The Lake States Transportation Division (LSTD) was a wholly owned division of the

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , one of seven U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sa ...

that existed from 1986 until 1987. The

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

of the

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experience ...

(Milwaukee Road) saw Soo Line acquire its routes to add trackage between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

in 1985. The

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

(ICC) mandated that Soo Line must divest of some lines in the interest of preserving competition. Soo Line created the LSTD on February 10, 1986 to operate the original Soo Line mainline from Forest Park, Illinois to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

via

Withrow, Minnesota Withrow is an unincorporated community located in the city of Grant, Washington County, Minnesota, United States. Formerly an unincorporated village on the edge of the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area, Withrow was located in three differ ...

, as well as from Withrow to

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

, and branch lines from

Argonne, Wisconsin Argonne is a town in Forest County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 512 at the 2010 census. The census-designated place of Argonne is located in the town. The unincorporated community of Wisconsin Junction is also located in the t ...

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River, approximately forty miles (60 km) southwest of Green ...

and former Milwaukee Road branch lines from Green Bay to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. The LSTD was around long. The

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

's Soo Line

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

operated the LSTD with tri-weekly service on main lines and less frequently on branch lines. The entire LSTD was sold to newly formed

Wisconsin Central Ltd. Wisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of Canadian National. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada (Algoma Central Railway), the United Kingdom (DB ...

in 1987 for $133 million as per the ICC ruling.Steve Glischinski, Regional Railroads of the Midwest, Voyageur Press, 2007, p. 137 The WC was acquired by the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

in 2001 and the CN became the dominant operator of trains on its Chicago-Minneapolis mainline.

References

Soo Line Railroad Rail infrastructure in Illinois Rail infrastructure in Michigan Rail infrastructure in Minnesota Rail infrastructure in Wisconsin Upper Peninsula of Michigan Forest Park, Illinois {{US-rail-transport-stub