Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad

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Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad
Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad logo.png
New paint (14818186188).jpg
Freshly-painted EMD SD40-2 No. 3423 in Rapid City in 2014
Overview
Headquarters Rapid City, South Dakota
Reporting mark RCPE
Locale Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming
Dates of operation2014 (2014)Present
Predecessor Canadian Pacific Railway
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Length743 miles
Other
Website Official website

Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad( reporting mark RCPE) is a Class II freight railroad operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming and Nebraska. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming. The primary commodities shipped are grain, clay, and cement. [1] Operations began on June 1, 2014. [2]

Contents

History

Genesee & Wyoming, a holding company of mostly shortline railroads, formed the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern to acquire the western end of the former Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) rail line from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The RCPE and DM&E entered an agreement on January 2, 2014, wherein RCPE would acquire 670 miles of track and 219 miles of trackage rights from the DM&E. [3] The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2014, for $210 million. Most of its employees came over from the DM&E. [4] Operations began on June 1, 2014.

The State of South Dakota partnered with the RCPE to enhance rail service and keep agricultural commodities moving to market. [5] In 2021, the RCPE received state and federal funding totalling US$42 million to upgrade 163 miles of rail between Fort Pierre and Rapid City. [6] This project updated that portion of the line with 136 pound continuous welded rail. [7] This increased the weight capacity of rail cars from 263,000-pound to 286,000-pound and the speed limit from 10 mph to a minimum of 25 mph. [7]

Route

The Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern owns 743 miles (1,196 km) of track. The main line runs between Tracy, Minnesota, and Rapid City, South Dakota, with branches north to Colony, in Crook County, Wyoming, and south to Dakota Junction, Nebraska. [8] Much of the main line from Tracy to Rapid City is paralleled by U.S. Route 14. The route travels the length of the state from the eastern border with Minnesota, to the western border with Wyoming, crossing the Missouri river at Pierre. [9]

There are three short branches as well:

There are interchanges with the BNSF Railway at Wolsey, South Dakota, Crawford, Nebraska, and Florence, Minnesota. The interchange with the Canadian Pacific is at Tracy, Minnesota. The RCPE has trackage rights from Tracy to Mankato, Minnesota on the CPR, where there is an interchange with the Union Pacific Railroad. [3] The RCPE also has trackage rights over the BNSF between Yale, SD to Watertown, South Dakota, and Wolsey, South Dakota to Aberdeen, South Dakota. [3] [4]

Operations

As of 2023, the train capacity between Fort Pierre, South Dakota and Tracy, Minnesota is 286,000, while the train capacity between Onida, South Dakota and Blunt, South Dakota is 263,000. [10]

See also

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The Huron Subdivision or Huron Sub is a railway line owned and operated by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The line stretches for 136 miles (219 km) across southwestern Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota, forming the eastern end of the RCPE shortline network. Originally the line was a part of the Chicago and North Western Railway. From 1986 it was a part of Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, which later became a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway.

The Pierre Subdivision is an east–west railway line owned and operated by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The line stretches approximately 118 miles (190 km) across the central parts of South Dakota, connecting Pierre, South Dakota with Huron, South Dakota. It is also a part of the RCPE's east–west main route. Traffic on this line is solely freight traffic.

The Onida Subdivision is a branch line railway segment owned, maintained and operated by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. It connects the city of Onida to the company's east–west main line, the Pierre Subdivision at Blunt, South Dakota. The line is approximately 17 miles (27 km) in length.

The PRC Subdivision is a railway line owned and operated by the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The line is the company's important east–west route, connecting Pierre to Rapid City, both in South Dakota. The line is a freight-only line, stretching for approximately 170 miles (270 km) across central South Dakota. It uses the Chicago and North Western Railroad Bridge to cross the Missouri River between Pierre and Fort Pierre.

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The Waseca Subdivision or Waseca Sub is a railway line in southern Minnesota owned and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) subsidiary of Canadian Pacific. It stretches roughly 103 miles (166 km) from Winona, Minnesota in the east to Waseca in the west where the rails continue as the Tracy Subdivision. There's also a connection south to the Hartland Subdivision. U.S. Highway 14 closely follows the railroad line.

The Tracy Subdivision or Tracy Sub is a railway line in southern Minnesota owned and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) subsidiary of Canadian Pacific. It begins at the end of the Waseca Subdivision in Waseca, Minnesota in the east and runs approximately 124 miles (200 km) west to Tracy, Minnesota. At Tracy, the rails continue as the Huron Subdivision of the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE). U.S. Highway 14 closely follows the train route.

References

  1. Nord, James - Rail funding expected to fuel job growth, development. Rapid City Journal, November 2, 2015
  2. Stegl, Jeff - Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad aims to become engrained in South Dakota's agricultural products network Prorgessive Railroading, September 2014
  3. 1 2 3 Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad, Inc.-Acquisition and Operation Exemption Including Interchange Commitment-Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation The Federal Register. March 27, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Blanchard, Roy (April 2015). "Daring to be different". Trains . 75 (4): 25–31.
  5. Mall, Scott - FreightWaves Classics/Infrastructure: New railroad sidings opened in South Dakota FreightWaves, Friday July 8, 2022
  6. Thompson, Nathan - RCP&E railroad project receives $42 million in funding from state, feds Rapid City Journal, November 30, 2021
  7. 1 2 RCP&E Railroad to upgrade main line in South Dakota. Progressive Railroading, November 23, 2021
  8. "Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad – A Genesee & Wyoming Company".
  9. 1 2 3 4 Official South Dakota Rail Map. South Dakota Department of Transportation, June 2021
  10. "Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad – A Genesee & Wyoming Company".
Preceded by Regional Railroad of the Year
2019
Succeeded by