The Empire Builder is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northern Railway and was retained by Amtrak when it took over intercity rail service in 1971.
Milwaukee Road 261 is a class "S3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York in July 1944 for the Milwaukee Road.
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.
Midway is a former Amtrak intercity train station in the Midway neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was last served by Amtrak's daily Empire Builder, with service from Chicago, Illinois to Seattle, Washington or Portland, Oregon. When the station opened March 1, 1978, it was also served briefly by the long-distance North Coast Hiawatha, and the Hiawatha and Arrowhead, the latter combined as the North Star later that year.
The Twin Zephyrs, also known as the Twin Cities Zephyrs, were a pair of streamlined passenger trains on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), running between Chicago and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota. It was the second Zephyr service introduced by CB&Q after the record-setting Denver–Chicago "dawn to dusk dash" of the Pioneer Zephyr trainset.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot Freight House and Train Shed, now officially named The Depot, is a historic railroad depot in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. At its peak, the station served 29 trains per day. Following decline, the station was closed and eventually adapted into various other uses.
The Northern Transcon, a route operated by the BNSF Railway, traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Northern Pacific Railway, Great Northern Railway and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway systems, merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad system in 1970.
La Crosse station is an Amtrak intercity train station in La Crosse, Wisconsin, served by the daily Borealis and Empire Builder. The station was built in 1926–27 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad, replacing an older station that burned in 1916. The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Depot and was renovated in 2001.
Red Wing station is a Amtrak train station in Red Wing, Minnesota, United States. It is served by the daily round trips of the Borealis and Empire Builder.
St. Cloud station is an Amtrak intercity train station in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. It is served by the daily Empire Builder on its route connecting Chicago, Illinois to Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The next stop westbound is Staples while the next stop eastbound is Saint Paul Union Depot.
Ottumwa station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. The station was originally built by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and has been listed as Burlington Depot by the National Register of Historic Places since November 26, 2008. It became a contributing property in the Historic Railroad District in 2011.
The Minneapolis Great Northern Depot, also known as Great Northern Station, was a passenger railroad station which served Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. It was built in 1913 and demolished in 1978. It was located on Hennepin Avenue next to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and across the street from the main Minneapolis Post Office.
The St. Louis County Depot is a historic railroad station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It was built as a union station in 1892, serving seven railroads at its peak. Rail service ceased in 1969 and the building was threatened with demolition until it reopened in 1973 as St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center . Train service also resumed from 1974 to 1985, by Amtrak.
The North Star was a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Duluth, Minnesota and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It originally operated from Chicago, Illinois via St. Paul to Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth, but was soon cut back to a Saint Paul–Duluth train. The service relied in part on funding from the state of Minnesota.
The St. Croix Subdivision or St. Croix Sub is an American rail line operated by the BNSF Railway. It runs approximately 150 miles (240 km) from La Crosse, Wisconsin to Saint Paul, Minnesota, following the Mississippi River. It runs through the communities of La Crosse, Onalaska, Brice Prairie, Trempealeau, East Winona, Fountain City, Cochrane, Buffalo City, Alma, Nelson, Pepin, Stockholm, Maiden Rock, Bay City, Diamond Bluff, and Prescott, Wisconsin. This section of track sees 55-60 trains a day and is double tracked for most of the 150 miles with exceptions of Burns to Prescott, Mears to Trevino, and Winona Jct. to East Winona. The BNSF vertical lift bridge over the mouth of the St. Croix river is single-tracked.
The Canadian Pacific Kansas City's Merriam Park Subdivision or Merriam Park Sub, also known as the Short Line, is a railway line in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is run by the Soo Line Railroad, a U.S. in-name-only division of CPKC. It runs from the Saint Paul Yard, also known as the Pigs Eye Yard, westward to the Short Line Bridge over the Mississippi River, where rails continue as part of the Minnesota Commercial Railway. It was named for John L. Merriam, a Minnesota banker and politician. Completed by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad in 1880, it shortened the route Milwaukee Road trains took between downtown Saint Paul and downtown Minneapolis. Previous trains would exit Saint Paul and follow the Mississippi River southwest until crossing at Fort Snelling, where they would follow the path of today's Hiawatha Avenue and the Metro Blue Line toward the Milwaukee Road Depot. Originally built as an interurban route, it was eventually converted for heavy rail traffic because the Twin City Rapid Transit streetcar system had taken over the local transit market.
The Winona and St. Peter Railroad was a railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was founded in 1861 in Winona, Minnesota. The first 11 miles (18 km) from Winona to Stockton, Minnesota, were completed by the end of 1862, making the it the second operational railroad in Minnesota, after the St. Paul and Pacific Line from Saint Paul to St. Anthony Falls.
The Wheaton Depot is a former train station in Wheaton, Minnesota, United States, built circa 1906 to handle both passengers and freight. It was built by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad to replace an 1885 depot that had burned down, and remained in service until 1976. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Depot for having local significance in the themes of architecture and transportation. It was nominated for being a well-preserved example of an early-20th-century combination depot built on a standard design, and for being the best symbol of the railroad's crucial impact on the community.
Madison station is a former railroad station in Madison, Wisconsin. The station served passenger and freight trains of the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW). Passenger service ended in 1965 and the passenger station and freight depot was bought by Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) and has been renovated to serve as offices. The station and freight depot are listed as contributing properties on the National Register of Historic Places East Wilson Street Historic District. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad had tracks paralleling the C&NW and also had a nearby passenger station that outlasted the C&NW station as an active station by several years.
The Borealis, referred to as Twin Cities–Milwaukee–Chicago (TCMC) during planning, is an Amtrak inter-city rail service that operates daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, via Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first service began on May 21, 2024, under the Amtrak Midwest brand.
Winona Transit Service 
