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Railroad
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South/West Terminal
North/East Terminal
Description
Soo route between Kenmare and Thief River Falls
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<p>In 1905, the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway (Soo Line) began construction on a 297 mile agricultural branch line extending from Thief River Falls, Minnesota to Kenmare, North Dakota. The route would be completed that year. The Soo Line was building a number of agricultural branch lines throughout Minnesota and North Dakota, primarily to connect wheat crops with the markets at Minneapolis. The Soo Line was a smaller railroad in the Midwest, with routes extending through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Dakota, with subsidiary routes extending to Chicago. It was operated as a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). By 1937, the Soo Line had entered bankruptcy, and it would be reorganized as the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad in 1944. </p><p>By 1961, the Soo Line would be merged with other CP subsidiaries Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad and Wisconsin Central Railroad to form Soo Line Railroad, a company controlled by CP. In 1984, the Soo Line would be reorganized as the Soo Line Corporation, and the railroad would be fully merged into CP in 1990. In 1997, CP would lease the route to the Northern Plains Railroad (NPR). The segment between Kramer, North Dakota and Bisbee, North Dakota would be abandoned in 2009. In 2023, CP would merge with Kansas City Southern Railway to form CPKC. NPR continues to operate the remainder of this route, which is still owned by CPKC.<br></p>
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