St. Croix Valley Railroad
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| St. Croix Valley Railroad | |
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 Route map of the St. Croix Valley Railroad. Red lines are SCXY trackage; orange lines are BNSF Railway trackage. |
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| Reporting marks | SCXY |
| Locale | Eastern Minnesota |
| Dates of operation | 1997 – present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Rush City, Minnesota |
The St. Croix Valley Railroad (AAR reporting mark SCXY) is a Class III short line railroad that operates over 36 miles (58 kilometres) of track in eastern Minnesota. The railroad is co-owned by KBN Incorporated and Independent Locomotive Service and is headquartered in Rush City, Minnesota.
As of 2006, the St. Croix Valley Railroad employed 2 people and handled approximately 3,000 carloads per year. The primary commodities hauled included grain, flour, and fertilizers.
The St. Croix Valley Railroad interchanges with the BNSF Railway in Hinckley, Minnesota.
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[edit] History
The St. Croix Valley Railroad was created in September 1997 when the railroad’s former owner, RailAmerica Incorporated, purchased two segments of track in eastern Minnesota from the BNSF Railway. Also included in the sale were 8 miles (13 kilometres) of trackage rights on the BNSF Hinckley Subdivision between Hinckley, Minnesota and Brook Park, Minnesota.
The two segments of track initially acquired by the St. Croix Valley Railroad included the 36 mile (58 kilometre) Amber Subdivision between Hinckley, Minnesota and North Branch, Minnesota and an 11 mile (18 kilometre) spur of the Hinckley Subdivision between Brook Park, Minnesota and Mora, Minnesota.
Before the BNSF Railway gained ownership of the portion of the Amber Subdivision subsequently sold to the St. Croix Valley Railroad, the line was owned by the Burlington Northern Railroad. Before that, it was owned by the Northern Pacific Railway and formed that railroad’s so-called "Skally Line" from St. Paul, Minnesota to Duluth, Minnesota. This line was originally built as the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad, later the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad. The Great Northern Railway, however, also had tracks that followed roughly the same route. When both the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway merged to form the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970, the "Skally Line" became redundant and portions of it slowly became abandoned. Along with the segment operated by the St. Croix Valley Railroad, the only other portions that remain today are small pieces near St. Paul, Minnesota (currently operated by the Minnesota Commercial Railway) and Duluth, Minnesota (currently operated by the BNSF Railway). The abandoned portions of the route are now the Willard Munger State Trail also known as Hinckley Fire Trail (site of the worst forest fire in history, and only 1 of three Fire Storms ever, being the only one not caused by a bomb!; between Hinckley and Duluth and the Hardwood Creek Trail and Sunrise Prairie Trail between North Branch and Hugo.
The 11 mile (18 kilometere) spur sold by the BNSF Railway to the St. Croix Valley Railroad was also formerly owned by the Burlington Northern Railroad. Before that, it was owned by the Great Northern Railway and formed a line that went from Brook Park, Minnesota to St. Cloud, Minnesota.
In March 2003, unsafe track conditions that led to an embargo on all traffic caused the St. Croix Valley Railroad to abandon its line from Brook Park to Mora. The railroad’s trackage rights on the BNSF between Hinckley and Brook Park were also given up since they were no longer needed.
Ownership of the St. Croix Valley Railroad was turned over from Railamerica Incorporated to KBN Incorporated named for Kotnour, Bierworth Midwest Locomotive Inc. and Nesbitt Independent Locomotive Service, jointly owning KBN, in 2001. Both companies are based in Minnesota and also co-own two other short line railroads: the Minnesota Northern Railroad in northwestern Minnesota and the Dakota Northern Railroad in eastern North Dakota.
[edit] Locomotive and Freight Car Fleet
St. Croix Valley Railroad co-owner Independent Locomotive Service supplies the railroad with two locomotives, one an EMD GP9 lettered SCXY 1363, and another an EMD SW9 lettered MNN 901.
The SCXY 1363 contains green paint with yellow writing and striping. The words "St. Croix Valley" are visible on the long hood.
The MNN 901 is lettered for the Minnesota Northern Railroad. It features maroon and gold paint similar to that used by the University of Minnesota. The locomotive also features a gopher below the cab windows honoring the recent state high school hockey champions along MNN's routes.
The St. Croix Valley Railroad neither owns nor leases any freight cars. Instead, all of the freight cars it uses are provided by the BNSF Railway.
[edit] Stations on the St. Croix Valley Railroad
The St. Croix Valley Railroad owns track that goes through the following communities:
- Beroun, Minnesota
- Harris, Minnesota
- Hinckley, Minnesota (also a BNSF station)
- North Branch, Minnesota
- Pine City, Minnesota
- Rock Creek, Minnesota
- Rush City, Minnesota
[edit] References
- Eisenberg, Alan (2005). “BNSF Track Segment Listings”, BNSF History Project & Annual Review, 9th ed., Portland, Oregon: HAE Enterprises.
- Minnesota Regional Railroad Association (12 July 2005). Information on Minnesota Railroads (PDF). Retrieved on 3 July 2006.
- Hofsommer, Don L. (2005). Minneapolis and the Age of Railways. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-4501-9.
[edit] External links
- KBN Railroads Discussion Group A Yahoo! group that discusses the three KBN Incorporated railroads
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