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.
06/26/21
Located just north of Grandin along County Road 81, this large deck girder bridge crosses the S. Branch Elm River.
Built in 1950, the bridge uses at least one span originally fabricated in 1948. It is believed the previous bridge here was a trestle, possibly with a girder main span.
The current bridge consists of three deck plate girder spans, set onto concrete substructures. Originally approached by another deck girder and a trestle span on the south end, these spans were replaced by concrete modular spans in approximately 2005.
This style bridge was commonly used to cross rivers, streams and roads because of the cheap cost, easy installation and limited maintenance required. A span like this could often be built while only interrupting traffic for short times.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in excellent condition, with no major deterioration noted.
The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.