Don’t remember if I asked this one before. Any magazine articles out there on the history of the Milwaukee Road line that went through southern Minnesota and was pulled up I think in the mid 70s. It went through Austin, Grand Meadow, Spring Valley etc. Up to age 6 I lived on a farm that had a house in the SE corner of Grand Meadow. The tracks were 1 block north. I learned how to count up to about 60 watching the trains go by.
Boyd,
The ‘Smoky Valley’ line ran between Austin and La Crosse. The line had very light rail/bridges and an interesting branch between Isonoirs Jct and Calidonia, MN. The Milwaukee Road Historical group did an article a number of years ago on the line.
The line had passenger service until about 1957 & tri-weekly freight service after that. It was famous for using 3-4 multiple unit SW1 engines dues to the weight restrictions on the line. The ‘Milwaukee Shutdown’ marked the end of rail service. There is a ‘bike trail’ on most of the line east of Fountain, MN.
Jim Bernier
My Morning Sun picture book on the MILW in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and S. Dakota shows some nice photos of the branch. It shows the lashups of 3 or 4 SW-1s, referred-to affectionately as “donkeys”, that were needed due to the light rail in that area. The most recent issue of Classic Trains has a very interesting article on MILW night operations in La Crosse, and shows a set of SW-1s ready to depart for Austin stopped just outside the MILW depot in La Crosse.
One of my old track charts for the fomer Minnesota Division of the Milwaukee has some notes in it about this and some of the nearby lines. It notes that the portion from just south of LaCrescent (MP 2.9 on the line to Austin and at MP 157.8 on the Dubuque Sub) to Ramsey (MP 102.9) was abandoned on 11-20-79. The portion west of Jackson (about MP 209.8) to Eagan (MP 308) was abandoned 1-12-80. Believe the portion from Eagn west to Madison, SD (about MP 334.5) had previously been abandoned.
The line north from Albert Lea to St. Clair (MP 1.2 to 40) was abandoned 4-28-78
The line north of Minnesota Lake (MP 8.5) to Mankato (MP 38) was also abandoned earlier. This line came off at Wells (MP 144.6)
Hope that helps
&nbs
I just Googled-around and happened-upon this ad for a video that shows SW-1s on the line you mention:
If I am not mistaken (referencing Mr. Lloyd Stagner’s book, Milwaukee Road Steam, Diesel and Electric Era 1950-1957), this trackage had the last steam run on the Milwaukee Road on March 16, 1957, when G-8 class 2-8-0 No. 1004 was called up to relieve a motor car on the LaCrosse – Austin run. Leave to me to point out something the obvious.
[quote user=“steve14”]
One of my old track charts for the fomer Minnesota Division of the Milwaukee has some notes in it about this and some of the nearby lines. It notes that the portion from just south of LaCrescent (MP 2.9 on the line to Austin and at MP 157.8 on the Dubuque Sub) to Ramsey (MP 102.9) was abandoned on 11-20-79. The portion west of Jackson (about MP 209.8) to Eagan (MP 308) was abandoned 1-12-80. Believe the portion from Eagn west to Madison, SD (about MP 334.5) had previously been abandoned.
The line north from Albert Lea to St. Clair (MP 1.2 to 40) was abandoned 4-28-78
The line north of Minnesota Lake (MP 8.5) to Mankato (MP 38) was also abandoned earlier. This line came off at Wells (MP 144.6)
Hope that helps
&nbs
Does anyone know what year the line was put through Grand Meadow and if the town existed before the line or not?
Boyd,
1979 should be the year when the track between IM&D Jct(just south of La Crescent) and Ramsey(The junction just north of Austin) was pulled up.The town was incorporated in 1862. In 1869 rails started going west from the La Crescent area. Nothing really got done until 1873, and it was about 1879 when the line was complete.
One can still see ‘elevator row’ where the tracks used to be. There is a local model railroad club in the Grand Meadow Business Centre…
Jim
Speaking of Southern Minnesota…
This month’s map in Trains Magazine shows the CNW lines, and their growth. There is a line shown from the town of Beaver Creek, Minnesota- on the CNW (Omaha Road) east-west line, running south to Doon, Iowa. That 's a new one to me. About 3 miles west of Beaver Creek is the BNSF (GN) line running through Manley, Minnesota, south to Doon Iowa.
I looked at both Beaver Creek and Doon on Google Maps, looking for tell-tale signs of a north-south rail line, but nothing. Having been in both towns many times, I can’t imagine how a line would have connected the two. So, I dug out my SPV Railroad atlas, and there is no line shown. Anybody know anything about the line, shown on the Trains maps as dated 1879?
I looked up Doon Iowa on Wikipedia and found out that two railroads once ran to Doon. The Rock Valley Railway and the Iowa& Dakota Railroad. It should not be confused with the Dakota and Iowa DAIR which is ex- Milwaukee trackage in South Dakota. I could find no information on either on line.
Murphy, the Omaha line to Doon started at Luverne, MN and ran through Ash Creek, MN and Rock Rapids, IA.
It was abandoned in the mid 1930’s.
Matt
Interesting. I’ll have to go back and check that out. I really thought the north-south line from Rock Rapids through Luverne was the Rock Island, running on to Watertown, SD.
The RI line running through Luverne to Watertown, SD came off the Sioux Falls line at Ellsworth, MN.
Jeff
Thanks. I finally found that on an old map, and I can pick some of the ROW out of the weeds on Google maps… I might have to take a drive in the country some Sunday.