Minnesota Prairie Line

Infobox SG rail
railroad_name=Minnesota Prairie Line
marks=MPLI
locale=Minnesota
start_year=2002
end_year=
hq_city=Glencoe, Minnesota

Minnesota Prairie Line reporting mark|MPLI is a railroad operating in the U.S. state of Minnesota which started operations in October 2002. Trackage includes the former Chicago and North Western Railway, prior to that the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway which extends from the a connection with owner Twin Cities and Western Railroad (TC&W) at a connection at Norwood to Hanley Falls, Minnesota, totaling 94 miles. Several companies including the Minnesota Valley Authority (MNVA) and the Minnesota Central Railroad (MCTA) operated the line the years prior to MPL taking over the line, both having little to no success.

When operations started in 2002, MPLI had two former Twin Cities and Western Railroad EMD GP10s, which had the MPLI logo applied to them on the long hood side. Currently, MPLI utilizes RRV&W Caterpillar Generation II locomotives (GP20Cs and GP15Cs). Trains typically run five days per week between Norwood and Wood Lake, Minnesota, with service as needed to Hanley Falls.

External links

* [http://www.tcwr.net/ Twin Cities & Western Railroad] company site
* [http://www1.webng.com/tcwr/ Unofficial Twin Cities & Western Homepage]