Canadian Pacific, Soo Line, and I&M Rail Link Along the Mighty Mississippi - FULL VIDEO (2002)

In this program, C. Vision Productions takes you on a tour of Canadian Pacific's River Subdivision along the beautiful Mississippi River, between the years 1998 and 2002. The River Sub is a portion of the former Milwaukee Road mainline between Chicago and the Twin Cities. At the time of production, this route hosted a variety of trains from CP (Soo Line), I&M Rail Link, Union Pacific, and Amtrak. In addition, Burlington Northern and BNSF run-through power is viewed on coal trains bound for the Columbia Energy Center near Portage, Wisconsin. Many older EMD and GE locomotives are seen in operation, including models SD40, SD40-2, C30-7, GP40, GP38-2, SD60, SD60M, SD70MAC, and SD90MAC. The I&M Rail Link operated with a fleet of real classics, with models SD35, SD40, SD45, and SD9 all appearing in this show. CP’s AC4400CW fleet was still new during this time period, with these powerful pullers becoming quite plentiful by the early 2000s. We'll see a great variety of trains throughout the video, with coal, grain, intermodal, and general freight trains keeping the rails polished during our visits. All of this and more can be found in this C. Vision full-length presentation.
Coverage area is St. Paul, Minnesota to La Crescent, Minnesota. Notable locations included are St. Paul, Newport, Hastings, Red Wing, Frontenac, Lake City, Maple Springs, Wabasha, Kellogg, Minnesota City, Winona, and La Crescent.
Copyright 2002, C. Vision Productions
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[@MrBnsftrain]

9:18 I had no idea Sounder leased whole trains to VRE on the other side of the country! They even got temporary VRE logos too. I noticed at 23:58 that the SD40-2 in BNSF H1 has already been sold off and patched by this time, five years after it got the new railroad's colors. 25:00 apparently CP acquired some ex-Southern high-hood SD40-2 and covered its cab windows. It was sold to NREX and given a normal cab in 2009. The intermodal stuff in this video is neat too. Shows how much intermodal trains have changed in 20 years.

[@CVisionProductions1]

All very interesting stuff! The former BNSF SD40-2 that you mentioned was a lease return lettered for CEFX. BNSF decided not to renew the leases on several groups of those units in the 1999-2002 timeframe. I&M Rail Link had a handful of them leased at the time.

[@DelayInBlockProductions]

Man, that shot at 24:40 is FIRE! Another awesome video.

[@CVisionProductions1]

And the best part was having the correct leader.

[@geac9100]

Great release, I didn't realize track speeds were as high as they were.

[@CVisionProductions1]

Thank you. Oh yes. It is a primary corridor from the Twin Cities to Chicago along with being an Amtrak route.

[@mjrodriguez8670]

Thanks, Chris, for posting this video! I still call this line The Milwaukee Road!

[@CVisionProductions1]

You are very welcome! Yes, it will always be the Milwaukee Road in many people’s eyes.

[@ZJKFilms]

Literally my railfanning childhood in a video. This and Wisconsin Central/Canadian National were it for a Milwaukee kid like me. Thank You CVision!

[@CVisionProductions1]

You are very welcome! Thank you for watching and supporting our channel!!!!

[@nikhilmurthy7096]

9:20 This Amtrak #8 Empire Builder consist is very unusual for 2 reasons: 1. The lead unit is P42 130, the Phase II Heritage Unit replacing the original Phase II unit 66 wrecked in 2016. 2. The Sounder equipment, sandwiched between the 3 P42s and the baggage car, is headed to Virginia on the other side of America from the equipment's ideal home: Seattle, WA.

[@CVisionProductions1]

Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with us, Nikhil. We appreciate you watching and commenting.

[@kingoflovetrain6426]

Awesome Video of Canadian Pacific Trains along the Mississippi River through your Home State of Minnesota

[@CVisionProductions1]

Thank you so much! Minnesota certainly has a great variety of trains and railroad operations. There’s something for everyone here.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

This is great! 25:01 And look! Canadian Pacific Train #281 has a former Norfolk Southern "High Hood" SD40-2, converted into an SD40-2B by the CP. It's the third unit in the consist.

[@CVisionProductions1]

Yep. CP nicknamed these as the Red Bricks. They didn’t last very long.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

@@CVisionProductions1 I see. And you know what I think? I wonder if Canadian Pacific would have more Heritage Units, each one with a paint scheme from every railroad that the CP bought, including the Milwaukee Road and the Soo Line.

[@CVisionProductions1]

It would be fantastic if they did that! Great idea, for sure.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

@@CVisionProductions1 Thank you.

[@dwkcamman611]

Awesome production, love the classics!!

[@CVisionProductions1]

Thank you David. Hope to have many others to come.

[@Seaboard1321]

What a great video. Thank you for posting!

[@CVisionProductions1]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching!!!

[@millennialtrainman3443]

Great stuff as always C Vision! Holy cow! This brings back so many memories. I remember taking Amtrak to Chicago and back with my grandparents around 2000-2001.

[@CVisionProductions1]

Glad you enjoyed it! It was a great time with all the variety and goodies that ran over the River Sub.

[@LEGOland7550]

Hello c vision production ❤️❤️

[@CVisionProductions1]

Hello 😊

[@MinnesotaRailProductions]

First! And awesome video!

[@CVisionProductions1]

Yay! Thank you!

[@taylorbaggarleyunionpacifi3409]

Wow 2002 I love this time on candian pacific railway they were working in update the line by time did this Montara rail link power start showing up in Montana and besides that cp had new some new ac4400cw units switchers everywhere

[@CVisionProductions1]

It was the best time to document them. Every day there was always a mix of things. You were almost guaranteed to see a SOO unit leading at least one train. My how things have changed 21 years later

[@taylorbaggarleyunionpacifi3409]

@@CVisionProductions1 yes that's so true

[@robscott8296]

my favorite Canadian train horns 1: 13:01 2: 14:13 3: 19:42 4: 20:19 My favorite American train horns 1: 22:09 2: 23:48 3: 47:32

[@CVisionProductions1]

They are very unique.

[@UnionThugg]

Lots of memories here. Especially the then-new 8500's, and the new 494/496, which became 198 (and 429, which became 199). Train symbols here are a little mixed up. - Wayfreights ran SY to LaX, LaX to Portage, and Portage to Milw. There were also several Patrol/Roadswitcher jobs that worked along the way - Hastings, Red Wing, Wabasha, Winona, La Crosse, and Portage all had various switching jobs that were bulletined for different shifts, depending on business. So, in this example, the 588/587 wayfreights (which were actually 216/217 at the time) only ran between SY and LaX. Another 216/217 ran between LaX and Portage, then 214/215 PO to Milw. - Symbols 281 and 291 were actually 201/561, all grain trains were (and still are) in the 300's. CP is notable for changing train symbols every couple of years. - IMRL trains ran north/south, resulting in the goofy symbols.

[@CVisionProductions1]

Thank you for the info. It was a long time ago when we shot this (1998-2002), but I do remember there was a symbol change somewhere in that time period on a few trains. But you’re right, CP likes to change them frequently. Thank you for watching!

[@pauljung7611]

I love this

[@CVisionProductions1]

Thank you Paul!

[@martinsd70ace58]

Great video thank you for the show I am a junkie of your work and excuse me may English is not perfect

[@CVisionProductions1]

Thank you Martin! And your English is good enough for me! I appreciate your support!!!!

[@jalilmuhammad8270]

This same year, the Washington Corporation would divest itself of the I&M Rail Link after declaring the latter as unprofitable. The Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad (IC&E) would be formed by the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E) using the same assets inherited from the I&M Rail Link. Canadian Pacific acquired the DM&E and IC&E railroads in 2008 to re-obtain the lines across Illinois and Iowa.

[@CVisionProductions1]

Yes, 2002 was a year of much change in Midwest railroading. It was sad to see the I&M Rail Link go, but it just wasn’t meant to be. CP’s purchase of the IC&E and DM&E in 2007-2008 wasn’t completely unexpected, as the CN may have been next in line to acquire the property. Similar to the CP/CN entanglement with KCS, the CP has been doing all they can to prevent CN from gaining additional market share. Thank you for watching, and for your comment.

[@Robbi496]

I guess I did not realize that I & M Rail Link still existed?

[@CVisionProductions1]

Hi Rob. They don’t. This video was captured and produced in 2001. Thank you for watching!!

[@Nicola636128]

One more beautiful than the other these videos from a recent past. But was I&M Rail Link a subsidiary of Montana Rail Link, as the livery is virtually identical and uses locomotives from its fleet? Also, that I&M Rail Link still existed?

[@CVisionProductions1]

Hello! I&M Rail Link was owned by the same parent company that also owns Montana Rail Link. I&M Rail Link was purchased by Iowa, Chicago & Eastern in July of 2002.

[@andrewcrumb8027]

47:06 Former Southern Pacific SD9

[@CVisionProductions1]

IMRL wasn’t afraid to use their GP9s and SD9s on the mainline. Can you imagine running one of those clunker SD9s at 60 mph on the River Sub? Those were exciting times!

[@andrewcrumb8027]

@@CVisionProductions1 I see. It's just that I'm surprised.

[@CVisionProductions1]

We were too, Andrew! Seeing those units running up and down the mainline, even in those days, was quite the spectacle.

[@Horzpwr]

Poor bird got wrecked at 53:04

[@CVisionProductions1]

Yeah. That was unfortunate. Noticed that when I recorded the scene.

[@philfrizzell4571]

U forgot about shoreham

[@CVisionProductions1]

We see what you’re saying. Pretty sure the narration was referring to the CP’s main switching and classification yards in the Twin Cities. There were several smaller yards still operating at the time that weren’t mentioned. Shoreham has mainly been an intermodal facility for over 30 years. Thank you for your observation!

[@philfrizzell4571]

I think its called Shoreham. Its by bnsf north town

[@CVisionProductions1]

You are correct. We did fail to mention Shoreham in the program. Thank you.

[@bradhardy2629]

It was always hard to watch them IMRL scabs running our trains up from K.S . they stuck um in the hole as much as possible in the beginning . Glad their bankrupt and MRL will be soon as well .

[@CVisionProductions1]

It’s never easy losing work due to line sales. That seemed to be a major theme during the 1980s and 1990s.

[@UnionThugg]

They were BLE, which wasn't really scabs (that was from 1994). They were bought out by the DME. MRL only leased the property from the BN. They didn't go bankrupt, the family that owned the MRL decided not to renew the lease from the BN.

[@bradhardy2629]

@@UnionThugg Not what I read. The B.N bought out the lease early and the Washington family has no Railroad to run their locomotives on . Period. Good bye union buster Dennis Washington. RIP. And the IMRL WERE NON UNION so that indeed means SCAB RAILROAD. Don't try to sugar coat what they did to all of us CP. Corn line workers. I was one of um and I know what happened. My and thousands of other families were screwed over by the C P sale to the scab link.

[@UnionThugg]

@Brad Hardy I worked with quite a few myself in Wisconsin. IMRL was BLE, at least for the drivers and section. I was a UTU rep. Washington family decided not to renew the lease. BN had first right if refusal, and the transaction is before the STB for approval. What the BN did to the brotherhoods in Montana in 1987 is what started the whole mess railroads are in right now. That was Darius Gaskins and Hunter Harrison who pulled off that stunt. They were fired by the BN board the next year. EHH found a spot on the IC, and the rest is history. By the time DME took over the IMRL, they were very much a "silent subsidiary" of the CP. But the scuttle remained the same. Most everyone felt the Milwaukee Railroad had been singled out as the Big Experiment the railroads would use to bust the unions. I think the Soo Line sale - with the splitting off to the WC, the IMRL, and the old Southeastern, was definitely a step in that direction. The big strike in '94, and certain "members" that crossed the picket lines didn't help anything.