Growing Up Soo Line by Tom Tardiff
“Is there a bigger thrill for a child, especially a young boy with interest in railroads, than riding in the cab of a locomotive?”
So begins a chapter in “Growing Up Soo Line.” In writing this book about railroads in the Chequamegon Bay area of northern Wisconsin, author Tom Tardiff hopes to rekindle memories for those who lived through these times (late 1960’s through 2015) and describes “what was” for those “born too late.”
Railroads played a major role in the development of many towns in northern Wisconsin in the late 1800s. Transportation of timber and iron ore transported to steel mills contributed to winning WWI and WWII. With more than 50 years observing railoads in and nears his hometown of Ashland, Wisconsin, Tardiff has seen good and bad changes but, unfortunately, always a continuing decline in frequency and service. For over 30 years. Tom’s father worked for the Soo Line Railroad but Tom was the true railroad aficionado in the family. Many photos, taken over his lifetime, help to describe the era of railroads. That said, perhaps his most thrilling memories are from his childhood rides. “Off we went, rolling along about 30 miles per hour, sun shining, wind blowing into the cab window, Please, let this last forever, let this last forever”
Take a “ride” through railroad history as it came and went in northern Wisconsin.
This book offers a rare source of detail and personal experience.
