The Soo Line's Famous Trains to Canada

By Terry Gainer

The Soo Line's Famous Trains To Canada is a brief history of a small and unique Class 1 railway and its famous Canada-USA tourist trains.

Initially chartered in 1883 to serve the needs of local millers in Minneapolis, the Soo would eventually come to join the Canadian Pacific line at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, with service to Montreal. In 1888, Canadian Pacific assumed controlling interest in the Soo Line, providing entry into the lucrative US market and levelling the playing field for the CPR to face the onslaught of ferocious competition from James J. Hill, the infamous American railway baron.

The "little railway that could" grew to attain giant-killer status, launching famous passenger trains from Minneapolis and St. Paul, meeting head-on the western expansion of the Great Northern Railway and viable, competitive routes to the Atlantic seaboard. Over the years, the Soo Line introduced thousands of Americans to Montreal and Quebec City, the famous Canadian Rockies resorts, and the city of Vancouver, the home port for CP's Pacific steamship services. The Soo also successfully competed on the Spokane and Portland routes from Minneapolis to the Pacific Northwest. In 1923 the "Soo Mountaineer" was launched, becoming the most famous and longest "two-nation" train journey in North America.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1771606711
• ISBN13: 9781771606714
• Release Date: November 2023
• Publisher: Rocky Mountain Books Incorporated
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Highly detailed and accurate story of a major element in Canadian railroad development

This is the 3rd book I've read by author Terry Gainer, and like the other two, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I never realized that the Soo line played such an important part in Canadian railroading. Growing up in Montreal in the '60's, I admit I've never heard of the Soo Line. It's a must read for people like me, who just can't enough of trains.