Wisconsin Central, Ltd (WC) collection
Scope and Contents
This collection, MSS-378, Wisconsin Central, Ltd. (WC) collection, documents a 1998 proposed track connection in Escanaba, Michigan. The materials are copies and the location of the original documents is unknown.
Dates
- 1998-03-16
Creator
- Wisconsin Central Ltd. (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish material from MSS-378, Wisconsin Central, Ltd. (WC) collection, must be obtained from the University Archivist. The University Archivist may be reached by phone at 906-227-1225, or e-mail, archives@nmu.edu. The University Archivist may also be reached in Room 126 of the Learning Resource Center, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI.
Biographical / Historical
On April 3, 1987, the Soo Line Railroad announced the sale of its Lake States Transportation Division to private investors. This marked the formation of the new Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation. Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation (WC) used most of the original Wisconsin Central Railway's rights-of-way and some former Milwaukee Road rights-of-way after the Soo Line Railroad acquired the Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Minnesota holdings of the bankrupt Milwaukee Road and divested its older railway trackage in Wisconsin. The Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Company, a Wisconsin Central subsidiary, acquired 207 miles of track from Union Pacific Railroad forming a Wisconsin Central connection between Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Ishpeming, Michigan, in 1997. Canadian National Railway purchased Wisconsin Central in 2001 for $800-million and assumed $400-million of Wisconsin Central’s debt. At the time of its sale to Canadian National, Wisconsin Central operated over 2,850 miles of track in the Great Lakes region. The railroad extended from Chicago into and through Wisconsin to Minneapolis/St. Paul and Duluth, Minnesota, to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and north (through the Algoma Central Railway) to Hearst, Ontario. The former Wisconsin Central became part of Canadian National's United States holdings and its property integrated into the Canadian National Railway system.
Extent
1 box
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection, MSS-378, Wisconsin Central, Ltd. (WC) collection, consists of one series. This series is a set of fifteen bound drawings in original order.
Custodial History
The materials in Accession M15-11, which include the maps, blueprints, floor plans, and schematics contained in this collection, were obtained on February 10, 2015, by Marcus Robyns, University Archivist, and Bruce Sarjeant, Reference, Government Documents & Maps Librarian of the Olson Library. Prior to that, the materials were in the possession of Barry A. and Cristin R. Williams of Ishpeming, Michigan. Barry A. Williams, an employee of the Canadian National Railroad (CN) in Escanaba, Michigan, had seen some workers preparing to destroy the material; he transferred as much as he could to his car and took the collection home.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The materials in Accession M15-11 were received from Barry A. and Cristin R. Williams of Ishpeming, Michigan, as a gift in 2015.
Deed of Gift and Agreement, signed by both individuals and dated May 4, 2015, is on file at the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives. The original document is maintained in the Donor File for collection MSS-363, The Soo Line Railroad (SOO) collection, with a copy filed in the Donor File for this collection.
Accruals
The Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives will continue to add material to this collection as it becomes available.
Physical Description
Most maps, blueprints, floor plans, and schematics have tears around their periphery, slight water damage, and all maps are currently rolled up. Tears have been repaired and maps are being stored rolled in tube containers.
General
The Historical/Biographical note and the Scope and Contents note were compiled from information retrieved from the collection, MSS-378, Wisconsin Central, Ltd. records, and from the Source Materials listed below.
Berry, D. (n.d.). Railroad History of Michigan. Retrieved August 18, 2016, from http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/RRHXHome.htm
Burns, A. (2007, 2016). The Wisconsin Central Railway. Retrieved October 13, 2016, from http://www.american-rails.com/wisconsin-central-railway.html
Canadian National Railway. (2016, September 25). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canadian_National_Railway&oldid=741117415
List of Wisconsin railroads. (2016). Retrieved August 18, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wisconsin_railroads
Meints, G. M. (1992). Michigan Railroads & Railroad Companies. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.
Soo Line Railroad. (2016, October 10). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soo_Line_Railroad&oldid=743567878
Wisconsin Central Ltd. (2016, July 19). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wisconsin_Central_Ltd.&oldid=730492200
- Design and construction. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Drawings. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Escanaba (Mich.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Railroad tracks. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Railroads. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Technical drawings. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Upper Peninsula (Mich.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Creator
- Wisconsin Central Ltd. (Organization)
- Title
- Wisconsin Central, Ltd. (WC) collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Glenda K. Ward, Arrangement and Description Specialist
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives Repository
Harden Learning Resources Center 126
1401 Presque Isle Ave
Marquette 49855 United States
906-227-1225
906-227-1333 (Fax)
archives@nmu.edu
