Minnesota by Rail

The U.S. government granted land to be used to finance the development of the railroads. Some of the railroads were very small, and existed for a short time, before going bankrupt or being acquired by larger lines. Others were created with a larger vision, and in turn affected a wide area. For example, it was the choice of the Minnesota side of Lake Superior for the railway terminus that caused Duluth to be the larger of the Twin Ports, even though Superior, Wisconsin, was the older place.

The multiplicity of rail company names presents problems for family researchers. If 'Grandpa worked for the railroad,' which railroad? is the first question to be answered before records can be found. Often a researcher will have only an acronym, which doesn't match to the names familiar to current family members.

Finding railroad employment records is possible when the correct name of the line is known. The Minnesota Historical Society holds records for some of the railroads in the state but not all. Holly Hansen's book Directory of North American Railroads, Associations, Societies, Archives, Libraries, Museums/Collections brings the rail community and its holdings to the researcher: each listing is arranged alphabetically with an additional state/province index at the back to help locate resources geographically.

The lexicon below was first compiled and copyrighted by Hudson Leighton and William Cordes in 1996 as part of an ongoing research project to document Minnesota railroads and depots. The dates for the beginning and end of each line have been added, with a new copyright. I am grateful for their willingness to share the list on these pages.

And Park Genealogical Books published a gazetteer of Minnesota railroad towns put together by the same team. It lists those places that had a railroad to help with local area research, and the name(s) of the lines that served each of them. The intent is to assist those who know where their ancestors lived, but who are unsure of the railroad to research. For example, "My great grandfather worked for the railroad, and lived in X and Y." Migration patterns for many followed the railroad lines, both employees and new settlers. See our catalog for details on ordering it.

To use the lexicon:

1. The first column gives an acronym for one of Minnesota's rail lines. They are presented in alphabetical order.
2. The second is start date for the line.
3. In the third is the official name of the rail line.
4. The ending date for the line.
5. The fifth shows the code for the successor line, which can then be looked up in the first column. If no code appears in the End column, it is either a current railroad, or was abandoned without a successor.