Amtrak’s westbound Empire Builder passes Soo Line train 17 at Duplainville, Wisconsin, on the afternoon of June 6, 1987. Leading train 17 is a former Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern EMD SD39, as Soo acquired MN&S Nos 40-41 in the 1982 purchase of the railroad. After overextending themselves acquiring Milwaukee Road, Soo Line established a wholly-owned division called Lake States Transportation Division on February 10, 1986, to operate its mostly former Soo Line trackage in Wisconsin and prepare it for sale. With this move, older locomotives and some leased power began to be much more common on these lines. Soo Line No. 6241 was the only locomotive that featured “Lake States” lettering on its nose.
This train, which runs between Chicago and Seattle and Portland, takes its name from James J. Hill, who founded the Great Northern Railroad and extended it from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast.
