Milwaukee Road in Minnesota

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company, better known as the Milwaukee Road, was a large railroad network that operated in the state of Minnesota for nearly 130 years. It provided freight and passenger service to many communities, playing a vital economic role. In 2017, much of the Minnesota route survives as a part of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The Milwaukee Road in Minnesota grew out of a series of older, smaller, regional routes. It started as the Minneapolis and Cedar Valley on March 1, 1856, extending south from Minneapolis through Faribault to Iowa. The route sought to link Chicago and the Twin Cities through Wisconsin. Though the line lost its charter several times, construction continued, and the Cedar Valley became the Minnesota Central on February 1, 1864.

As construction reached Owatonna by way of Prairie du Chien and building continued at Austin to the west, the company came under the aegis of the Milwaukee and St. Paul. This company also bought the St. Paul and Chicago, and by the early 1870s, there was a new, shorter route between Chicago and the Twin Cities that followed the Mississippi River. Although “Milwaukee” became associated with the Minnesota Central as early as 1866, it was on January 3, 1872, that the Milwaukee Road system officially came to Minnesota as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul.

Several smaller railroads also became part of the Milwaukee Road. These were more rural affairs, such as the Southern Minnesota to the south and east of the Twin Cities and the Hastings and Dakota to the south. A vital part of the Milwaukee was the Short Line, a small route that provided the Minnesota Central with a direct line into Minneapolis and connections to the Hastings and Dakota.

Many branch lines made up the Milwaukee inside Minnesota. These lines were often lower density, linked smaller communities, and moved agricultural products on a smaller scale. They included the Minnesota Midland along the Zumbro Valley; the Cannon Valley line; the Caledonia, the Mississippi and Western in a small section of southeastern Minnesota; and the Stillwater and Hastings. The Fargo and Southern and the Chippewa Valley and Lake Superior also joined the line.

There were other branches, such as the Hutchinson branch, and even a small resort line to service Lake Minnetonka, known as the Deephaven Line. Extensions were created for certain rural Minnesota communities, such as Mankato and Farmington. The last of the extensions brought under the Milwaukee Road orbit was built in 1926, offering additional service between Oakland and Hollandale.

In addition to being an agricultural or “Granger” railroad in Minnesota, the Milwaukee enjoyed a reputation for legendary passenger service—particularly on its Hiawatha trains, whose rolling stock was named from the literature of Robert Louis Stevenson. The Milwaukee Road extended from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest coast, and this route was highlighted by the Olympian trains and electrified trackage through the Rockies. The line maintained its equipment at several shop facilities in the state, such as those in Austin and south Minneapolis. The Milwaukee Road depot was used as office space from 1971 until 2001, when Marriott International opened a restaurant and two hotels. The depot and the freight house were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The late 1960s were lean years for Minnesota’s Granger roads. Maintenance to trackage was deferred. Passenger trains were ceded to Amtrak in 1970. The Milwaukee was eventually forced to abandon its entire western extension starting at Ortonville with a filing for abandonment on May 15, 1981. The railroad proved to be a worthwhile asset for its competitor, the Soo Line, which assumed control of the ailing Milwaukee on February 19, 1985. Since 1992, the Canadian Pacific Railway has operated what is left of the Milwaukee Road in Minnesota.