In October 1904 the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (Soo Line) and

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

began overnight passenger service between the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. The train consisted of a mail and baggage cars, two coaches, a sleeper and dining car. The train went by several names over its 62 years: ''Manitoba Express'' (1904–1909), ''Winnipeg Express'' (1919–1928) and the ''Winnipeger'' (1928–1967).Nelson (Summer 2000) p.31 It commonly was called the ''Winnipeg Flyer''. Diesel locomotives replaced steam between Saint Paul and

Thief River Falls, Minnesota Thief River Falls, sometimes referred to as Thief River or abbreviated as TRF, is a city in Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census. Thief River Falls is the county ...

from May 1951, and diesels took over the entire route in April of the following year. Originally numbered 109 and 110, the ''Winnipeger'' was renumbered 9 and 10 in the general renumbering of Soo Line passenger trains at the end of August 1952, but remained Trains 109 and 110 on Canadian Pacific. From January 1954, the ''Winnipeger'' was combined with Trains 13 and 14, the '' Soo-Dominion''/''Mountaineer'', from Saint Paul to

Glenwood, Minnesota Glenwood is a city in, and the county seat of, Pope County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,657 at the 2020 census. It is located on the northeastern shore of Lake Minnewaska. History Glenwood was platted in 1866, and named for ...

, where the trains split, with the ''Soo-Dominion/Mountaineer'' continuing on to Canada via

Portal, North Dakota Portal is a city in Burke County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 125 at the 2020 census. Portal was founded in 1893. Portal sits along the Canada–United States border and is a major port of entry for road and rail traffic. No ...

. The ''Soo-Dominion'' terminated at Portal from late 1960 and came off entirely in December 1963, and through service to western Canada ran via Winnipeg on the ''Winnepeger''.Abbey (1984) p.99 The last season of two-section operation was 1964, when between June 26–27 and September 8–9, the ''Winnipeger'' ran as one section to Glenwood, where a meal stop was taken, dining car service having been dispensed with by 1961. The train was switched into two sections for the remainder of run to Winnipeg. Soo first 9 / Canadian Pacific 111 and CP 112 / Soo second 10 ran to/from Winnipeg (non-stop while in Canada), while Soo second 9 / CP 107 and CP 108 / Soo first 10 carried the Vancouver cars and did the local work from Emerson to Winnipeg. Saint Paul to Vancouver though service was discontinued the following year. In May 1965, the train lost the

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

mail contract for the Emerson–Winnipeg run, and the following month the

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

pulled the US mail off the train as well. The express contract was lost in October 1966, and the train struggled on until the night of March 23/24, 1967, when the ''Winnipeger'' made its last run.

References

* * * * Soo Line Railroad Named passenger trains of Canada Named passenger trains of the United States International named passenger trains Night trains of Canada Night trains of the United States Passenger rail transportation in Minnesota Passenger rail transport in Manitoba Railway services introduced in 1928 Canadian Pacific Railway passenger trains Railway services discontinued in 1967 {{NorthAm-rail-transport-stub

See also

References