![]() These are slight misnomers as the Belt mountains and Bitterroots are part of the Rockies. Original company maps denote five mountain crossings: Belts, Rockies, Bitterroots, Saddles, and Cascades. The completion of 2,300 miles (3,700 km) of railroad through some of the most varied topography in the nation in only three years was a major feat. The two main mountain ranges that had to be crossed, the Rockies and the Cascades, required major civil engineering works and additional locomotive power. The route chosen was 18 miles (29 km) shorter than the next shortest competitor's, as well as better grades than some, but it was an expensive route, since the Milwaukee Road received few land grants and had to buy most of the land or acquire smaller railroads. Ĭonstruction began in 1906 and was completed three years later. The subsidiary Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sound Railway Company was chartered in 1905 to build from the Missouri River to Seattle and Tacoma. ![]() The contract for the western part of the route was awarded to Horace Chapin Henry of Seattle. In 1905, the board approved the Pacific Extension, now estimated at $60 million, equal to $1.81 billion today. A survey in 1901 estimated costs to build to the Pacific Northwest as $45 million (equal to $1.47 billion today). In the 1890s, the company's directors felt they had to extend the railroad to the Pacific to remain competitive with other railroads. ![]() The company's general offices were later located in Chicago's Railway Exchange building (built 1904) until 1924, at which time they moved to Chicago Union Station. The corporate headquarters were moved from Milwaukee to the Rand McNally Building in Chicago, America's first all-steel framed skyscraper, in 18, with the car and locomotive shops staying in Milwaukee. In 1890, the company purchased the Milwaukee and Northern Railroad by now, the railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The company absorbed the Chicago and Pacific Railroad Company in 1879, the railroad that built the Bloomingdale Line (now The 606) and what became the Milwaukee District / West Line as part of the 36-mile Elgin Subdivision from Halsted Street in Chicago to the suburb of Elgin, Illinois. Paul after constructing an extension to Chicago in 1872. In 1874 the name was changed to Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Prominent individual investors in the line included Alexander Mitchell, Russell Sage, Jeremiah Milbank, and William Rockefeller. ![]() Critical to the development and financing of the railroad was the acquisition of significant land grants. Paul (formerly the La Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Company) under the name Milwaukee and St. In 1867, Alexander Mitchell combined the M&PdC with the Milwaukee and St. Īs a result of the financial panic of 1857, the M&M went into receivership in 1859, and was purchased by the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad in 1861. Extensions followed to Waukesha in February 1851, Madison, and finally the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien in 1857. Its first line, 5 miles (8.0 km) long, opened between Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, on November 20, 1850. The company incorporated in 1847, but changed its name to the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad in 1850 before construction began. The railroad that became the Milwaukee Road began as the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad in Wisconsin, whose goal was to link the developing Lake Michigan port City of Milwaukee with the Mississippi River. Milwaukee Road 261 is a preserved Milwaukee Road steam locomotive that operates excursion trains. The company brand is commemorated by buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis and preserved locomotives such as Milwaukee Road 261 which operates excursion trains. Much of its historical trackage remains in use by other railroads. The remaining system was merged into the Soo Line Railroad ( reporting mark SOO), a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway ( reporting mark CP), on January 1, 1986. In 1980, it abandoned its Pacific Extension, which included track in the states of Montana, Idaho, and Washington. The company experienced financial difficulty through the 1970s and 1980s, including bankruptcy in 1977 (though it filed for bankruptcy twice in 19, respectively). Paul and Pacific Railroad ( CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" ( reporting mark MILW), was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. Some trackage in Wisconsin and Illinois is now operated by the Wisconsin and Southern RailroadĤ ft 8 + 1⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm) standard gauge Some trackage in the Midwest is now operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (Soo Line Railroad's parent company) Some trackage in Washington is now operated by the Union Pacific Railroad Most trackage in South Dakota and Montana is now operated by the BNSF Railway
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