Roth Manufacturing, also known by their Chief Product as "Loyal Feed Bins", approached the Soo in 1973 inquiring whether the Soo was interested in inbound Coil Steel business to Roth. It would have started out as two cars per month business for the Soo. To be honest, I really cannot remember what kind of growth Roth Mfg. projected for their business, but *I Think* I was told it *could have* grown to a Car Load, or two, per week. Don't take that verbatum. Negotiations apparently took a turn for the worst---so long as Roth agreed to unload their cars off of the House Track at Loyal, the Soo Line was, more or less, fine, with this Business. In fact, things looked so good that the Soo would get Roth's on as a Customer, Dad & the Section Crew were contemplating adding a Gravel Road behind the Standard Oil Bulk Plant in Loyal along the House Track for Roth to use to get at their incoming cars! Something happened, and Dad, years later, explained it to me, as it culminated with Roth Manufacturing INSISTING on the Soo constructing a Spur into their Plant, which the Soo Line was NOT about to do, not when the Soo was trying to rid itself of the Greenwood Line. Apparently, the Soo Line looked at, or inquired about, the Financial Stability of Roth's, and found they were not exactly standing on solid ground. After all, Roth Manufacturing had only gotten started in 1968 or 1969 and was having some difficulties. The Spur would have been about a block long, running behind a home to reach the Roth plant, but, as in many cases, the Soo very dryly observed that, given the Financial Stability of Roth Manufacturing, the type of traffic and the growth expected, it was far wiser (And less track to maintain) for Roth to use the House Track at Loyal rather than build a Spur that would never pay for itself. End of that Business Prospect.

O.W. Trindal's leadership was Foisted upon Bill Trindal in early 1973. A quiet man the Employees there never liked (With a Reputation for being a "Free-Spending" Playboy-----the Reason "Grandma" Trindal put him in charge of the place, hoping it would tone Bill's "Wild Ways" down a bit, by giving Bill a Little Responsibility), Young Bill none-the-less expanded the business into "Mom & Pop" bakeries, thinking there was a growth business in that market, and began handling such goods as Flour, Bulk Sugar and the like for Commercial Baking. A portion of the Warehouse at Trindal's was petitioned off for "Clean" Storage of these items. Problem was, Trindal's invested a large amount of cash into this expansion, but was never able to pierce the Grocery Store Bakery Market, which had been Young Bill's eventual aim. Bill had told Dad once, that eventually, if growth had continued as he (Bill Trindal) had saw it, Trindal's would be responsible for some 1,000 cars Itself, inbound, per year! Bill Trindal was even considering having a SECOND track installed next to the original spur to handle the soon-to-be-coming (In Bill's Eyes) New Business, and, although I only know of this from that which Dad told me, Bill even had Blueprints drawn up for a New Warehouse to be built to the East of the Present O.W. Trindal Mill for the express purpose of handling Bakery ingredients (Which would have put this new Warehouse just about on the top of where the A.E. Graves Stave Mill had been). However, as the Smaller bakeries folded, due to increased competition from the Grocery Stores Trindal's couldn't get into, coupled with Older Owners simply selling out to retire and no one buying the business to continue it, Trindal's, heavily Mortgaged and unable to penetrate the larger, Grocery Store Bakery Market, went Bankrupt in 1975. In 1974, Trindal's got in 425 cars! After Bankruptcy, the Loyal State Bank ran this operation, under tight cost controls, and the Soo's business dropped from 425 cars in 1974 to a mere 160 in 1976.

Trindals also ran afoul of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resorces in connection with the "Wet Lands" east of the Trindal Feed Mill where the New Warehouse was supposed to be constructed, and for filling in portions of this Area (remember, a Stave Mill stood in this "Wet Land" for a quarter of a Century before this) for a bigger lot to accomodate a growing number of Semi's that had to have room to turn around in. I can't recall exactly, but, I *thought* Trindals went under also due to a Heavy Fine levied against them by the DNR for encroachment of that Wet Land. I don't remember for sure. Gotta love the Wisconsin DNR.

K&M Builders came online as a Customer in Loyal, getting in Shingles, about a car per month. Wilfahrt Sawmill began loading out Pulpwood once again, 15 cars in 1974, 26 cars in 1975, and 30 cars in 1976 before the Soo Line put a Halt to this Traffic once again in 1977, Dad's last full year as Traveling Agent on the Greenwood Line.

Kobiske Metal Works, located alongside of Trindal's Spur and behind the Bordens Cold Storage Building across the Street to the North from Trindal's, approached the Soo at this time, wanting to get inbound cars of Steel to his small firm. Kobiske had grown quite a bit in two years, and Mr. Kobiske had the chance to expand yet some more with a contract to construct....I forget what it was! Anyway. Mr. Kobiske approached Dad, asking if the Soo Line would be interested in inbound Steel Business, and, could the Soo Line build a spur to run up next to his small shop? Dad put this request in to the Soo, which came back: NO. The Soo Line cited some excuse having to do with the Trestle over Bear Creek on Trindal's spur being "Too Close" or some such thing, and that curvature of a spur with a Switch on the South side of the Trestle would have been excessive, as well as some sort of hazard with a Track Switch so close to that Trestle. Of course, at projected traffic inbound of a Carload of steel per month, the Soo said this Spur would never pay for itself. Mr. Kobiske wasn't disappointed by this, so he inquired if he could unload his cars off of Trindal's spur which ran past his building before crossing Mill Street into Trindals. Mr. Kobiske had checked with Trindal's about this, and Trindal's had agreed to allow Mr. Kobiske to use their spur. Soo Line said: NO, and basically told Mr. Kobiske, flat out, that the Soo did NOT want his business, and that handling such a small amount of steel traffic would hardly pay for the Soo Line to bother to bring the cars out to Loyal.

A year later, very disappointed by not being able to get Rail Service RIGHT TO HIS DOOR, Mr. Kobiske sold out of his business. It continued on in his name under a new owner into the 1980's, but never to be a Soo Customer.

Northside Elevator's Fertilizer Business had continued to grow, so that by 1974 they had gotten in some 60 cars of Fertilizers. By 1976 this Grew to some 80-odd cars. They eventually added on to their Fertz Plant in Loyal after Dad left as the T.A. on the Greenwood Line in 1978.

Northside, now a Competitor of Cooperative Services in Greenwood, the only other Fertz Plant in the area, began exploring expanding their "Soil Management Services" and inquired as to the Possibility of getting inbound Tank Cars of Anhydrous Ammonia. Cooperative Services was interested in Anhydrous Ammonia movements to Greenwood as well. Noithing ever came of either in the time Dad was Traveling Agent (Or after, I should add), mostly because I'm told the Soo Line turned this traffic down FLAT. Given the Track condition in the 1973-1975 era, I can imagine the Soo Line was concerned about having 33,000 gallons of Anhydrous Ammonia derail and explode or otherwise decorate the Countryside. Ironic that a Tank Car of Anhyrous Ammonia derailed AND sprung a leak at Cadott, Wisconsin, on the Twin Cities Main Line years later! (1983, I believe)

Coupled with the inquiries about the Anhydrous Ammonia, Cooperative Services wanted to get Fuel Oil in, and Propane, as well, at Greenwood. Soo Line turned that down, as well. The SkelGas Dealer in Loyal had been interested in Carload Propane, but was turned off by Cooperarive Services' inability to get the Soo Line to bring the stuff in. I have no idea where either Cooperative Services or the Loyal Skelgas Dealer would have unloaded their cars. There were no Bulk LP Storage tanks in either Greenwood or Loyal that I can remember, only Cooperative Services' Anhydrous Ammonia Tanks two miles south of Greenwood on Highway 73, no where near the Trackage of the Greenwood Line. Amounts of Traffic coming in in Propane and Anhydrous would have run to about 30 to 50 cars per year, so the initial projections had read. Anhydrous would have been a Growth Business for Northside Elevator had they taken it up at the time.

I can only visualize in my mind how incongrous a sight it would have been to see a 33,000 gallon tank car of Anhydrous Ammonia or Propane wobbling along on the Greenwood Line's already beaten-to-death trackage. The mere thought brings the "Prickles" running up & down my neck!!

Branstetter Bros. Implement in Greenwood wanted to get Inbound carloads of Farm Implements at Greenwood; the old Ramp there was in such poor shape, fixing it would have been a true challenge! Soo Line wanted none of that business, either. Greenwood Implement also wanted service, and would have thrown in with Branstetter Brothers to build a new Ramp, but the Soo's reticent attitude kept them away, as well. In the end, both Implement Firms expected the Soo Line to repair the Greenwood Ramp, which the Soo flatly refused to do. Odd, because it was the Soo's Ramp. Go figure.

The Soo did pick up business from the Greenwood Milk Pool Coop, outbound Block Cheese Produced there, about 12 cars per year. Some Scrap Iron business came the Soo's way in 1974, 1975 & 1976, as did some Pulpwood. The Scrap Iron Dealer shipped out 12 cars in 1974, 15 cars in 1975, and 20 cars in 1976, before the Soo Line claimed this Business wasn't worth it. This was REAL Scrap Iron, Folks; the Gentleman sending these cars out loaded with it, piled pre-weighed, 100-ton mounds of the Scrap going out along the House Track in Greenwood at the points he expected the empty gons to be spotted for him to load (And the Train Crew on # 57 managed to CONSISTANTLY Spot the cars in the wrong places---!). Once loaded, very little of the load stuck up above the sides of the car, but....did those loaded cars SQUAT on their Truck Springs! This Scrap was True IRON....Cast Caterpiller Crawler Tractor Tracks, Radiator Housings from Hart-Parr Tractors, etc.

Pulpwood came out of Greenwood at 15 cars in 1974, 12 cars in 1975, 20 cars in 1976. Then, the Soo put the end to that traffic, as well.

Smith Feed Service, a Sideline operated by Bud Smith, a Farmer, began getting inbound Dog Food, 12 cars per year, starting in 1973. Suda Feed, from Willard, also began getting 12 cars of Feed per year at Greenwood as well. Both unloaded their cars on the House Track at Greenwood.

Bud Smith later bought out the Bankrupt O.W. Trindal operations and ran them as his own "Smith Feed Service" into 1998 when he sold it to a larger firm. Traffic to O.W. Trindal had begun an upturn under Bud Smith's ownership before the Soo filed for Abandonment, yet again, in late 1977. Traffic to what had been O.W. Trindals under Bud Smith rebounded to 185 cars in 1977-1978.

Business went up on the Greenwood Line in 1973-1974, and Minneapolis didn't like it one iota! Still more could have been had, yet the Soo turned down more Business than I care to recall. There were even outside Firms interested in locating in Greenwood but chose not to because of the Uncertainty of Rail Service. After all, Railroads are a Privately owned Transportation Company, that have the right to serve whom they choose to. It isn't right, not the way things were conducted on the Greenwood Line.

In 1973, 1974 and 1975 the Soo Line simply shut the Greenwood Line down in the Spring and fall anytime it rained, claiming "Unsafe Track Conditions". Once, during the Winter of 1972-1973, Soo had to bring out the Jordan Spreader W-80 to Plow the Greenwood Line out, but with a Leased Bulldozer cleaning ahead of the W-80 as was done the Winter of 1971-1972.

Things, though, were looking up.

And then the Nasty Games began.

I will give you only three examples of what follows, for these three are the most memorable. There were so many others I could fill up a Volume just on how erratic car movements became later on, and done a-purpose.

Especially, it seemed, if the Soo Line KNEW the car, or cars, in Question, were Needed very Badly by the Customers on the Greenwood Line.

First was a carload of Phosphates coming to Northside Elevator in Loyal, loaded on the Seaboard Coast Line in Flo'da. The car was Loaded in the Phosphate region in that state (near Orlando, as I recall), put in a train and it promptly disappeared.

For some two weeks or more, NO ONE could find that carload of Phosphates. It had been routed SCL-L&N-BRC Clearing, where the Soo Line was to pick it up in Transfer. (The routing, as I recall it, was SCL-Orlando-Chattanooga-L&N-Chattanooga-Louisville-Chicago-BRC Clearing Yard. The cars would have traveled up the Monon Main Line through Bedford, Lafayette & Bloomington, Indiana, to Argo then into Chicago via the ex-C&EI via Dolton to Clearing Yard) Only the car never showed up. Then, while a Switcher was pulling out a cut of cars off of one of the Many cramped yard tracks in Schiller Park, the Soo's Yard in the Chicagoland area, here was the car.....in the midst of a cut that had come from BARR YARD. No one to this day knows how that car ended up in with cars from Barr. In any case, the "Missing" car was now found, and, as if to "Celebrate" finding it, the car was promptly tagged "BAD ORDER" by the Carmen and set off on one of the Car Repair tracks at Schiller Park where it sat for slightly over a week.

Once the car was "repaired", it was put in a Soo Line freight bound for North Fond du Lac.

It Promptly Disappeared AGAIN.

I should note to you that Northside Elevator had figured the Transit Time of this carload to be at about three weeks from Loading to arrival, and had even "hedged" a week in case of late delivery. It was now getting worrisome for Northside Elevator, as their Stock Pile of Phosphate was getting very low, and Steve Brussow, the Manager, was getting VERY concerned.

As it was, NO ONE could find this "Missing" carload ANYWHERE between Schiller Park and North Fond du Lac. That is, IF anyone was trying to find it. Once again, while a Yard Job in North Fond du Lac was pulling out a Cut of cars, out came the "Missing" car. Once again, the Carmen "Bad Ordered" the car, for the same reason it was "Repaired" at Schiller Park (Air Brakes, as I recall it) and this car was shuffled off onto one of the RIP Tracks, where it sat for another week.

The car was released from the RIP Track at NFDL on a Thursday----the day the Train would be going out to Greenwood. But, the car was "Found", and heading for Stevens Point, and, eventually, Marshfield. The car, Dad was told, information he passed along to the Brussows at Northside Elevator, would be in the Train coming out Tuesday night. This was cutting it Dangerously Close. Northside was getting almost Desperate as their Phosphate Stock Pile was almost gone.

The car got to Stevens Point on a Friday, where it was Promptly Bad Ordered AGAIN, for the same Problem, AGAIN. It was released that Tuesday the Train was to have the car already. That Wednesday, the car arrived in Marshfield. There seemed to be no reason the car wouldn't be on the Thursday night train.

OOOPS! The Carmen at Marshfield Bad Ordered the car YET AGAIN, for the same reason the Car Shops in Stevens Point, North Fond du Lac AND Schiller Park had Bad Ordered the car. The car missed the Thursday Night Train, and Steve Brussow was forced to order in three bulk semi loads of Phosphate to fill their need. The car left Marshfield on a Tuesday, after the Semi's had discharged their loads at the Northside Elevator Fertz Plant to fill the Bin there.

Informed the Car was FINALLY on it's way, Steve Brussow said, "That doesn't do ME any good now! I don't need that car. I just filled the Bin." None the less, Dad & I were standing on the Platform of the Marshfield Depot and we watched as # 57 trundled off down the Main Line that night, 3 other cars in tow besides that carload of Phosphates, heading to the Junction Switch, the very day Three Semi Trucks discharged their loads of Phosphate into the Northside Elevator Fertz Plant in Loyal. Dad shook his head, ruefully, as he watched # 57's caboose grow smaller as it headed away from us and murmurred, "What a Hell of a way to Run a Railroad".

I have often wondered WHY that particular car was unrepairable. It couldn't make it over one Subdivision Point to another and still have the same thing still ailing it. Sounds kinda strange, eh? Hmmmm.

Abby Ag Lime & Cooperative Services both bought their Ag Lime from the Mayville White Lime Company of Mayville, Wisconsin. These cars would be dragged up the Milwaukee Road branch that ran through Mayville to Fond du Lac, where the cars were Interchanged to the Soo Line. On this particular Occasion, 12 cars of Ag Lime were loaded at Mayville, put into the Milwaukee "Patrol" to Fond du Lac, and set out to the Soo in Fond du Lac.

The Soo Line teresly informed the Milwaukee Road they would *NOT* accept these cars in Interchange at Fond du Lac. Since this was just prior to the Milwaukee's last Bankruptcy, I can only guess the Soo was "Jumping On The Bandwagon" to "Stick It" to the Milwaukee Road. There was a noticable ganging up on the Milwaukee by Competing Carriers to make Interchange and Rate Divisions very hard on the Milwaukee just before it all began to fall apart.

The Milwaukee dragged these 12 loaded gons back to Iron Ridge, the Junction of the line to Fond du Lac with the Horicon-North Milwaukee line. Consider these 12 cars had to sit in Fond du Lac a couple days before they were picked up again by the Southbound Milwaukee Road "Patrol" from Fond du Lac. These cars sat another 24 hours at Iron Ridge awaiting pick up by the primarily nocturnal Milwaukee Road "Road Freight" from Horicon to North Milwaukee waiting to be picked up. The cars were added to the inbound train to MIlwaukee the next night after the cars had arrived in Iron Ridge, and taken in to Milwaukee, where it was almost a full day before the cars were switched out, and placed into the cut of Interchange Cars going to the Soo Line local from North Fond du Lac. It was another day's wait because the cars had missed getting into the Soo Train to NFDL the Day Before. Finally, the cars were in a Soo Line Train, heading off for NFDL.

Three of the cars were Bad Ordered at NFDL upon arrival. The other 9 headed for Marshfield. Three more of those 9 were Bad Ordered at Stevens Point. the 6 remaining cars made it to Marshfield, the day the Train was going out to Greenwood, and 3 more were Bad Ordered at Marshfield. That night, # 57 left for Loyal & Greenwood trailing but 3 cars of the Original 12, two for Cooperative Services in Greenwood and but ONE car for Abby Ag Lime at Loyal. The other 9 straggled out to Greenwood & Loyal over a period of one week. I quote Ed Sloniker, the Manager of Cooperative Services: "Well, I guess some is better than none". Those three cars were badly needed by both Abby Ag Lime and Cooperative Services; in the end, they were lucky they got what they did.

The Last Example: A Carload of Potash from Saskatchewan, interchanged to the Soo Line by the Canadian Pacific at Portal, Sask/Portal ND., bound for Cooperative Services in Greenwood. This car made it to Hankinson or Enderlin before being set out Bad Order. The car sat there a week, then made it to Glenwood, MN., where it was bad ordered again. The car made it to Soo's famous Shoreham Shops, where it was Bad Ordered AGAIN. Once at Shoreham, the car sat on the RIP Tracks there for two weeks. Then, once the car was released, it somehow "Disappeared" in Shoreham Yard for four days. Once finally in a train, this car got as far as Chippewa Falls before the Carmen Bad Ordered it yet Again! "Repaired", this car came to Marshfield, right on the day the Train was going out to Loyal & Greenwood, and---you guessed it---the Car was Bad Ordered AGAIN. It sat in Marshfield TWO WEEKS before it was released and made it's way out to Cooperative Services Fertz Plant in Greenwood. All Ed Sloniker, the Manager of Cooperative Services, could say about the car coming so very late, was, "Well, I can't laugh at the Brussows! I guess it's my turn to get Screwed, now!"

In each of these examples, Dad had complained to the Chief Train Dispatcher that these cars were "Badly Needed", and in each case, the cars "Suddenly" needed repair....for the SAME thing, at EVERY point there were Carmen performing repairs. Seems a little fishy, wouldn't you say? Dad eventually refused to tell anyone that certain cars were "Badly Needed", and, wonder of wonders, the cars generally showed up. Maybe they would miss the train once of the two days when service was Twice Per Week. But they showed up. Dad later said to me, "I should've Kept my Yap Shut about how bad some Customer needed their Cars and the cars would've shown up". That, too, makes you wonder.

There is more than one way to discourage Business.

....to be Continued.....

Keith