The North and South Railway (N&S), now defunct, was an American

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 ...

planned for construction between Casper, Wyoming and

Miles City, Montana Miles City ( chy, Ma'xemâhoévé'ho'eno) is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2020 census. History After the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the U.S. Army created fo ...

, via

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Micropo ...

. Though substantial portions of the railroad's grade were completed in 1923, only the far southern end of the line was ever completed, and that trackage was abandoned in 1935.

History

During the first years of the twentieth century, residents of north-central

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

and south-central

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

advanced multiple proposals for the construction of a new railway line between Sheridan and Miles City. The proposed route, which generally followed the course of the Tongue River, would access the vast and remote ranching country between the two towns and would provide Sheridan with a second railway outlet to the east. (The city was already served by a mainline of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.) The N&S line to Salt Creek operated only until 1935 when it was abandoned. Substantial evidence of the old railroad grade remains visible today, in both Wyoming and Montana. The never-completed alignment of the N&S in Montana continues to receive attention as a possible rail corridor today – this time by the Tongue River Railroad, a proposed coal-hauling line between the Decker, Montana area and Miles City.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:North South Railway Defunct Montana railroads Defunct Wyoming railroads 1923 establishments in Wyoming 1935 disestablishments in Wyoming