Red Lake Falls Trail Bridge (South)

In 1892, the The Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company (StPM&M) built 18 miles of new railroad, extending from the existing Duluth & Manitoba Railroad (D&M) connection at Red Lake Falls, Minnesota; to Thief River Falls. The StPM&M utilized an agreement with the D&M to access their mainline at Tilden Junction. The StPM&M was controlled by James J. Hill, a railroad tycoon who wished to build a railroad network extending from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, the StPM&M acquired and constructed numerous new railroad lines throughout Minnesota. By 1898, the D&M would become part of the Northern Pacific Railway (NP). In 1904, the Minnesota and Great Northern Railway Company (M&GN) constructed a 41 mile extension from Thief River Falls to Greenbush. In 1907, the StPM&M and M&GN would be sold to another Hill company, the Great Northern Railway (GN). GN would build an additional 43 mile extension to Warroad, Minnesota in 1908.

The GN utilized this as a branch route, serving various industries. In 1959, the NP was going to abandon their segment between Tilden Junction and Red Lake Falls, and instead sold it to the Great Northern. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). The segment between St. Hilaire and Red Lake Falls was abandoned in 1985. In 1996, the BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF sold the line to Minnesota Northern Railroad (MNN) later in 1996. MNN abandoned the portion from Tilden Junction to Red Lake Falls in 1998, and a section from Roseau to Warroad in 2009. The remainder of the route continues to be operated by MNN as their Warroad Subdivision. The portion between Roseau and Warroad is now part of a recreation trail.