The Forest City and Gettysburg Railroad was a small, short-lived

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that ran between the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

towns of Forest City and Gettysburg, a distance of 19 miles. The line was constructed in 1890, and in part transported agricultural products to Forest City for transshipment on Missouri River steamboats. Commercial traffic on the river was already in decline by that time, however, and the railroad was not financially successful; it was abandoned in 1911, one of the first rail lines in the state to be discontinued. The line was financially supported in part by the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, which connected with the line in Gettysburg. Small segments of the former railroad grade remain visible today. The line's former western terminus at Forest City is now beneath the waters of

Lake Oahe Lake Oahe () is a large reservoir behind Oahe Dam on the Missouri River; it begins in central South Dakota and continues north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of and a maximum depth of . By volume, it is the List of l ...

References

*Hufstetler, Mark and Michael Bedeau. ''South Dakota's Railroads: An Historic Context''. Pierre, South Dakota: South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office, 1998. Defunct South Dakota railroads Transportation in Potter County, South Dakota {{SouthDakota-transport-stub