Summer 2008 Issue

IN EVERY ISSUE

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

STAFF

Editor
Reid D. Van Sluys

Associate Editor
Ken Soroos

Associate Editor
Andy Roth

Associate Editor
David Leider

News Editor
Galen Fromm

Wiconsin Central News
Galen Fromm

Associate Editor/Modeling
Chuck Derus

Contributing Editors
Doug Fleming

Production Consultant
Rick Johnson

Technical Consultants
Stuart J. Nelson, Dennis Storzek

Commercial Accounts
Joe Lallensack

Advertising Manager
Burnell Breaker

Back Issues
Roger Wurtzel

Editors Emeritus
Larry Easton & Rick Johnson

Summer 2008 Issue Hightlights

Enderlin, ND - Part 3

Division Headquarters on the Prairie

by Jim Welton and Stu Nelson

THE POST-WORLD WAR II
YEARS
After World War II ended, transportation
technology advanced rapidly.
When locomotive power became
larger and more modern, the number
of engines requiring maintenance grew
smaller. Probably the most significant
change that resulted in decreased railroad
employment and eventual loss of
terminal points was the introduction of
the diesel locomotive, which replaced
steam power in regular service on the
Soo Line by early 1955. ...

The Waukesha Turn vs. An April Blizzard

A Tale of Four Challenging Days on the Waukesha Local

by Pete Eiteuner

WHO’S AFRAID OF A LITTLE APRIL SNOW?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service reported: “After a relatively mild and snowless winter, a major early spring snowstorm struck with 11.9 inches of heavy, wet snow accompanied by thunder and lightning and winds gusting in excess of 50 mph. The City of Waukesha was virtually shut down.” What follows is the story about a railroad crew, the job they worked, and what took place because of this April 1973 snowfall.

The Great Waukesha Shops, as they were known, were actually, by industry standards, a medium- sized shop. But to the Wisconsin Central Railway, they were a godsend. Every type locomotive could be overhauled, including several that had not seen service for years, and returned to service with the increase in traffic from the Chicago extension. The shops served the railroad well, even repairing Northern Pacific loaners, leading to the rumor (vigorously denied at the time) that all WC motive power leaving the shops was re-lettered for the NP. This is the history, although short, of the Great Waukesha Shops. Even before the opening of the WC’s extension to St. Paul was completed, the directors of the company were making plans to build to Chicago. The events leading up to the procurement of a right-of-way from Schleisingerville (present day Slinger) to Chicago were covered in the Burlington article in the Winter 2002 edition of the SOO (Vol. 24, No. 1).

Down by the Depot...

A Photo essay on Waukesha's Depot by Carson Wilder

Is there any structure owned by a railroad that evokes more memories than a passenger depot? Until the end of most rail passenger service across the United States in the 1950s and 60s, humble passenger train depots —just like Waukesha’s— were an intricate part of the fabric of most people’s lives.

Modeling Soo Line Signals

by Luke Lemmons

An Inexpensive Option for Making Great Looking Signals

When building my HO layout depicting the Soo Line between Stevens Point and Fond du Lac, I needed signals to model the railroad’s CTC system. In modeling that much railroad I discovered that over 70 signals would be needed!

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