Soo Line Railroad

The Soo Line was a relative late comer to the central Illinois rail scene. It wasn't until they purchased the Milwaukee Road in the early 1980s that they even came west from Chicago. Like the Chicago Northwestern, the Soo did not make it out to the west coast. The Soo Line's D&I sub ran west from Chicago, through Bensenville, Illinois to Savanna, Illinois. After crossing the Mississippi River into Sabula, Iowa, the line turned southwest and headed toward Kansas City. Unlike the other carriers mentioned on this site, The Soo's main traffic base was automobile traffic, which included both parts and finished goods. Unit trains and manifests accounted for some of the Soo's traffic. There were some intermodal trains, mostly double stack trains interchanged with the Southern Pacific in Kansas City. One piggyback train ran each way daily.