Nostalgia & History > BB: what SOO Line passenger train (1963) is this?

Bruce Black took this @ Minneapolis on Aug. 18, 1963, could it be the Winnipeger?

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Looks like the weed sprayer only made it down one track

Wet summer. Up north they only spray once a summer.

exprail

This is from recall, and may need correction, but that recall tells me the "main body" of The Laker ran chicago to Duluth, and carried through cars for the Twin Cities.  This could be that connecting train.  AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

Note the CPR coach. Could this be the Soo Dominion?

Great image. Both the background buildings and the yard tracks add interest.
Bob

A VERY interesting picture to me.  Thankyou for posting it.

The train is eastbound (compass SSE) on the Minneapolis Eastern RR, whose weedgrown yard is in the foreground, so this late summer picture must have been taken in the morning.  The block-square five story brick building is the Hardwood Manf. Co.  It appears as two buildings, but is really one with a small central court yard, and a spur enters the building under the stone arch seen above the baggage/mail combine.  The six story concrete building behind that is the warehouse of the, then, huge hardware wholesaler, Janny, Semple, Hill & Co., served by the ME.

Milwaukee's Minneapolis depot is behind Mr. Black - the train will proceed past the depot and back in.

My Official Guide shows the eastbound Dominion arriving in Minneapolis at 6:30 am.  The Winnipeger arrived at 7:05 am. The good illumination leads me to think this might be the Winnipeger. 

Wonder why these two trains from my Northern neighbor were so close together?  The Winnipeger came from (Duhh!) Winnipeg, Manitoba, while the Dominoin was from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

-John
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/16 15:15 by LarryDoyle.

Prior to the mid 60's the Dominoin was a heavy  summer train, handed off to the CP for Vancouver BC.  Full service train, including the famous Mountain Observation Cars on the Western End.  During the Winters, was just a stub train.   saved a lot of time from operating via Winnipeg.

Winnipeger. Bringing up the rear is the last regularlly assigned heavyweight sleeper in the continental United States. A SOO LINE 6 section, 6 bedroom sleeper. I believe this train ran until 1966 or 1967.

ATSF3751 Wrote:
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> Winnipeger. Bringing up the rear is the last
> regularlly assigned heavyweight sleeper in the
> continental United States. A SOO LINE 6 section, 6
> bedroom sleeper. I believe this train ran until
> 1966 or 1967.

I believe the Laker was the last SOO passenger train, and that came off in early 1965.

agentatascadero Wrote:
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> This is from recall, and may need correction, but
> that recall tells me the "main body" of The Laker
> ran chicago to Duluth, and carried through cars
> for the Twin Cities.  This could be that
> connecting train.  AA

True, but by the time this photo was taken, the Laker's Twin Cities connection (trains 5 and 6) lacked a sleeper.  This train is carrying a heavyweight sleeper.

Art House
Gettysburg, Pa.

This is NOT the "Laker".  As stated it's the "Winnepeger."  The "Laker" did indeed have a 
section to the Twin Cities, but it terminated in St. Paul, and passengers had to use other
transportation to get to Minneapolis.  (Tickets were honored on the GN.)  

About the depot:  John, would the depot be behind Bruce Black and to the left??  The GN
depot would be in front and to the right of him.  At least that's my memory.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

I tried to locate this on google maps, unsuccessfully.  I'm guessing it's somewhere the GN/NP union depot and the Milwaukee Depot, but nothing is matching up visually with what I'm seeing on google maps.  I'm assuming that these buildings no longer exist and the track is long gone?

 
GN depot was torn down in 1978. I believe the Federal Reserve now occupies this site.The Milwaukee depot survives as a hotel. The tracks are long gone. 

cnr6776 Wrote:
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> ATSF3751 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Winnipeger. Bringing up the rear is the last
> > regularlly assigned heavyweight sleeper in the
> > continental United States. A SOO LINE 6 section,
> 6
> > bedroom sleeper. I believe this train ran until
> > 1966 or 1967.
>
> I believe the Laker was the last SOO passenger
> train, and that came off in early 1965.

Nope. The Winnipeger was removed in March of 1967.

I had always thought the last regular heavyweight sleeping car was the Atlanta-Brunswick sleeper on the Southern, but maybe that was the last open section car.

Interesting that once again we have heavyweight cars in some frequency of PV service, with Dover Harbor, Federal, Kitchigammi Club, and perhaps a few others.

B&OB

milwrdfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I tried to locate this on google maps,
> unsuccessfully.  I'm guessing it's somewhere the
> GN/NP union depot and the Milwaukee Depot, but
> nothing is matching up visually with what I'm
> seeing on google maps.  I'm assuming that these
> buildings no longer exist and the track is long
> gone?

And Nick Tharalson wrote

> About the depot:  John, would the depot be behind Bruce Black and to the left??  The GN
> depot would be in front and to the right of him.  At least that's my memory.  



Here's a 1952 topo of the area.  BB is standing at the magenta "X".  GN and MILW depots are marked.  "J" is the six story Janney, Semple, Hill warehouse, and Minneapolis' iconic Gold Medal Flour mill is straight to the right of the photographers location.

-John



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/16 15:11 by LarryDoyle.

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Is that the whole train...3 cars?  Or, as I suspect, there may be more around the curve?  I'd also expect more head end traffic on any of the aforementioned trains.  AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA

ATSF3751 Wrote:
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> > I believe the Laker was the last SOO passenger
> > train, and that came off in early 1965.
>
> Nope. The Winnipeger was removed in March of 1967.

Actually, it's a trick question!

The LAST regularly-scheduled passenger train on the Soo Line was...the Copper Country Limited, a Milwaukee Road train operated by Soo Line (ex-DSS&A) between Champion and Calumet, MI. Discontinued March 8, 1968.

NZ

LarryDoyle Wrote:
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> The train is eastbound (compass SSE) on the
> Minneapolis Eastern RR, whose weedgrown yard is in
> the foreground, ...

Correction:  All yard trackage to the right of the diamond is, indeed, Minneapolis Eastern.  The two main tracks are former M&StL, which in 1960 came under the CNW banner.

-John