Being from Detroit, the Soo Line was a far-off “western” railroad that for many years I’d only seen in Trains magazine. The Soo Line always fascinated me, largely because it was such a contrasting railroad: It ran older locomotives (F-units in particular) along with brand new ones, it had that modern red and white paint scheme that looked so bold and risky, and its name was quaint but great for marketing reasons. Lastly, it was a western railroad found in Michigan, albeit Michigan’s far north and rugged Upper Peninsula (or the “UP” as we say in Michigan). Heck, even its name was based on its eastern terminus at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan: how Michigan can you get, and yet how far away from mainstream Lower Peninsula Michigan? The Soo Line tracks closest to Detroit were at Trout Lake, about a 45-minute drive northeast of the Mackinac Bridge connecting Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas. I had no idea what to expect at Trout Lake. Little did I know that it would be the ideal spot to witness the Soo Line for the first time. Trout Lake is not much more than a railroad junction and some stores on a short main street. It’s here that the old Soo Line Minneapolis–Sault Ste. Marie main line crossed the Marquette–St. Ignace main line of one-time affiliate Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Ry. In 1977 both lines were owned by the Soo Line due to the 1961 merger. We arrived at Trout Lake late on the afternoon of August 23, 1977, after driving directly up from Detroit that day. What greeted us as soon as we arrived was exactly what I always envisioned the Soo Line as being. Parked behind the rather large Trout Lake depot were two Soo Line F units and a caboose! One was ex-EMD demonstrator FP-7 no. 500A and the other F-7 no. 214A. |
|
| |
||
 |
Bachmann HO 2-8-0 As Soo Line (W.C.) F-22/F-23 Class 2-8-0By Mark Preussler For years, those of us who enjoy steam locomotives in HO scale had a limited number of choices in the non-brass market. That changed with the recent Bachmann Spectrum and Proto 2000 steamers. I’m sure most modelers in the SLHTS always look at these new releases with the same thoughts as I, “did the Soo ever own something like this and how difficult will it be to modify it to more closely resemble our favorite railroad?” Inspired by the Dave Johnson F-9 MDC project of several years ago, I purchased a Spectrum 2-8-0 to represent a Class F-23 or F-22 Consolidation. The key word here is represent. Although I enjoy “counting rivets” as much as any other serious modeler, my time is also spent building the other items on my layout and in operations. I don’t enjoy being stuck in endless research while the project collects dust. This locomotive still took several months to complete. I feel it’s close enough to the prototype without having to do even more scratchbuilding or searching for parts, thus taking longer to complete. Also, this approach makes the job less imposing to someone who may have never tried his or her hand at a project like this. |
|
|
||
Home
| News | Archives
| Events | Publications
| Models | Contact
| Links | Search Direct any questions about this website's content or function to the webmaster. |
