Commonly referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" (or simply "The Road"), the origins of
this railroad began in 1847, when the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad was
incorporated. Three years later its first train operated between Milwaukee and
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and by 1857, its track reached Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In
February 1874, the name changed to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway as
it continued to expand throughout the Midwest. By 1887, it reached into Iowa and
South Dakota, as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, and north into the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan.
In 1905, the Milwaukee Road decided to expand west again, this time to Puget Sound in
Washington. The "Lines West" were built between 1906-1909, from the middle of South
Dakota to Seattle and Tacoma in Washington. Even though the lines were technological
marvels, they were never successful, and were a major contributor to the bankruptcy
in 1925. In 1928 the Road reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul &
Pacific Railroad, but went bankrupt again in 1935 and 1945. In 1977, in financial
trouble once more, it reorganized and sold off two-thirds of its trackage. It was
acquired by the Soo Line Corp. on February 21, 1985, which operated it as the
Milwaukee Road, Inc. until merging it with their own lines on January 1, 1986.
The Real Estate and Industrial Department was established in 1921 as a division of
the Accounting Department. Until that time, all real estate transactions had been
kept by the corporate secretary. J.C. Ellington was appointed to head the department
and held that position for 34 years. In the early years, the department’s main role
was handling the purchase, sale, lease and management of real estate. The department
was renamed the Real Estate, Economic and Resource Development Department on June 1,
1971 and took on added responsibilities relating to geology and economic resources.
Edward J. Stoll led the department from 1964 through the 1970s. In a 1972 Milwaukee Road Magazine article, Stoll described the
department as “the role of expediter assigned the responsibility of being the
contact point with outside industries for the purpose of accumulating and
disseminating site selection information.”
