Railroad: Sault Ste. Marie Terminal Railway Company, The

Built → Sault Ste. Marie Terminal Railway → Ended

Built: 1901 - in Sault Ste. Marie.

Operated for 40 years.

Operations Ended: 1941 - dissolved.

Reference: [MRRC] 

Notes

When this operation was ended in 1941, the tracks may have been transferred to the City of Sault Ste. Marie, which contracted for the operation of this short line. See 1955 article below.

Apparently the 2.5 mile long rail line was operated by the Carbide Power Co. on behalf of its 14 customers. The railroad crews were apparently represented by the United Mine Workers, or honored the pickets of customers along the line.

Time Line

1955. An injunction was granted in Manistique Monday by Judge Nebel on a petition of the Carbide Power Company of Sault Ste. Marie. The company declared its franchise (from the city) to operate the railway is jeopardized by the strike of Local 12413 of the United Mine Workers at its plant and the Electro Metallurgical plant, both on this line.

A franchise from the City of Sault Ste. Marie requires that the railway transfer all railroad cars offered to it, and that it serve customers on the 2.5 mile line without discrimination. Since the injunction was granted, the UMW union has petitioned the court for a hearing.

At present the terminal railway is serving some 14 customers, among them the Straits Engineering Company, which is handling wire for main cables for the bridge at the Straits (Mackinac Bridge). The galvanized high tensile, carbon steel wire is being manufactured in Trenton, NJ and an average of two cars are arriving daily at the Soo.

The wire is sensitive to atmospheric conditions and must be promptly coated before it is stored - otherwise a white rust develops, destroying the coating and rendering the wire unusable for the bridge. At present there is a backlog of about 14 cars in the Soo Line's railroad yards which must be moved a mile and a half to the Straits Engineering company for treatment.

The UMW union in the Soo previously had agreed to transfer railroad cars carrying gas from two firms in the city, but will not handle any other car shipments. When a supervisory crew was engaged by the Carbide Power Company to move the wire and one other shipment, the union established picket lines.

The injunction now prohibits the union from interfering with the railway's operations, but does not affect the strike at the two plants. The power company testified here that it loses money when it operates the railroad for the customers only without its own production. Under the city franchise, it feels it must operate the railway, and customers on the line are demanding service, the firm told the court here.

The shipments of wire arriving via the Soo Line were supposed to be unloaded immediately and treated with an oil preservative before storing. The wire must be transported in ample time for it to be "on site" by next May, when the cable spinning machinery will be erected at the bridge site. The spinning must be completed in one season. Shipments of the wire are scheduled to be continued throughout the winter until next summer. 12,000 tons of wire is needed for the main cables. Each railroad car carries 50 tons. [EDP-1955-1229]