This piece of trackage immediately became part of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway. The StPM&M had a considerable amount of trackage throughout Minnesota.
By 1890, the StPM&M became part of the Great Northern Railway. The collection of railroads dating back to the St. Paul & Pacific were primarily controlled by railroad magnate James J Hill.
Great Northern used this as a secondary mainline, serving traffic between St. Cloud and Minneapolis.
By 1970, the Great Northern merged with rival Northern Pacific and Chicago Burlington & Quincy to form Burlington Northern Railroad.
Burlington Northern would downgrade this line through the 1970s and 1980s, in favor of the double tracked Staples Subdivision.
The route was abandoned in 1983 between Monticello and St. Cloud. By 1996, the Burlington Northern merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway.
BNSF still operates the route between Minneapolis and Monticello. The remainder is abandoned.
06/26/21
This massive truss bridge crosses the Crow River, just upstream of the I-94 Bridge.
Built in 1913, the bridge features a 6 panel Warren Through Truss features laced endposts with riveted connections. In addition, the bridge consists of deck girder and concrete slab spans.
This large bridge features a portal bracing common on the Great Northern system. The bridge rests on concrete substructures.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the truss design.
The photo above is an overview.