This new line allowed for faster shipments between two of the largest cities in the booming North Dakota.
In 1890, the StPM&M became a part of the Great Northern Railway. The Great Northern continued to operate this line through the 20th century, providing a critical connection between Fargo and North Dakota, which was also accomplished with several parallel lines.
However, the GN preferred this line to the P Line, the Ada Subdivision or the Mayville Line. In 1970, when the Great Northern merged with Northern Pacific and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to form Burlington Northern; this was well shown.
While the other lines were slowly abandoned, this line became priority for upgrades.
In 1996, the BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway, the current operator of this line. It is currently operated as the Hillsboro Subdivision.
08/18/21
Located just south of Thompson along County Road 17, this standard concrete slab bridge crosses Elm Coulee, a small swampy creek.
Built in 1918, the bridge features five concrete slab spans, set onto concrete substructures. These spans follow a standard design for the Great Northern.
This style bridge was commonly used to cross small streams because of the cheap cost, easy installation and limited maintenance required. Typically, these were used to replace wooden trestles. A span like this could often be built while only interrupting traffic for short times.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition, with some deterioration noted throughout the structure.
The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.