Paynesville Subdivision

The Paynesville Subdivision or Paynesville Sub is a railway line that runs about 118 miles (190 km) from Glenwood to Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1] The line is operated by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) under the Soo Line Railroad, its US subsidiary. Construction on the line began in 1886 by the Minneapolis & Pacific Railway (which later merged with the Soo Line) which intended to build a railroad out to the Dakotas to supply grain to flour mills in Minneapolis.[2] The line starts out at CP University and continues westward through the Humboldt Yard and crosses the BNSF Monticello Subdivision just east of the junction with MN&S Spur in Crystal. Then the line continues northwest though many small towns on its way to Glenwood.[3]

Paynesville Subdivision
Overview
Owner	Canadian Pacific Railway
Technical
Line length	118 mi (190 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	60 mph (97 km/h)
Route map Legend Canadian Pacific Railway Paynesville Subdivision to Elbow Lake Subdivision 121.6 mi Winnipeg Junction to Detroit Lakes Subdivision 121.5 former NP crossing to Little Falls 120.0 Glenwood 114.9 CP 115 112.2 Sedan 104.1 Brooten former Brooten Subdivision to Duluth 97.3 Belgrade 93.5 Georgeville 89.1 Regal 84.2 former crossing of BN Cold Spring Branch 82.5 Paynesville 72.9 Eden Valley 69.9 CP 70 66.0 Watkins 60.6 Kimball Clearwater River 55.7 South Haven 50.9 Annandale 44.6 Maple Lake 36.5 Buffalo 32.1 Dickinson Crow River 26.5 Rockford 21.3 Loretto 17.4 Mannix Spur to LORAM 15.5 Hamel 11.6 CP Heney 7.2 MN&S Junction to MN&S Spur 6.8 BNSF Monticello Subdivision crossing 4.5 Humboldt Yard 3.1 Camden (14th Avenue Spur) Mississippi River 2.5 Marshall Street (Grove Connection to BNSF Midway Sub) West Runner to BNSF St. Paul Subdivision 2.0 CP University (Loop Track to CP Shoreham Yard) to Withrow Subdivision

Regular passenger service ended on March 25, 1967 with the discontinuation of the Winnipeger.[4] As for freight traffic, the line sees many commodities ranging from grain and potash to crude oil and coal. This subdivision is of moderate to high capacity, carrying between 30-40 trains per day.

State Highway 55 closely follows the Sub for the majority of the route. The Paynesville Sub meets the Withrow Subdivision at CP University in Minneapolis at the eastern end near Shoreham. At its western end in Glenwood, there are connections to the Elbow Lake Subdivision to Enderlin, North Dakota[5] and the Detroit Lakes Subdivision to Thief River Falls, Minnesota.[6]

References

1. Paul Nadolski. "CP Paynesville Subdivision". Retrieved June 5, 2017.
2. Alton Chermak (2011). "The Coming of the Railroads and the Early Years". Retrieved June 7, 2017.
3. Paul Nadolski. "CP Paynesville Subdivision". Retrieved June 5, 2017.
4. Dorin, Patric C (1979). The Soo Line. Burbank, California: Superior Publishing Company. p. 97. ISBN 0-87564-712-X. LCCN 79012204.
5. Paul Nadolski. "CP Elbow Lake Subdivision". Retrieved June 6, 2017.
6. Paul Nadolski. "CP Detroit Lakes and Noyes Subs". Retrieved June 6, 2017.