Soo Line Railroad Company

The Soo Line Railroad Company is the principal subsidiary of Soo Line Corp., a holding company involved in transportation and related real estate. Canadian Pacific Limited, a transportation, resource development, and manufacturing company with headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, in 1990 owned virtually 100% of the common stock of Soo Line Corp. Canadian Pacific interests have controlled the Soo Line and its predecessors since 1888. The M.St.P.&S.S.M. was popularly known as the "Soo Line" for many years prior to the formal adoption of the name in 1961, and this is reflected in the organization of the collection. In 1992 the Soo Line was one of three constituent railroad companies comprising the CP Rail System. In that year use of the name "Soo Line" was discontinued in favor of "CP Rail System" for most purposes.

The idea behind the formation of what became the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company (M.St.P.&S.S.M.) was the desire of Minneapolis grain milling interests to have a route to eastern markets independent of the railroads operating between Minneapolis and Chicago, and of James J. Hill's railroad and steamship lines operating to and out of Duluth-Superior. A second objective was to construct a line west of Minneapolis into Dakota Territory, in order to assure the millers of a secure source of hard spring wheat for themselves independent of Hill and his railroad.

...