NRL Sauk River Bridge

In 1872, the The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company (StP&P) constructed 35 miles of new railroad, extending from St. Cloud, Minnesota to Melrose, Minnesota. The line would be extended an additional 31 miles to Alexandria in 1878, and an additional 77 miles to Barnesville the following year. At Barnesville, the railroad connected to a previously constructed line, which reached the International Border at Noyes, Minnesota. At the end of 1879, the StP&P was sold to the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway (StPM&M). The StPM&M was controlled by railroad magnate James J. Hill, who sought to build a vast railroad network between the Twin Cities and the West Coast. In 1880, the Barnesville & Moorhead Railway Company completed an additional 23 miles between Barnesville and Moorhead. The railroad was promptly purchased by the StPM&M. The StPM&M was sold to another Hill controlled railroad, the Great Northern Railway (GN) in 1907.

The GN utilized this route as a mainline, connecting the Twin Cities to Fargo and points west. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). By 1981, the BN preferred the parallel former Northern Pacific route, which was built for double track. As a result, the segment from Collegeville to Avon was abandoned, and sold for future trail use. In 1986, BN sold the remainder of the line from Moorhead to Avon to the Otter Tail Valley Railroad (OTVR). OTVR operated the route until 1991, when the line between Avon and Fergus Falls was abandoned and acquired for future trail use. BN was merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF abandoned the segment between Collegeville and St. Joseph in 2002, and leased the St. Cloud to St. Joseph segment to Northern Lines Railroad. Today, OTVR continues to operate the Moorhead to Fergus Falls segment of this line, while Northern Lines operates the remaining stub to St. Joseph. The railroad from St. Joseph to Osakis has been turned into the Lake Wobegon Trail, and the line from Osakis to Fergus Falls has been turned into the Central Lakes Trail.