Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a Class II railroad
subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway
operating across South Dakota
and southern Minnesota
in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming
, Nebraska
and Iowa
.
DM&E began operations on September 5, 1986, over tracks that were spun off from the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company in South Dakota and Minnesota. Much of the negotiations were handled by the office of Senator Larry Pressler and his legal counsel Kevin V. Schieffer. After a successful decade of growth for DM&E, Schieffer succeeded J. C. McIntyre as president of the railroad on November 7, 1996. In 1997 DM&E announced plans to build into Wyoming
's Powder River Basin
to become the third railroad (after BNSF Railway
and Union Pacific Railroad
) to tap into the region's rich coal
deposits. The Surface Transportation Board
(STB) released the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on November 19, 2001; with the final EIS in place and approval from the STB, the railroad has federal authority to construct the project.
DM&E purchased the assets of I&M Rail Link
railroad in 2002, renaming it Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
and combining its management and dispatching duties with those of DM&E under the holding company Cedar American Rail Holdings. Schieffer served as president and CEO of Cedar as well as serving as president of DM&E. The combined system directly connects Chicago through Iowa
to Kansas City
, Minneapolis-St. Paul and continues as far west as Rapid City, South Dakota
. Smaller branches extend into portions of Wisconsin
, Wyoming
and Nebraska
.
In September 2007 it was announced that Canadian Pacific Railway
(CP) would acquire the DM&E upon approval by the Surface Transportation Board
of the US Department of Transportation. The STB announced its approval of the purchase plan on September 30, 2008, with the official last day of operations for DM&E scheduled for October 30, 2008. The merger is complete as of October 31, 2008.
(CNW) announced plans to abandon a section of railroad through Minnesota
and South Dakota
that dates to 1859. Due to pressure from customers and Senator Larry Pressler from South Dakota, a deal was reached and announced on April 24, 1986, creating the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad out of sections of CNW from Winona, Minnesota
, to Rapid City, South Dakota
. This deal also included buildings, rolling stock
and locomotive
s, mostly rebuilt EMD SD9
s, from the CNW. DM&E began operations on this track on September 5, 1986. The railroad was expanded in 1995 when it acquired additional former CNW branch lines from Rapid City, South Dakota
, to Colony, Wyoming, and Crawford, Nebraska
.
From startup to the railroad's ten-year anniversary in 1996, DM&E hauled nearly 500,000 carloads of freight, which includes 700 million bushel
s of grain. DM&E celebrated the anniversary with picnics and employee appreciation events and excursions in Waseca, Minnesota
, and Pierre, South Dakota
.
At the end of 1996, Kevin V. Schieffer, whom former United States President
George H. W. Bush
had appointed as US Attorney for South Dakota in 1991, became president of DM&E on November 7, 1996. Schieffer was no newcomer to the railroad, however, as he had first become involved with DM&E in 1983 when he worked to prevent the abandonment of the former CNW lines that eventually formed the first sections of DM&E's mainline. Maintaining the status quo on DM&E was not the fate that he had in mind for the railroad as he took the reins.
(PRB) in Wyoming
and start providing unit
coal
train service from that area. The railroad filed an application for the expansion to the Surface Transportation Board
(STB) on February 20, 1998. Burlington Northern Railroad
built into this area in 1979, and Chicago and North Western Railway
(CNW) built into the area by 1984 (a project that was completed by CNW's successor Union Pacific Railroad
). DM&E would become the third railroad to tap into the coal deposits in the region.
DM&E's expansion would require the construction of 281 miles (452 km) of new track, upgrading 598 miles (962 km) of existing track (including all of the railroad's track in Minnesota), new interchange connections in Owatonna
and Mankato, Minnesota
, and three new rail yards
. The plan would be the largest new railroad construction in the United States since the completion of Milwaukee Road's Pacific extension to Seattle, Washington
, in 1909.
(EIS), which was released by the STB on September 27, 2000.
An analysis of the plan by Minnesota's Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad Working Group in 2001 showed support among customers and freight shippers, but DM&E's expansion plan led to complaints among residents in communities along the railroad's right-of-way. While some communities welcomed the railroad's expansion plan as an opportunity for increased business within their own cities, other residents and businesses felt that roads in the area were not built with enough overpasses and underpasses to deal with the traffic flow problems that the longer and more frequent unit trains would produce at grade crossings. The objectors cited concerns of the general public in safely and quickly traversing their communities as well as the ability of emergency vehicles to cross the tracks to reach emergency scenes or hospitals. The city of Rochester, Minnesota
filed a lawsuit to force the railroad to build a bypass around the city. The bypass was estimated to cost around US$
100 million.
, Brookings
and Pierre, South Dakota
, had requested them. In 2003, a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
ordered the STB to re-examine potential environmental issues around Rochester. The STB's preliminary report, released in early 2005, noted that no additional steps were needed by the railroad to alleviate noise and vibration caused by the projected increase in train traffic.
The court upheld the STB's approval with stipulations for the new line's environmental impact, including the projected increase in the frequency of train horn
soundings along the line. From the court's ruling, the STB prepared a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement which sets forth mitigation strategies for the railroad. On February 15, 2006, the United States Surface Transportation Board
(STB) announced its final approval of the railroad's 1998 application. The STB's approval is expected to be finalized after a 30-day waiting period.
In April 2004, DM&E was awarded the power of eminent domain
in South Dakota
by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
in Pierre, South Dakota
. The ruling overturned part of South Dakota legislation passed in 1999 (two years after the railroad first announced its intentions to expand) that would have impaired railroad operations and construction in the state. This decision restores the legal process by which the railroad can effectively force landowners along the proposed new route to sell their land to the railroad.
On February 26, 2007, the FRA rejected the proposed $2.3 billion loan to DM&E. In announcing the decision, Administrator Joseph H. Boardman
noted that the project proposal met many federal requirements for the loan but cited concerns that the railroad might not be able to handle cost overruns during construction or to repay such a hefty amount after construction is completed. Canadian Pacific Railway's acquisition of the DM&E to date has not resulted in the ability to raise the capital needed for the project.
DM&E hauled nearly 60,000 carloads of various freight shipments in fiscal year 2002, serving approximately 130 customers along the railroad's mainline. Of these shipments, 53% were grains
or grain products, 24% were bentonite
and kaolin clay, 7% were cement
and 5% were wood
and lumber products; the remaining 11% were split among all other types of freight.
On February 21, 2002 DM&E announced that it would purchase the railroad assets of 1700 miles (2,735.9 km) I&M Rail Link
(IMRL) from its then current owners Washington Corporation. DM&E renamed the IMRL property to Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
(IC&E) and began operating it under that name on July 30, 2002. Although a purchase price was not stated in the original announcement, an article in the May 2002 Trains Magazine suggests that several industry sources believed the total to be around $150 million.
DM&E and IC&E combined management under the holding company Cedar American Rail Holdings. Locomotive
s of both railroads were given a unified paint scheme (see below) and interchanges were streamlined between the two railroads. The administration of both railroads is handled by Cedar, further streamlining processes between the two railroads. As a result, the combined DM&E/IC&E system makes up the largest Class II railroad (by route-miles) in the United States; it is also the eighth largest system of all American railroads and the only system with direct rail connections with all Class I railroads in North America.
In its first twenty years of operations, the railroad's revenues had increased more than tenfold, from $22 million in 1987 to [$258 million in 2006, with $290 million projected in 2007 and $340 million for 2008. Its operating ratio
(the ratio of operating expenses to revenues) declined to 70.2% in 2006 and was projected to improve further to 67.6% in 2007. Its traffic was a mix of agricultural, coal, and industrial products, and ethanol shipments were projected to exceed one billion gallons in 2008.
(CPR) announced it was acquiring the DM&E from its present owners, London-based Electra Private Equity, for US$1.48 billion, and future payments of over $1.0 billion contingent on commencement of construction on the Powder River extension and specified volumes of coal shipments from the Powder River basin. The transaction will include the ICE and other affiliated companies. The merger is an "end-to-end" consolidation; the lines presently interchange at three points, including the Winona, Minnesota
connection between the DM&E's main line across southern Minnesota and CP's Chicago main. Kevin Schieffer, president of the DM&E, has called CP the DM&E's "natural partner" and the transaction a "natural fit".
The acquisition will give CP access to shipments of agricultural products and ethanol in addition to coal from the Wyoming coal fields. CP has stated its intention to use this purchase to gain access to the Powder River and ship coal to midwestern and eastern utilities. The transaction is subject to approval of the Surface Transportation Board
, which is expected to take a year. Securities analysts have stated that competing railroads for Powder River coal, the Union Pacific
and BNSF
, could challenge the acquisition and delay STB approval, but are unlikely to prevent it. At least until approval is received, the DM&E will continue to operate as a separate entity.
On October 4, 2007, CP announced that it has completed the financial transactions to acquire the DM&E and subsidiaries. Control of DM&E has been placed into a voting trust with Richard Hamlin appointed as trustee; the trust will remain in effect until the STB issues its decision on the acquisition. CP plans to integrate DM&E's operations once it receives STB approval. CP expected STB approval of the purchase in October 2008. The STB announced its approval of the purchase plan on September 30, 2008, with no conditions other than those that CP had already agreed to in the original plan; the effective date of the purchase was October 30, 2008. CP assumed control of DM&E and IC&E on October 30, 2008. CP plans to invest $
300 million in capital improvements to the former DM&E lines by 2011.
DM&E originally purchased used first-generation locomotive
s from a variety of railroads; in the early years it was more common to see a locomotive with a Milwaukee Road
or Chicago and North Western Railway
paint scheme than a DM&E paint scheme. Over the years, the locomotives were repainted, and many of them are now in DM&E's paint scheme (which is closely mirrored by that of sister Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
) of blue with a yellow stripe along its length.
DM&E eventually assigns names to all of its locomotives when they are repainted, usually after locations along its right-of-way, but a few exceptions have been named for people (like road number 550, named after Senator Larry Pressler). All of the first-generation diesel locomotives purchased from Chicago and North Western and Milwaukee Road have since been replaced with more recent locomotives, although the newer locomotives were also bought used.
In 1987, at the railroad's one year anniversary, DM&E owned 39 locomotives and leased five more for a total of 44 locomotives rostered. By the railroad's tenth anniversary in 1996, DM&E owned 69 locomotives and owned or leased over 1,500 cars
including over 600 covered hopper
s for grain and cement shipments. In 2001, the number of locomotives owned stayed about the same, while the number of cars increased to about 5,000 with 52% of them in dedicated grain service.
Class II railroad
A Class II railroad in the United States is a mid-sized freight-hauling railroad, in terms of its operating revenue. , a railroad with revenues greater than $20.5 million but less than $277.7 million for at least three consecutive years is considered a Class II railroad...
subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
operating across South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
and southern 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...
in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
DM&E began operations on September 5, 1986, over tracks that were spun off from the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company in South Dakota and Minnesota. Much of the negotiations were handled by the office of Senator Larry Pressler and his legal counsel Kevin V. Schieffer. After a successful decade of growth for DM&E, Schieffer succeeded J. C. McIntyre as president of the railroad on November 7, 1996. In 1997 DM&E announced plans to build into Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
's Powder River Basin
Powder River Basin
The Powder River Basin is a geologic region in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its coal deposits. The region supplies about 40 percent of coal in the United States. It is both a topographic drainage and geologic structural basin...
to become the third railroad (after BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
and Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
) to tap into the region's rich coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
deposits. The Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
(STB) released the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on November 19, 2001; with the final EIS in place and approval from the STB, the railroad has federal authority to construct the project.
DM&E purchased the assets of I&M Rail Link
I&M Rail Link
The I&M Rail Link was a railroad operating in the north central portion of the United States. The company commenced operations on April 5, 1997, acquiring lines from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Soo Line Railroad....
railroad in 2002, renaming it Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad was a Class II railroad operating in the north central United States. It has been controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway and operated as a part of its system since October 30, 2008...
and combining its management and dispatching duties with those of DM&E under the holding company Cedar American Rail Holdings. Schieffer served as president and CEO of Cedar as well as serving as president of DM&E. The combined system directly connects Chicago through Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
to Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Minneapolis-St. Paul and continues as far west as Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
. Smaller branches extend into portions of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
.
In September 2007 it was announced that Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CP) would acquire the DM&E upon approval by the Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
of the US Department of Transportation. The STB announced its approval of the purchase plan on September 30, 2008, with the official last day of operations for DM&E scheduled for October 30, 2008. The merger is complete as of October 31, 2008.
1986–1996: Startup and initial expansion
In the early 1980s, Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
(CNW) announced plans to abandon a section of railroad through 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 South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
that dates to 1859. Due to pressure from customers and Senator Larry Pressler from South Dakota, a deal was reached and announced on April 24, 1986, creating the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad out of sections of CNW from Winona, Minnesota
Winona, Minnesota
Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the U.S. State of Minnesota. Located in picturesque bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf....
, to Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
. This deal also included buildings, rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
and locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s, mostly rebuilt EMD SD9
EMD SD9
An EMD SD9 is a 6-axle diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1954 and June 1959. Power was provided by an EMD 567C 16-cylinder engine which generated . This model is, externally, similar to its predecessor, the SD7. The principal spotting feature are the...
s, from the CNW. DM&E began operations on this track on September 5, 1986. The railroad was expanded in 1995 when it acquired additional former CNW branch lines from Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
, to Colony, Wyoming, and Crawford, Nebraska
Crawford, Nebraska
Crawford is a city in Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 997 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1886 and was named for the late Captain Emmet Crawford who had previously been stationed at nearby Fort Robinson.-Geography:...
.
From startup to the railroad's ten-year anniversary in 1996, DM&E hauled nearly 500,000 carloads of freight, which includes 700 million bushel
Bushel
A bushel is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 4 pecks or 8 gallons. It is used for volumes of dry commodities , most often in agriculture...
s of grain. DM&E celebrated the anniversary with picnics and employee appreciation events and excursions in Waseca, Minnesota
Waseca, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,493 people, 3,388 households, and 2,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,215.6 people per square mile . There were 3,563 housing units at an average density of 929.5 per square mile...
, and Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second least populous state capital after Montpelier, Vermont...
.
At the end of 1996, Kevin V. Schieffer, whom former United States President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
had appointed as US Attorney for South Dakota in 1991, became president of DM&E on November 7, 1996. Schieffer was no newcomer to the railroad, however, as he had first become involved with DM&E in 1983 when he worked to prevent the abandonment of the former CNW lines that eventually formed the first sections of DM&E's mainline. Maintaining the status quo on DM&E was not the fate that he had in mind for the railroad as he took the reins.
Expansion plans
In 1997, DM&E announced plans to expand into the Powder River BasinPowder River Basin
The Powder River Basin is a geologic region in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, about east to west and north to south, known for its coal deposits. The region supplies about 40 percent of coal in the United States. It is both a topographic drainage and geologic structural basin...
(PRB) in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and start providing unit
Unit train
A unit train, also called a block train, is a railway train in which all the cars making it up are shipped from the same origin to the same destination, without being split up or stored en route...
coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
train service from that area. The railroad filed an application for the expansion to the Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
(STB) on February 20, 1998. Burlington Northern Railroad
Burlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
built into this area in 1979, and Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
(CNW) built into the area by 1984 (a project that was completed by CNW's successor Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
). DM&E would become the third railroad to tap into the coal deposits in the region.
DM&E's expansion would require the construction of 281 miles (452 km) of new track, upgrading 598 miles (962 km) of existing track (including all of the railroad's track in Minnesota), new interchange connections in Owatonna
Owatonna, Minnesota
Owatonna is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,599 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Steele County. Owatonna is home to the Steele County Fairgrounds, which hosts the Steele County Free Fair in August....
and Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
, and three new rail yards
Classification yard
A classification yard or marshalling yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railroad cars on to one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill...
. The plan would be the largest new railroad construction in the United States since the completion of Milwaukee Road's Pacific extension to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, in 1909.
Initial approval and lawsuits
The STB approved the application on December 10 of that year pending completion of an Environmental Impact StatementEnvironmental impact statement
An environmental impact statement , under United States environmental law, is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An EIS is a tool for decision making...
(EIS), which was released by the STB on September 27, 2000.
An analysis of the plan by Minnesota's Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad Working Group in 2001 showed support among customers and freight shippers, but DM&E's expansion plan led to complaints among residents in communities along the railroad's right-of-way. While some communities welcomed the railroad's expansion plan as an opportunity for increased business within their own cities, other residents and businesses felt that roads in the area were not built with enough overpasses and underpasses to deal with the traffic flow problems that the longer and more frequent unit trains would produce at grade crossings. The objectors cited concerns of the general public in safely and quickly traversing their communities as well as the ability of emergency vehicles to cross the tracks to reach emergency scenes or hospitals. The city of Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
filed a lawsuit to force the railroad to build a bypass around the city. The bypass was estimated to cost around US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100 million.
Further legal actions
After a period of public comment that lasted until March 16, 2001, and further review by the STB, the final EIS was issued on November 19, 2001. In this final approval, the STB agreed with DM&E that no new bypasses around cities would be required even though the cities of Rochester, MinnesotaRochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, Brookings
Brookings, South Dakota
Brookings is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. Brookings is the fourth largest city in South Dakota, with a population of 22,056 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brookings County, and home to South Dakota State University, the largest institution of higher...
and Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second least populous state capital after Montpelier, Vermont...
, had requested them. In 2003, a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Arkansas* Western District of Arkansas...
ordered the STB to re-examine potential environmental issues around Rochester. The STB's preliminary report, released in early 2005, noted that no additional steps were needed by the railroad to alleviate noise and vibration caused by the projected increase in train traffic.
The court upheld the STB's approval with stipulations for the new line's environmental impact, including the projected increase in the frequency of train horn
Train horn
Train horns are audible warning devices found on most diesel and electric locomotives. Their primary purpose is to alert persons and animals to the presence of a train, especially when approaching a grade crossing. They are also used for acknowledging signals given by railroad employees Train horns...
soundings along the line. From the court's ruling, the STB prepared a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement which sets forth mitigation strategies for the railroad. On February 15, 2006, the United States Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
(STB) announced its final approval of the railroad's 1998 application. The STB's approval is expected to be finalized after a 30-day waiting period.
In April 2004, DM&E was awarded the power of eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Arkansas* Western District of Arkansas...
in Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second least populous state capital after Montpelier, Vermont...
. The ruling overturned part of South Dakota legislation passed in 1999 (two years after the railroad first announced its intentions to expand) that would have impaired railroad operations and construction in the state. This decision restores the legal process by which the railroad can effectively force landowners along the proposed new route to sell their land to the railroad.
Funding
With the final EIS in place and approval from the STB, DM&E is legally able to undertake the expansion as proposed.On February 26, 2007, the FRA rejected the proposed $2.3 billion loan to DM&E. In announcing the decision, Administrator Joseph H. Boardman
Joseph H. Boardman
Joseph H. Boardman is the president of Amtrak and formerly Administrator of the United States Federal Railroad Administration.He was nominated by President George W. Bush on March 17, 2005 and confirmed by the United States Senate on April 28, 2005. He was the eleventh Federal Railroad...
noted that the project proposal met many federal requirements for the loan but cited concerns that the railroad might not be able to handle cost overruns during construction or to repay such a hefty amount after construction is completed. Canadian Pacific Railway's acquisition of the DM&E to date has not resulted in the ability to raise the capital needed for the project.
2002–2007: consolidation with IC&E
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
or grain products, 24% were bentonite
Bentonite
Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate, essentially impure clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite. There are different types of bentonite, each named after the respective dominant element, such as potassium , sodium , calcium , and aluminum . Experts debate a number of nomenclatorial...
and kaolin clay, 7% were cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
and 5% were wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
and lumber products; the remaining 11% were split among all other types of freight.
On February 21, 2002 DM&E announced that it would purchase the railroad assets of 1700 miles (2,735.9 km) I&M Rail Link
I&M Rail Link
The I&M Rail Link was a railroad operating in the north central portion of the United States. The company commenced operations on April 5, 1997, acquiring lines from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Soo Line Railroad....
(IMRL) from its then current owners Washington Corporation. DM&E renamed the IMRL property to Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad was a Class II railroad operating in the north central United States. It has been controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway and operated as a part of its system since October 30, 2008...
(IC&E) and began operating it under that name on July 30, 2002. Although a purchase price was not stated in the original announcement, an article in the May 2002 Trains Magazine suggests that several industry sources believed the total to be around $150 million.
DM&E and IC&E combined management under the holding company Cedar American Rail Holdings. Locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s of both railroads were given a unified paint scheme (see below) and interchanges were streamlined between the two railroads. The administration of both railroads is handled by Cedar, further streamlining processes between the two railroads. As a result, the combined DM&E/IC&E system makes up the largest Class II railroad (by route-miles) in the United States; it is also the eighth largest system of all American railroads and the only system with direct rail connections with all Class I railroads in North America.
In its first twenty years of operations, the railroad's revenues had increased more than tenfold, from $22 million in 1987 to [$258 million in 2006, with $290 million projected in 2007 and $340 million for 2008. Its operating ratio
Operating ratio
The operating ratio is a financial term defined as a company's operating expenses as a percentage of revenue. This financial ratio is most commonly used for industries which require a large percentage of revenues to maintain operations, such as railroads. In railroading, an operating ratio of 80...
(the ratio of operating expenses to revenues) declined to 70.2% in 2006 and was projected to improve further to 67.6% in 2007. Its traffic was a mix of agricultural, coal, and industrial products, and ethanol shipments were projected to exceed one billion gallons in 2008.
Acquisition by Canadian Pacific Railway
On September 4, 2007, the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CPR) announced it was acquiring the DM&E from its present owners, London-based Electra Private Equity, for US$1.48 billion, and future payments of over $1.0 billion contingent on commencement of construction on the Powder River extension and specified volumes of coal shipments from the Powder River basin. The transaction will include the ICE and other affiliated companies. The merger is an "end-to-end" consolidation; the lines presently interchange at three points, including the Winona, Minnesota
Winona, Minnesota
Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the U.S. State of Minnesota. Located in picturesque bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf....
connection between the DM&E's main line across southern Minnesota and CP's Chicago main. Kevin Schieffer, president of the DM&E, has called CP the DM&E's "natural partner" and the transaction a "natural fit".
The acquisition will give CP access to shipments of agricultural products and ethanol in addition to coal from the Wyoming coal fields. CP has stated its intention to use this purchase to gain access to the Powder River and ship coal to midwestern and eastern utilities. The transaction is subject to approval of the Surface Transportation Board
Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board of the United States is a bipartisan, decisionally-independent adjudicatory body organizationally housed within the U.S. Department of Transportation. The STB was established in 1996 to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the...
, which is expected to take a year. Securities analysts have stated that competing railroads for Powder River coal, the Union Pacific
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
and BNSF
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
, could challenge the acquisition and delay STB approval, but are unlikely to prevent it. At least until approval is received, the DM&E will continue to operate as a separate entity.
On October 4, 2007, CP announced that it has completed the financial transactions to acquire the DM&E and subsidiaries. Control of DM&E has been placed into a voting trust with Richard Hamlin appointed as trustee; the trust will remain in effect until the STB issues its decision on the acquisition. CP plans to integrate DM&E's operations once it receives STB approval. CP expected STB approval of the purchase in October 2008. The STB announced its approval of the purchase plan on September 30, 2008, with no conditions other than those that CP had already agreed to in the original plan; the effective date of the purchase was October 30, 2008. CP assumed control of DM&E and IC&E on October 30, 2008. CP plans to invest $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
300 million in capital improvements to the former DM&E lines by 2011.
Subdivisions
DM&E operated over twelve subdivisions. The divisions were located in Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska.- Waseca Subdivision — WinonaWinona, MinnesotaWinona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the U.S. State of Minnesota. Located in picturesque bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf....
to WasecaWaseca, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 8,493 people, 3,388 households, and 2,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,215.6 people per square mile . There were 3,563 housing units at an average density of 929.5 per square mile...
, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota 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... - Hartland Subdivision — Waseca, MinnesotaWaseca, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 8,493 people, 3,388 households, and 2,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,215.6 people per square mile . There were 3,563 housing units at an average density of 929.5 per square mile...
to Mason City, IowaMason City, IowaMason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties.... - Tracy Subdivision — WasecaWaseca, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 8,493 people, 3,388 households, and 2,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,215.6 people per square mile . There were 3,563 housing units at an average density of 929.5 per square mile...
to TracyTracy, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 2,268 people, 922 households, and 533 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,045.2 people per square mile . There were 1,013 housing units at an average density of 466.8 per square mile...
, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota 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... - Huron SubdivisionDME Huron SubdivisionThe Huron Subdivision or Huron Sub is a railway line owned and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway. The line stretches for across southwestern Minnesota and southeastern South Dakota, forming the major artery of DME's freight traffic...
— TracyTracy, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 2,268 people, 922 households, and 533 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,045.2 people per square mile . There were 1,013 housing units at an average density of 466.8 per square mile...
, MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota 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...
to HuronHuron, South DakotaHuron is a city in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,592 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beadle County. Huron was the home of now-defunct Huron University since 1897. Huron is also the home of the South Dakota State Fair...
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - Yale Spur Subdivision — HuronHuron, South DakotaHuron is a city in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,592 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beadle County. Huron was the home of now-defunct Huron University since 1897. Huron is also the home of the South Dakota State Fair...
to WatertownWatertown, South DakotaWatertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 21,482 at the 2010 census. It is also the principal city of the Watertown Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Codington and Hamlin counties...
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - Redfield Subdivision — AberdeenAberdeen, South DakotaAberdeen is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States, about 125 mi northeast of Pierre. Settled in 1880, it was incorporated in 1882. The city population was 26,091 at the 2010 census. The American News is the local newspaper...
to WolseyWolsey, South DakotaWolsey is a town in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 376 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Wolsey is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - Mansfield Subdivision — RedfieldRedfield, South DakotaRedfield is a city in and the county seat of Spink County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,333 at the 2010 census. The city is not to be confused with the surrounding Redfield Township, which encompasses unincorporated areas outside of the city limits.-Geography:Redfield is...
to MansfieldMansfield, South DakotaMansfield is an unincorporated community in Brown County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 93 according to the 2010 census. Located just west of highway 281, it is approximately 18 miles south of Aberdeen, the third largest city in South Dakota. The James River Valley near which...
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - Pierre SubdivisionDME Pierre SubdivisionThe Pierre Subdivision is an east–west railway line owned and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway. The line stretches approximately across the central parts of South Dakota, connecting Pierre, South Dakota with Huron, South Dakota. It is...
— HuronHuron, South DakotaHuron is a city in Beadle County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 12,592 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beadle County. Huron was the home of now-defunct Huron University since 1897. Huron is also the home of the South Dakota State Fair...
to PierrePierre, South DakotaPierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second least populous state capital after Montpelier, Vermont...
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - Onida SubdivisionDME Onida SubdivisionThe Onida Subdivision is a branch line railway segment owned, maintained and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway. It connects the city of Onida to the company's east–west main line, the Pierre Subdivision at Blunt, South Dakota...
— BluntBlunt, South DakotaBlunt is a city in Hughes County, South Dakota, United States. It is part of the Pierre, South Dakota Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 354 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
to OnidaOnida, South DakotaOnida is a city in Sully County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 658 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sully County.-Geography:Onida is located at ....
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - PRC SubdivisionDME PRC SubdivisionThe PRC Subdivision is a railway line owned and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway. The line is the company's important east–west route, connecting Rapid City to Pierre, both in South Dakota...
— PierrePierre, South DakotaPierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second least populous state capital after Montpelier, Vermont...
to Rapid CityRapid City, South DakotaRapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - Black Hills Subdivision — Bentonite (at Colony, SD) to Rapid CityRapid City, South DakotaRapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
to Dakota Junction, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... - Crawford Subdivision — ChadronChadron, NebraskaChadron is a city in Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,851 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dawes County. Chadron is the home of Chadron State College....
to CrawfordCrawford, NebraskaCrawford is a city in Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 997 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1886 and was named for the late Captain Emmet Crawford who had previously been stationed at nearby Fort Robinson.-Geography:...
, NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
Rolling stock
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s from a variety of railroads; in the early years it was more common to see a locomotive with a Milwaukee Road
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...
or Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
paint scheme than a DM&E paint scheme. Over the years, the locomotives were repainted, and many of them are now in DM&E's paint scheme (which is closely mirrored by that of sister Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad
The Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad was a Class II railroad operating in the north central United States. It has been controlled by the Canadian Pacific Railway and operated as a part of its system since October 30, 2008...
) of blue with a yellow stripe along its length.
DM&E eventually assigns names to all of its locomotives when they are repainted, usually after locations along its right-of-way, but a few exceptions have been named for people (like road number 550, named after Senator Larry Pressler). All of the first-generation diesel locomotives purchased from Chicago and North Western and Milwaukee Road have since been replaced with more recent locomotives, although the newer locomotives were also bought used.
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
including over 600 covered hopper
Covered hopper
A Covered Hopper is a railroad freight car. They are designed for carrying dry bulk loads, varying from grain to products such as sand and clay. The cover protects the loads from the weather - dried cement would be very hard to unload if mixed with water in transit, while grain would be liable to...
s for grain and cement shipments. In 2001, the number of locomotives owned stayed about the same, while the number of cars increased to about 5,000 with 52% of them in dedicated grain service.
Company officers
DM&E has had three men serve as president of the railroad:- J. C. (Pete) McIntyre (1986–1996) began his railroad career in 1953, eventually working for Chicago and North Western in the early 1980s. When DM&E was formed in 1986, McIntyre became the new railroad's first president.
- Kevin V. Schieffer (1996–2008) served as counsel for Senator Larry Pressler starting in 1982. Schieffer began working with DM&E business in 1983 when he worked to prevent the abandonment of C&NW branch lines that would eventually form the beginnings of DM&E. He initiated the negotiations in 1985 that led to DM&E's creation. He was promoted to Chief of Staff for Senator Pressler in 1987, a position he held until 1991 when United States PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
appointed Schieffer to be US Attorney for South Dakota. In 1993, Schieffer left his US Attorney post and became the legal counsel for DM&E; as legal counsel for the railroad, he oversaw the railroad's recapitalization in 1994 and the acquisition of C&NW's Colony line. He held this position until he was unanimously elected president of the railroad on November 7, 1996. Schieffer left DM&E on October 7, 2008, shortly after the Surface Transportation Board approved the proposed purchase of the railroad by Canadian Pacific; DM&E's COOChief operating officerA Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
Ed Terbell and CFOChief financial officerThe chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
Kurt Feaster were named to manage the railroad until CP completed the acquisition October 30, 2008. - Vern Graham (2008–2010) was appointed president November 5, 2008.
External links
- DM&E Official Website
- South Dakota Office of Railroads: DM&E facts
- Surface Transportation Board, Final Environmental Impact Statement