Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway
Encyclopedia
The Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway is a subsidiary railroad of Canadian National Railway
(CN) operating in northern Minnesota
, United States
. A CN system-wide rebranding beginning in 1995 has seen the DWP logo and name largely replaced by its parent company. The DWP line serves as CN's connection between International Falls
and Duluth, Minnesota
, where the railroad connects to a short stretch of the former Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
before following the former Wisconsin Central (both now wholly owned by CN) to Chicago, Illinois.
in 1901, with the line extending to Silver Lake, Minnesota
when the company was purchased by the Canadian Northern Railway
(CNoR) who renamed it the Duluth, Rainy Lake and Winnipeg Railway (DRL&W).
Construction continued in 1908 to extend the line to International Falls, Minnesota
where the DW&P bridged the Rainy River on the International Boundary to cross into Fort Frances, Ontario
and an interchange with the CNoR mainline between Winnipeg, Manitoba and Port Arthur, Ontario
.
In 1909, CNoR incorporated the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway, and construction started to achieve access to Duluth, Minnesota
. Duluth was reached in 1912, providing interchange with several US railways.
The DW&P mainline ran for 167 mi (268.8 km) from Duluth Junction at Fort Frances
(CN interchange) to DW&P Junction (Great Northern Railway interchange).
Following the bankruptcy of the CNoR system and its subsequent nationalization
by Canada's federal government under the Canadian National Railways (CNR), the DW&P was maintained as an important connection for CNR to the upper mid-western states.
During the post-war era, the DW&P line was upgraded to handle an increase in freight and unit train traffic, such as potash, lumber and paper. In 1960 CNR changed its name to "Canadian National/Canadien National" (CN) and introduced a radical new paint scheme and logo. At the same time, DW&P was changed to just DWP and given a logo of similar flowing design to the CN "noodle". CN's other US subsidiary, Grand Trunk Western Railroad
also underwent a similar name/acronym change to Grand Trunk Western (GT).
DWP began to play an increasingly important role for CN in the 1990s, following the implementation of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and later the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), which contributed to increases in Canadian exports south and US imports north. The DWP provided the most direct connection from CN's western Canadian trackage to the major US interchanges at Chicago, Illinois, however unlike rival Canadian Pacific Railway
which had its own Soo Line Railroad
subsidiary trackage to use, CN was forced to interchange with US railroads at Duluth, such as Great Northern (later Burlington Northern Railroad
, later Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway) or Wisconsin Central Ltd.. In the mid-1990s, CN and WC entered into a formal agreement whereby WC agreed to haul CN trains to Chicago.
The mid-1990s also saw a major change in how US subsidiaries like DWP and GT fit into CN's corporate structure whereby in 1993-1994, CN changed the name of its entire system to "CN North America" (CNNA) and began a major locomotive and freight car repainting program which saw the GT and DWP logos and names disappear, with only the holding company "Grand Trunk Corporation
" remaining on paper and legal documents. In 1995, the CNNA experiment ended and the name "Canadian National/Canadien National" with the CN acronym returned, only system-wide in both countries. On November 28, 1995 Canada's federal government privatized
CN and its US subsidiaries.
In 2001, CN entered into an agreement to purchase WC entirely on October 21 of that year, providing CN with an "iron lariat" encircling the industrially-important Great Lakes Basin
. The only gap in CN's Winnipeg-Fort Frances/International Falls-Chicago mainline route was a short 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) section in Duluth where CN had to operate on the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
to reach WC trackage from the end of DWP trackage. On May 10, 2004, CN purchased DMIR's parent company Great Lakes Transportation
to give total control of the Winnipeg-Chicago corridor and remove the gap at Duluth between DWP and WC trackage.
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
(CN) operating in northern 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A CN system-wide rebranding beginning in 1995 has seen the DWP logo and name largely replaced by its parent company. The DWP line serves as CN's connection between International Falls
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....
and Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
, where the railroad connects to a short stretch of the former Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...
before following the former Wisconsin Central (both now wholly owned by CN) to Chicago, Illinois.
History
The Duluth, Virginia and Rainy Lake Railway (DV&RL) started construction at Virginia, MinnesotaVirginia, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,157 people, 4,333 households, and 2,270 families residing in the city. The population density was 486.1 people per square mile . There were 4,692 housing units at an average density of 249.1 per square mile...
in 1901, with the line extending to Silver Lake, Minnesota
Silver Lake, Minnesota
Silver Lake is a city in McLeod County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 837 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
when the company was purchased by the Canadian Northern Railway
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...
(CNoR) who renamed it the Duluth, Rainy Lake and Winnipeg Railway (DRL&W).
Construction continued in 1908 to extend the line 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....
where the DW&P bridged the Rainy River on the International Boundary to cross into Fort Frances, Ontario
Fort Frances, Ontario
Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2006 census was 8,103 and Fort Frances' population peaked in 1971 at 9,947...
and an interchange with the CNoR mainline between Winnipeg, Manitoba and Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...
.
In 1909, CNoR incorporated the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway, and construction started to achieve access to Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. Duluth was reached in 1912, providing interchange with several US railways.
The DW&P mainline ran for 167 mi (268.8 km) from Duluth Junction at Fort Frances
Fort Frances, Ontario
Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the 2006 census was 8,103 and Fort Frances' population peaked in 1971 at 9,947...
(CN interchange) to DW&P Junction (Great Northern Railway interchange).
Following the bankruptcy of the CNoR system and its subsequent nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
by Canada's federal government under the Canadian National Railways (CNR), the DW&P was maintained as an important connection for CNR to the upper mid-western states.
During the post-war era, the DW&P line was upgraded to handle an increase in freight and unit train traffic, such as potash, lumber and paper. In 1960 CNR changed its name to "Canadian National/Canadien National" (CN) and introduced a radical new paint scheme and logo. At the same time, DW&P was changed to just DWP and given a logo of similar flowing design to the CN "noodle". CN's other US subsidiary, Grand Trunk Western Railroad
Grand Trunk Western Railroad
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway , constituting the majority of CN's Chicago Division ....
also underwent a similar name/acronym change to Grand Trunk Western (GT).
DWP began to play an increasingly important role for CN in the 1990s, following the implementation of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and later the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAFTA), which contributed to increases in Canadian exports south and US imports north. The DWP provided the most direct connection from CN's western Canadian trackage to the major US interchanges at Chicago, Illinois, however unlike rival 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...
which had its own Soo Line Railroad
Soo Line Railroad
The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , controlled through the Soo Line Corporation, and one of seven U.S. Class I railroads. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste...
subsidiary trackage to use, CN was forced to interchange with US railroads at Duluth, such as Great Northern (later 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....
, later Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway) or Wisconsin Central Ltd.. In the mid-1990s, CN and WC entered into a formal agreement whereby WC agreed to haul CN trains to Chicago.
The mid-1990s also saw a major change in how US subsidiaries like DWP and GT fit into CN's corporate structure whereby in 1993-1994, CN changed the name of its entire system to "CN North America" (CNNA) and began a major locomotive and freight car repainting program which saw the GT and DWP logos and names disappear, with only the holding company "Grand Trunk Corporation
Grand Trunk Corporation
The Grand Trunk Corporation is the subsidiary holding company for the Canadian National Railway's properties in the United States. It is named for the former Grand Trunk Railway, which CN absorbed in the early 1920s...
" remaining on paper and legal documents. In 1995, the CNNA experiment ended and the name "Canadian National/Canadien National" with the CN acronym returned, only system-wide in both countries. On November 28, 1995 Canada's federal government privatized
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
CN and its US subsidiaries.
In 2001, CN entered into an agreement to purchase WC entirely on October 21 of that year, providing CN with an "iron lariat" encircling the industrially-important Great Lakes Basin
Great Lakes Basin
The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose direct surface runoff and watersheds form a large...
. The only gap in CN's Winnipeg-Fort Frances/International Falls-Chicago mainline route was a short 17 kilometres (10.6 mi) section in Duluth where CN had to operate on the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...
to reach WC trackage from the end of DWP trackage. On May 10, 2004, CN purchased DMIR's parent company Great Lakes Transportation
Great Lakes Transportation
Great Lakes Transportation LLC is a group of transportation related companies primarily consisting of rail and water carriers catering to the needs of the steel making industry centered around the Great Lakes of North America...
to give total control of the Winnipeg-Chicago corridor and remove the gap at Duluth between DWP and WC trackage.