From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Milwaukee Road was a railroad that operated in the midwest and northwest of the United States from 1847 until its acquisition by and merger with the Soo Line railway in 1985–1986. The company went through several official names and faced bankruptcy several times in that period. While the railroad does not exist as a separate entity anymore, it is still commemorated in buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Milwaukee Road appeared as the Milwakee and Waukesha Railroad when it was first incorporated in 1847, but soon changed its name to Milwaukee and Mississippi. After three years, the first train ran from Milwaukee to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and the first passenger train ran on February 25, 1851. In 1874 the name was changed to Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul. By 1887, the railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and the upper peninsula of Michigan.
A major expansion of the railroad occurred in the 1900s. Between 1906 and 1909, new railroad lines were built from South Dakota to Puget Sound and the Seattle/Tacoma region of Washington. While the tracks were great feats of engineering, in the end they did not contribute to the success of the company and are believed to have led to the company's bankruptcy in 1925.
After a reorganization in 1928 as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific, the Road continued to face financial difficulties for the next few decades. The company again found itself in bankruptcy in 1935 and 1945, then went through major changes in 1977 with a reorganization that saw the company let go of two thirds of its track mileage.
Finally, the company operated as Milwaukee Road, Inc., from its acquisition on February 21, 1985 until the companies merged on January 1, 1986.History
