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Story Name
Railroad
Current Railroad
Valuation Section(s)
Subdivision(s)
State
South/West Terminal
North/East Terminal
Description
GN line between St. Cloud and Willmar
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In 1886, the Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company (StPM&M) constructed 55 miles of new railroad between St. Cloud, Minnesota and Willmar, Minnesota. During the 1880s, the StPM&M constructed a large amount of new railroads throughout Minnesota, as well as acquired several smaller companies. The StPM&M would be sold to the Great Northern Railway (GN) in 1907. GN would later utilize this as a connecting route, diagonally connecting to Sioux City on the south, as well as St. Cloud and the Twin Ports on the north. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). In 1985, the section between Willmar and Hawick was abandoned, and the segment between Hawick and Cold Spring was abandoned in 1988. Both segments were purchased for trail use. BN was in turn merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF leased the Cold Spring to St. Cloud segment to the Northern Lines Railroad (NRL) in 2004. The line would be abandoned between Rockville and Cold Spring in 2012. Today, the railroad grade between Rockville and Willmar is the Glacial Lakes State Trail, with the exception of a small gap between Roscoe and Panyesville. The St. Cloud to Rockville segment is still owned by BNSF, and operated by Northern Lines Railroad.
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