Date
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"400" name [was Hoarders]
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Marty Ross
OK, I'm not contesting that the Soo didn't serve Waukesha and, along with the C&NW, had a delightful collection of freight service to the city. I'm sure
that at one point, there were even truss rod cars enroute. I was commenting on a reference to "Club 400" in another post and the website of that establishment stated it was named after a Soo train called the "400." This is from their website: "The club itself is named after a train. Soo Line Locomotive #400 used to come through town at about 4:00PM each day." The original C&NW Engine #400 was a 4-4-2. At the time the club opened (1948), the "Twin Cities "400" was most likely pulled by a 4-6-2 Pacific. The moniker of "Soo Line" was initiated in 1961 with the merger of several railroads, and despite the statement on
the Club 400 website, it has no reference to the Soo. The building in which the Club 400 is located was built in 1894 as the Northwestern Hotel at 332 Williams St. The C&NW depot had been constructed a few years earlier, across the street at 319 Williams
St. The depot also still
exists as a restaurant and at one time offered "train car dining." (Google Earth will give you excellent street views.) After a number of different uses for the Northwestern Hotel building, it was opened as Club 400 in 1948 and retains that name to this date. There is a historical marker referencing the relation to the C&NW 400 at the location of the club. However, it more about the club history and the fact that the performance
at the inauguration was by Les Paul and Mary Ford. Les Paul is a Waukesha native and it was his father who opened the Club 400. Cheers, Marty |
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destorzek@...
---In STMFC@..., <lekodude@...> wrote : "I hate to nit-pick, but it was the C&NW which went through Waukesha, rather than the Soo. The owners of the club need to read the historical marker outside of their own building." They both did, and crossed not 1000 feet from the tavern. The also interchanged steam era freight cars at the crossing. Dennis Storzek |
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destorzek@...
Likely named because it was across the street from the home of Fox Head 400 beer. The Fox Head brewery was served by the C&NW (but not on the line where the 400 ran), so I don't doubt the beer was named to take advantage of all the promotion C&NW was doing at the time.
Dennis Storzek |
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Marty Ross
I hate to nit-pick, but it was the C&NW which went through Waukesha, rather than the Soo. The owners of the club need to read the historical marker outside of their own building.
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Andy Sperandeo
AND there's a Club 400 in Waukesha, Wis., that's been operating under that name since the 1930s. See http://club400waukesha.com. So long, Andy |
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