Minnesota Northwestern Electric Railway
Encyclopedia
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Thief River Falls, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,410 people, 3,619 households, and 2,091 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,760.0 people per square mile . There were 3,931 housing units at an average density of 822.7 per square mile...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and Goodridge, Minnesota
Goodridge, Minnesota
"Goodridge" redirects here. For the Massachusetts court case, see Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.Goodridge is a small city in Pennington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 132 at the 2010 census...
, operating from 1914 to 1940. The railway also served Silverton Township
Silverton Township, Minnesota
Silverton Township is a township in Pennington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 182 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 26.6 square miles , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there...
and Mavie. There were several other stops along the way. The original plan was to extend the line all the way to International Falls, Minnesota
International Falls, Minnesota
International Falls is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,424 at the 2010 census....
, however due to poor finances, the line never extended beyond Goodridge.
The line was acquired by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway ("Soo Line") in 1915, and then leased back to the original management. The railway continued to operate with its only piece of motive power – a General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
gas-electric interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
car numbered 101 until it ceased operation on March 15, 1940.
The tracks were removed and now the grade is used as the Wapiti Trail which is a snowmobile trail connecting Thief River Falls, Goodridge, and Fourtown.