Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway

Last updated
Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway
Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway - Burlington Northern caboose.jpg
Locale Minnesota
Wisconsin
Terminus Withrow, Minnesota
Dresser, Wisconsin
Connections Canadian National Railway
Commercial operations
Built by Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad
Original gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Owned by Minnesota Transportation Museum
Reporting mark MNTX
Stations1
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened1992
Preservation history
Headquarters114 Depot Road, Osceola, Polk County, Wisconsin
Website
trainride.org

The Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway( reporting mark MNTX) is a heritage railroad in Osceola, Wisconsin owned and operated by the Minnesota Transportation Museum. It operates on former Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad ("Soo Line") trackage now owned by the Canadian National Railway.

Contents

History and operations

The original Museum railway operated out of Stillwater, Minnesota, however urban crowding caused the railway to seek other areas for service. Invited to operate out of Osceola, Wisconsin, the railway moved in 1992, undergoing a name change to Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway.

The line itself has operating rights from Withrow, Minnesota up to Dresser, Wisconsin. Due to climate conditions, the line does not operate in winter.

Under successive railroad ownership of the rail line "right-of-way" itself, Operations are currently based in the historic 1916 Soo Line depot, owned by the Osceola Historic Society and leased to the Minnesota Transportation Museum for its rail operations.

The line follows the original route of the Soo Line, running down the bluffs of the St. Croix River, and crossing into Minnesota on the 1887 iron bridge at Cedar Bend, then on to Marine on St. Croix through William O'Brien State Park.

The railway operates every weekend May through October. On alternating weekends it operates the Osceola and St. Croix Dinner Train.

Equipment

The interior of a passenger coach on the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway - empty coach.jpg
The interior of a passenger coach on the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway

The railroad uses historic diesel locomotives from its fleet of Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) locomotives. It uses a variety of passenger cars for historic presentation and tourist runs throughout the operational season. The railroad runs coach trains every weekend from mid-May through October to Marine on St. Croix (Saturdays and Sundays) and to Dresser (on Saturday).

All operational equipment is serviced at MTM's Jackson Street Roundhouse, a functional railway roundhouse constructed in 1907. The Museum has its headquarters and maintenance base co-located at JSR, which is open to the public for railroad history. Every fall, 2–3 locomotives and up to 5 cars are ferried to St. Paul for annual servicing before returning to Osceola in late spring. Over winter, the maintenance shop demonstrate the servicing and repairs, being one of the few such facilities open to the public.

Locomotives

These are the locomotives that are active or in restoration for service on the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway:

RailroadNumberModelBuiltRetiredAcquiredStatusImage
Burlington Northern Railroad 6234 EMD SD9 19592003Donated 2003Operational BN 6234.JPG
Great Northern Railway 325 EMD SDP40 19662008Donated 2009Operational GN 325.JPG
Soo Line Railroad 559 EMD GP7 1951N/APurchased 1998Operational Soo 559.JPG
Great Northern Railway 454-A EMD F7A 195019812003Stored awaiting restoration GN 454A.JPG
Great Northern Railway 558 EMD SD7 195219832018Stored awaiting restoration BN6008 2019.jpg

Passenger cars

TypeNumberNameRailroadTrains in useNotes
Streamlined lounge, observation, and business carA-11 Great Northern Railway First-class brunch and dinner trainsIn service
Streamlined parlor-buffet1084"Twin Ports" Great Northern Railway First-class brunch and dinner trainsIn restoration in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Streamlined baggage265"Mariah" Great Northern Railway All trainsIn service, concession car
Streamlined coach1096 Great Northern Railway Coach classIn service
Streamlined coach1097 Great Northern Railway First-class brunch and dinner trainsIn service, converted to dining car
Streamlined coach1213 Great Northern Railway Coach classIn service
Streamlined coach1215"City Of Osceola" Great Northern Railway Coach classIn service.
Heavyweight MU trailer commuter coach2232 Erie Lackawanna Railway Coach class/pumpkin trainsIn service
Heavyweight commuter coach2604 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Coach class and pizza trainsIn service
Heavyweight commuter coach2608 Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Coach class and pizza trainsIn service
Heavyweight triple combination1102 Northern Pacific Railway U.S. mail car/Railway Express Agency In service

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osceola, Wisconsin</span> Village in Wisconsin, United States

Osceola is a village in Polk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,765 at the 2020 census. Located mostly within the Town of Osceola, the village sits on the border with Minnesota, separated by the St. Croix River. It is along Wisconsin Highway 35.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minnesota Transportation Museum</span> Transportation museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota

The Minnesota Transportation Museum is a transportation museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Paul Union Depot</span> Train station in Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul Union Depot is a historic railroad station and intermodal transit hub in the Lowertown neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It serves light rail, intercity rail, intercity bus, and local bus services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soo Line Railroad</span> American class I railroad

The Soo Line Railroad is one of the primary United States railroad subsidiaries for the CPKC Railway, one of six U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (MStP&SSM), which was commonly known as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was formed in 1961 by the consolidation of that company with two other CPKC subsidiaries: The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway, and the Wisconsin Central Railway. It is also the successor to other Class I railroads, including the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. On the other hand, a large amount of mileage was spun off in 1987 to Wisconsin Central Ltd., now part of the Canadian National Railway. The Soo Line Railroad and the Delaware and Hudson Railway, CPKC's other major subsidiary, presently do business as the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). Most equipment has been repainted into the CP scheme, but the U.S. Surface Transportation Board groups all of the company's U.S. subsidiaries under the Soo Line name for reporting purposes. The Minneapolis headquarters are in the Canadian Pacific Plaza building, having moved from the nearby Soo Line Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago and North Western Transportation Company</span> Rail transport company

The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s. Until 1972, when the employees purchased the company, it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railway turntable</span> Device for turning railway rolling stock

In rail terminology, a railway turntable or wheelhouse is a device for turning round railway rolling stock, usually locomotives, so that they face the direction they came from. It is especially used in areas where economic considerations or a lack of sufficient space have served to weigh against the construction of a turnaround wye. Railways needed a way to turn steam locomotives around for return journeys, as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse; also many locomotives had a lower top speed in reverse. Most diesel locomotives, however, can be operated in either direction, and are considered to have "front ends" and "rear ends". When a diesel locomotive is operated as a single unit, the railway company often prefers, or requires, that it be run "front end" first. When operated as part of a multiple unit locomotive consist, the locomotives can be arranged so that the consist can be operated "front end first" no matter which direction the consist is pointed. Turntables were also used to turn observation cars so that their windowed lounge ends faced toward the rear of the train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD E8</span> Model of 2250 hp American passenger cab locomotive

The EMD E8 is a 2,250-horsepower (1,678 kW), A1A-A1A passenger-train locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois. A total of 450 cab versions, or E8As, were built from August 1949 to January 1954, 447 for the U.S. and 3 for Canada. 46 E8Bs were built from December 1949 to January 1954, all for the U.S. The 2,250 hp came from two 12 cylinder model 567B engines, each driving a generator to power the two traction motors on one truck. The E8 was the ninth model in the line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units. Starting in September 1953, a total of 21 E8As were built which used either the 567BC or 567C engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B&O Railroad Museum</span> United States historic place

The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Baltimore & Ohio Transportation Museum. It has been called one of the most significant collections of railroad treasures in the world and has the largest collection of 19th-century locomotives in the U.S. The museum is located in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's old Mount Clare Station and adjacent roundhouse, and retains 40 acres of the B&O's sprawling Mount Clare Shops site, which is where, in 1829, the B&O began America's first railroad and is the oldest railroad manufacturing complex in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD F7</span> Model of 1500 hp North American cab diesel locomotive

The EMD F7 is a model of 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD FP7</span> Model of 1500 hp North American diesel cab locomotive

The EMD FP7 is a 1,500 horsepower (1,100 kW), B-B dual-service passenger and freight-hauling diesel locomotive produced between June 1949 and December 1953 by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant, excepting locomotives destined for Canada, in which case final assembly was at GMD's plant in London, Ontario. The FP7 was essentially EMD's F7A locomotive extended by four feet to give greater water capacity for the steam generator for heating passenger trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD SD9</span> Model of 1750 hp Co′Co′ American diesel locomotive

The EMD SD9 is a model of diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and June 1959. An EMD 567C 16-cylinder engine generated 1,750 horsepower (1.30 MW). Externally similar to its predecessor, the SD7, the SD9 was built with the improved and much more maintainable 567C engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMD SD45</span> Class of diesel-electric locomotives

The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive class built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965 and 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating 3,600 hp (2,680 kW) on the same frame as the SD38, SD39, SD40, and SDP40. As of 2023, most SD45s have been retired, scrapped or rebuilt to SD40-2 standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Shore Scenic Railroad</span> Heritage Railroad

The North Shore Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota, United States, along 28 miles (45 km) of the Lakefront Line, once part of the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soo Line 2719</span> Preserved American 4-6-2 locomotive

Soo Line 2719 is a 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for use on passenger trains operated by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway. No. 2719 was used to haul the Soo Line's last steam-powered train, a June 21, 1959 round-trip excursion between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Ladysmith, Wisconsin. It was then displayed in Eau Claire, Wisconsin until 1996. It was restored and operated in excursion service from 1998 until 2013 when its boiler certificate expired. Today, the locomotive remains on static display in Duluth, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soo Line L-1 class</span>

The Soo Line L-1 class was a class of ten 2-8-2 (Mikado) steam locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company in 1913 for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad</span> Defunct American Class I railroad

The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (MStP&SSM) was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwestern United States. Commonly known since its opening in 1884 as the Soo Line after the phonetic spelling of Sault, it was merged with several other major CP subsidiaries on January 1, 1961, to form the Soo Line Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Northern 400</span>

Great Northern 400, nicknamed Hustle Muscle, is a restored SD45 diesel locomotive originally owned by the Great Northern (GN). It was built in 1966 as the first production SD45 by Electro-Motive Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Pacific 328</span> Northern Pacific, 4-6-0, steam locomotive, Preserved, Retired

Northern Pacific 328 is a class S-10, a 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler type steam locomotive. It was restored to operational condition in 1981, and was retired in 2001. As of 2024, the locomotive is on static display at the Minnesota Transportation Museum's Jackson street Roundhouse and there any no plans to return the locomotive to operation.

References

    Information used in this article is provided by Minnesota Transportation Museum, St. Paul, MN and based entirely on material in MTM archives or equipment inventories of the operating division of the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway. Photos depict actual equipment in appropriate livery for the Railway.

    45°19′02.6″N92°42′31.9″W / 45.317389°N 92.708861°W / 45.317389; -92.708861