The Sunflour Railroad (reporting mark SNR) is a short-line railroad which owns trackage in Roberts County and Marshall County, South Dakota.[1] The company owns approximately 19 route-miles of track, between the towns of Rosholt and Claire City; the line connects with the Canadian Pacific Railway at Rosholt.[1]
History[edit]
The trackage, now owned by Sunflour, was originally constructed in 1913 by the Fairmount and Veblen Railway, a local shortline which extended from Fairmount, North Dakota to Grenville, South Dakota. The railway was soon purchased by the Soo Line Railroad, and operated as a branch line. The portion of the branch from Veblen to Grenville was abandoned in 1971. Sunflour purchased the Rosholt-Veblen trackage in 2000, after the Soo Line had requested permission to abandon that portion of the route.[1] In 2012, the trackage from Veblen to Claire City was “abandoned”, even though the tracks and ties were removed years earlier.[2]
Current operations[edit]
The Sunflour Railroad apparently operated for only a short time, although the trackage remains intact in 2006. The railroad's only locomotive, an EMD SW1 switcher, currently rests on a siding at Victor, South Dakota. The line currently serves as railcar storage for other railroads.
Name[edit]
The Sunflour Railroad was an optional name in the developing process for the monopoly board game, hence where it got its name.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Allen, W. Bruce; Sussman, Michael; Miller, Drew (2002). "Regional and Short Line Railroads in the United States". Transportation Quarterly. 56 (4): 77–113.
- ^ "Sunflour Railroad, Inc.-Abandonment Exemption-in Roberts and Marshall Counties, S.D." Federal Register. 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
