Wisconsin Central saga continues with talk of sale The strange drama being played out by Wisconsin Central Railroad owners and managers these days has the attention of the stock market watchers, but as usual, the people affected most, the workers, don't have much say, except perhaps by the stock they own. Most of the scenarios for the future of WC involve a sale, quite likely to one of the few remaining big carriers. In 1987, WC founders Ed Burkhardt and Tom Power shared the same stage at Ben Franklin Junior High School, where they gave Soo Line employees the option to join the new Wisconsin Central at reduced pay. Now Burkhardt is deposed as CEO, and leading a group challenging the existing officers and board of directors, and Power is president of the railroad. A lot of railroad workers took the deal back then and went with the fledging railroad. They probably didn't know that things were so tight that the officers were buying diesel fuel off their own personal credit cards. Other workers stayed with the Soo and were transferred to locations like the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Wisconsin Central grew rapidly and enjoyed some good years. But stock prices went in the toilet about three years ago and haven't rebounded sufficiently, except now, with everyone talking sale. What of the workers? Their choices were limited then, as they are today. They again find themselves in that uncomfortable position that so many working men and women face as companies are juggled and tossed around. Point has long been a railroad town, and it will continue to be so in the future, at least so long as papermakers need to move their products. But who knows how a sale of Wisconsin Central would affect the hundreds of workers here? That's a question that doesn't get nearly enough attention until after the juggling and tossing are over. – Bill Berry