Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad

The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (FE&MV), sometimes called "the Elkhorn," was an American railroad established in 1869 in Nebraska.

About

The company constructed several lines in Nebraska, including a long east-west route from Omaha across northern Nebraska to Chadron, trackage that later became known as the "Cowboy Line."

Beginning in the 1880s the FE&MV expanded north and west from Chadron, building a line along the eastern edge of the Black Hills to Rapid City and Belle Fourche, South Dakota, as well as a line westward to Casper, Wyoming.

Charles Henry King, grandfather of President Gerald Ford, was to make his fortune establishing banks and freighting services in towns he helped found along the line including Chadron and Casper. [ [http://www.casperjournal.com/articles/2007/11/19/vets_hotline/vets99.prt Remembering Gerald Ford - April 3, 2007 - Casper Journal] ] Ford's father Leslie Lynch King, Sr. was born in Chadron during this time.

The larger Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) acquired control of the FE&MV in the late 1800s, and in 1903, the FE&MV was formally absorbed into the C&NW. The FE&MV's passenger depot in Douglas, Wyoming is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Trackage through Rapid City is operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, pending the Surface Transportation Board's approval of that railroad's purchase by Canadian Pacific Railway.

Track segment abandonments and sales

* Fremont, Nebraska-Norfolk, Nebraska; Sold: Fremont-Hooper to Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad in 1984; Abandoned: Hooper-Norfolk 1984
* Norfolk-Chadron, Nebraska; Sold: Chadron-Merriam; Abandoned: Norfolk-Merriam 1992
* Chadron-northeastern Wyoming (Rapid City Branchline); Sold: Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad in 1986; pending sale to Canadian Pacific Railway in 2008
* Chadron-Lander, Wyoming; Abandoned: Chadron-Lander 1992 [ [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/femdepot.htm Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad Passenger Depot. Douglas, Wyoming.] includes a photograph]

ee also

* Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad (FEVR), a 17-mile tourist railroad running between Fremont and Hooper, a segment of former FE&MV line.
* Sorenson Parkway, a modern roadway located along 5-miles of former FE&MV line in North Omaha.

References