John L Mathis

SOO Line GP38-2's 4442 and 4451 pass the Red Wing, Minnesota station after finishing up their switching chores on April 11, 2006. Some cities have decorated cow statues, some dogs, some horses, Red Wing has large boots. (Red Wing is the home of the Red Wing boot factory.) This line was part of the Milwaukee Road. The Milwaukee called its locals "patrols". On page 61 of Frederick Hyde's great book about the Milwaukee Road there is a photograph made in 1983 by Pat Malone showing the Wabasha Patrol stopped in front of the Red Wing depot. As a result of the Milwaukee Road's bankruptcy, much of it was absorbed by the SOO which itself was owned and later absorbed into the Canadian Pacific Railway. Much of the power on this line is SOO and even former Milwaukee Road locomotives.