1995 Soo Line Documentary

[@tylerkasuboski3366]

This video is freakin' dream!!!!! I was born in 1980 and by 10 yrs old (approx. 1990) obsessed with railroads. Grew up in Winneconne but was in Oshkosh every week and remember this line and the quite substantial derailment mentioned by the narrator when they cross Murdock. I only wish there were a video (even on foot) from the 80's or early 90's of the remnants of the Milwaukee Road line which also ran straight through town, past the Vulcan Mine and even crossed Highway 41!!!! This video was simply enthralling and it's amazing how long ago this all was and how much Oshkosh has changed (yet my memories of walking these exact Soo tracks in '93-'94 seems almost like yesterday). I'll admit I was sad to see the wig wags (you can begin to see them in action at 27:22) go when they tore these tracks up. And as of 2019 I'd venture to guess MORE freight is blasting through Oshkosh (albeit on the CNR tracks) than ever.

[@denizenlocale3441]

Such a great video for 90's Oshkosh folks. I've watched it a few times with family and friends. This video is one of the most comprehensive tours of 20th century Oshkosh around, with the full ride-along giving you the engineer's view.

[@dmitze01]

Really neat look at the old Soo Line tracks in Division St. - an alignment now abandoned and erased from the town map - however the old C&NW line still shines with heavy Canadian National freight traffic, having acquired the Wisconsin Central Ltd during the late '90s. One can only hope that in the near future daily Amtrak service between Chicago and Green Bay, via Milwaukee and Appleton, will again return passenger trains to the Fox River Valley. Less tourists on the highway that way, which I'm sure the locals would appreciate!

[@stratmanth8654]

Thank you soooooo much for this. I lived in Oshkosh until I was 5 years old and was too young to remember any of this at that time. However, since I had lots of family there, I visited Oshkosh until I was 20. I remember being in disbelief when seeing the tracks running through downtown that trains were really that close to homes, crossing driveways, etc. Going to watch this video many times over.

[@ErickC]

Odd. I grew up in Oshkosh, which, at the time, was a river town with two railroads (one the CP - Soo Line was just code for "CP Rail, south of the border") and a disused Hudson Sprayers plant. I now live in Hastings, Minnesota, which is a river town with two railroads (one the CP) and a disused Hudson Sprayers plant. Our ex-Milwaukee bridge is a lift bridge, though, and the "other railroad" here is the BNSF.