The Willmar and Sioux Falls Railway constructed an additional 147 miles between Willmar and Sioux Falls, South Dakota between 1887 and 1888.
The W&SF became part of the Great Northern Railway in 1907. The Great Northern had and was building an expanse of track throughout the northern United States.
In 1970, the Great Northern merged with rival Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to form Burlington Northern.
When Burlington Northern was formed, they trimmed excess and parallel routes. As a result, in 1985, 21 miles of railroad between Hawick and Willmar were abandoned. In addition, 19 more miles to Cold Spring would be abandoned in 1988.
In 1996, the BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF. The route south of Willmar became a main line, and an additional abandonment of approximately one mile occurred in Cold Spring in 2007.
More recently, three more miles to Rockville were abandoned in 2011.
Today, the route between Rockville and St. Cloud is operated by Northern Lines, while the route between Willmar and Sioux Falls is operated by BNSF as the Marshall Subdivision. The segment between Willmar and Cold Spring is now the Glacial Lakes State Trail, although some portions are not complete.
06/26/21
Located in Marshall, this bridge was built to cross a diversion channel.
Built in 1962 to help alleviate flooding issues in Marshall, this bridge consists of four steel stringer spans set onto concrete piers and abutments.
The need for the diversion channel traces itself back to serious floods, which impacted downtown Marshall. The river was nearly completely diverted as a result.
Overall, this bridge remains in good condition with little visible deterioration.
The author has ranked this bridge as being minimally significant, due to the newer age.
The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | C&NW Redwood River Bridge |
| Downstream | BNSF Redwood River Bridge #7 |