The Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway is a subsidiary

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

(CN) operating in northern

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 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 is CN's connection between

International Falls International Falls (sometimes referred to as I-Falls) is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,802 at the time of the 2020 census. International Falls is located on the Rainy R ...

and

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

, where the railroad connects to a short stretch of the former

Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway (DM&IR) , informally known as the Missabe Road, was a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that used to haul iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth, Minnesota, D ...

before following the former Wisconsin Central (both now wholly owned by CN) to

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In 1970 DW&P reported 792 million ton-miles of revenue freight and no passenger miles; at the end of that year it operated of road and of track.

History

The Duluth, Virginia and Rainy Lake Railway (DV&RL) started construction at

Virginia, Minnesota Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Iron Range's commercial center. The population was ...

, in 1901, with the line extending north to Sand Lake, Minnesota, when the company was purchased by the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canada, Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonto ...

(CNoR) who renamed it the Duluth, Rainy Lake and Winnipeg Railway (DRL&W). Construction continued through 1908 to extend the line north to Ranier, Minnesota, where it bridged the Rainy River on the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

to cross into

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 2021 census was 7,466 Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Cham ...

, and an interchange with the CNoR mainline between

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, and

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it was amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur became the district seat ...

. In 1909, CNoR incorporated the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway, and construction started to achieve access south from Virginia, Minnesota, to

. Duluth was reached in 1912, providing interchange with several US railways. The DW&P mainline ran for from Duluth Junction at Fort Frances (CNoR interchange) to DW&P Junction (

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

(U.S.)). Following the bankruptcy of the CNoR system and its subsequent

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

by Canada's federal government under the

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

(CNR), the DW&P was maintained as an important connection for CNR to the upper mid-western states. During the post-

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

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, and

Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad ha ...

also underwent a similar name/acronym change to Grand Trunk Western (GT), as did the

Central Vermont Railway The Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the U.S. states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec. It connected Montreal, Quebec, with New London, Connect ...

. The DW&P's primary passenger terminal in Duluth was via the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha's (

Chicago & North Western 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 ...

) brick/stone structure at 5th Avenue West in the city's downtown area, not far from Duluth Union Depot (served by St. Paul & Duluth orthern Pacific Duluth & Iron Range, and Duluth, Missabe & Northern). The company eventually opened its own three-story facility in West Duluth during spring 1913 although it was only used as a secondary terminal, primarily housing offices while also maintaining mail/express business. Finally, trackage rights were secured over Northern Pacific for to Rices Point Yard where it gained direct freight interchange points with NP and

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

. Within just a few years of the "Peg's" opening, parent Canadian Northern found itself in dire financial straits. It was turned over to the government on September 6, 1918, and later nationalized as part of the Canadian National Railways, incorporated on June 6, 1919. The DW&P maintained a separate identity during this corporate reshuffling and later became part of CN's Grand Trunk Corporation formed on July 31, 1971, which maintained CN's American holdings. DWP began to play an increasingly important role for CN in the 1990s, following the implementation of the

Canada-US Free Trade Agreement Northern America is the northernmost subregion of North America, as well as the northernmost region in the Americas. The boundaries may be drawn significantly differently depending on the source of the definition. In one definition, it lies dire ...

(FTA), and later the

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

(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

, however unlike rival

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

which had its own

Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is one of the primary United States railroad subsidiaries for the CPKC Railway , one of six U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Saul ...

subsidiary trackage to use, CN was forced to interchange with US railroads at Duluth, such as Great Northern (later

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 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

, later

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ra ...

) or

Wisconsin Central Ltd. Wisconsin Central Ltd. is a railroad subsidiary of Canadian National. At one time, its parent Wisconsin Central Transportation Corporation owned or operated railroads in the United States, Canada (Algoma Central Railway), the United Kingdom (DB ...

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 The Grand Trunk Corporation is the subsidiary holding company for the Canadian National Railway's properties in the United States, and Canada. It is named for CN subsidiary railroad Grand Trunk Western Railroad. The Association of American Railr ...

" 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 (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

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 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 di ...

. The only gap in CN's Winnipeg–Fort Frances/International Falls–Chicago mainline route was a short section in Duluth where CN had to operate on the

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.

Merger with Wisconsin Central

In December 2011, the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway was merged into

, which is also controlled by

. This merger was intended to increase efficiency.

References

External links

DWP page at CNLines SIG

Canadian Freight Railcar Gallery - Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duluth Winnipeg Pacific Railway Minnesota railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Former regional railroads in the United States Canadian National Railway subsidiaries Predecessors of the Canadian Northern Railway Railway companies established in 1909 Wisconsin railroads