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Story Name
Railroad
Current Railroad
Valuation Section(s)
Subdivision(s)
NP St. Paul Division, 6th Subdivision
State
South/West Terminal
North/East Terminal
Description
NP Red River line from Manitoba Junction to Canadian Border at Pembina
Text
HTML5
<P>In 1886, the Duluth and Manitoba Railroad Company began construction on 201 miles of new railroad, extending from Manitoba Junction, east of Hawley, Minnesota; to the Canadian border north of Pembina, North Dakota. Construction would be completed the following year. By 1898, the Duluth and Manitoba would be sold to the Northern Pacific Railway (NP), which had built and acquired a large amount of railroad lines in Minnesota. The NP operated this as a secondary route, connecting the grain markets of northwest Minnesota, northeast North Dakota and Winnipeg to the Twin Cities. In 1970, NP would merge with rival Great Northern Railway and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). The segment from Carthage Junction, Minnesota to Crookston would be abandoned in 1973, in favor of the parallel former Great Northern route to the south. In 1980, the segment between Joliette and Pembina would be abandoned, with further abandonments coming in 1983 between Honeyford, North Dakota and East Grand Forks; and Ulen and Fertile, Minnesota. 1996, BN merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway. BNSF would promptly sell the Crookston to Fertile segment to the Minnesota Northern Railroad, which abandoned the line later in 1996. In 2001, the segment between Honeyford and Voss was sold to the Mohall Central Railroad, which operated the route with the Northern Plains Railroad (NPR). In 2006, the segment between Grafton and Voss would be abandoned. Today, BNSF operates the Manitoba Junction to Ulen segment as part of the Staples Subdivision, and the Grafton to Joliette segment as the Drayton Subdivision. NPR continues to operate the Honeyford to Voss segment as the Gilby Subdivision. The Crookston to Ulen segment is now part of the Agassiz Recreational Trail.</P>
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