The Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway was an long American shortline railroad connecting Minneapolis and Northfield, Minnesota. It was incorporated in 1918 to take over the trackage of the former Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company, also known as the Dan Patch Lines. On June 2, 1982, it was acquired by the Soo Line Railroad, which operated it as a separate railroad until merging it on January 1, 1986, along with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road).

Until around 1963, it was a Class I railroad; in 1967, it reported 131 million ton-miles of revenue freight on of railroad.

The Dan Patch Lines

Marion W. Savage, owner of the race horse Dan Patch, planned an electric railroad that would connect the Twin Cities to his farm and stables south of the Minnesota River. Savage purchased Dan Patch for $62,000 (a fortune in 1902), then lavishly promoted his equine protégé.

Savage and his backers chose 54th and Nicollet, at the time the Richfield-Minneapolis border, as the starting point for the new railroad. Minneapolis' Nicollet streetcar line ended at that spot, so passengers could easily transfer to the adjacent Dan Patch system. Its owners named their new firm the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company, but no one used the full name. Instead, they preferred the nickname "Dan Patch Line." Construction began in 1908, eventually reaching Northfield in late 1910. Grading began on an extension to Faribault in 1911, but the company never secured an entrance into Faribault and abandoned the project.

The new railroad built four stations in Richfield, with platforms along the Nicollet Avenue corridor – on the Bachman's farmstead spur at 62nd, Goodspeed's farmstead at 66th, Irwin's farmstead on 72nd and Wilson's farmstead on the southwest corner of 78th. They also completed a company-developed picnic destination named Antlers Park, now part of the Lakeville city park system. Richfield gardeners and farmers used the Dan Patch railroad for shipping produce, dairy products and other goods. Passengers shared the platforms with farmers.

thumb|left|Bachman farmstead workers load produce onto a Dan Patch line boxcar for delivery to market.

Original plans called for the Dan Patch Line to be electrified, but did not happen. The company used steam engines for their freight trains, while gas-electric locomotives and motorcars handled passenger traffic. Savage's penchant for first-class style did produce luxurious coaches – red, plush seat cushions and fringed shades on windows added a touch of Victorian elegance. The Glenwood shops were closed and demolished, and the tracks removed in the mid-1980s. Despite that, of the MN&S mainline extending south to Northfield, the Soo's owner, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), still owns the tracks from Savage to Lakeville and from the Minnesota River north to MNS Junction.

The Twin Cities and Western Railroad owns the Dan Patch Line Bridge over the Minnesota River. TC&W has trackage rights over the MN&S Spur and purchased the bridge to protect what they feel may become a valuable shipping route in the future.

In 2016, TC&W undertook a major rehabilitation of the Dan Patch Line Bridge in anticipation of an upsurge in grain traffic. By September of 2022, TC&W was seeking Minnesota state funding to rehabilitate a three-quarter mile stretch of the old MN&S main in Savage, a section of track that would enable direct service to resume. Progressive Rail, Inc. owns the track between Lakeville and Northfield, operating it as their Jesse James Line. Progressive Rail owns and occasionally operates two MN&S cabooses as well as a former MN&S EMD SD39. Some of Progressive Rail's rolling stock is painted in an MN&S-inspired livery.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has performed studies on operating commuter rail over the Dan Patch Line. This service would be known as the Dan Patch Corridor. Although the Minnesota Legislature imposed a ban on state money going to further studies of the proposed service in 2002, in 2023, this ban was lifted.

In late summer 2024, the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Railway began running late-night trains on the route, disturbing nearby residents. Despite the complaints, the CPKC is not considering reducing the night trains. The city of St. Louis Park is looking into establishing whistle quiet zones along the route, but notes that any such process would take years and significant investments from the city.

References

Bibliography

  • Minnesota Statewide Historic Railways Study Project Report (pages 26 through 56 detail the historic significance of the MN&S)