BNSF-CP Crossing, Minot, ND

Just to the west of the Amtrak station, and visible from its platform, is crossing of the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad and the Canadian Pacific Railway. In this 2002 photo, Amtrak's Empire Builder is stopped on the BNSF track and the freight train crossing in front of it is on the CP track. This crossing is the busiest rail crossing in the state of North Dakota. The building visible behind the Canadian Pacific freight train is the Minot Public Library.

Below are some more pictures of trains in Minot.

Canadian Pacific C44-9W #8559 is passing through Minot with a westbound freight train in July 1999.

Amtrak P42DC #150 is stopped at Minot with the westbound Empire Builder in December 2001.

This concludes the original content of my Minot PLACES page. To see any additional blog entries about Minot, click on the Minot label.

Amtrak Depot, Minot, ND

This depot is the one currently served by Amtrak. It is located just west of the old Soo Line depot, on the opposite side of the U.S. Highway 83 overpass.  This depot was originally built in 1910 by the Great Northern Railway. A major renovation in 1975 replaced the original gabled roof with a flat roof, covered the original brick with stucco and remodeled the interior. Here Amtrak's Empire Builder can be seen making its station stop. Just to the north of the depot, on the other side of the tracks and past some trees, is the Souris River.

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Old Soo Line Depot, Minot, ND

This historic depot was built in 1912 and once served the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, or Soo Line, which is now part of the Canadian Pacific Railway. This depot is no longer owned by the railroad. It is located in Minot's historic downtown district and houses the Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum.

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Minot, North Dakota

I passed through Minot, North Dakota, several times between 1999 and 2003 riding Amtrak’s Empire Builder to and from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Minot is a service stop for the Empire Builder, so I usually got off the train to stretch my legs and sometimes took a few pictures.

Minot, North Dakota is the Ward County seat and has a population of about 35,000 people, with an additional 10,000 living at nearby Minot Air Force Base. Lewis and Clark spent the Winter of 1804-1805 with Native Americans near present-day Minot. Minot is located in the Souris River (AKA Mouse River) Valley, and the original downtown is just above the river's flood plain. In 1969, a winter flood forced 15,000 Minot residents from their homes.

Minot is a railroad town, and much of its early growth is a result of the arrival of railroads. The city gained the nickname "Magic City" because the city seemed to grow like magic after the railroad arrived. Minot was officially named by Great Northern Railway President James J. Hill for Great Northern executive Henry D. Minot, a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt. 

Today, Minot is served by the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, the Canadian Pacific Railway and Amtrak. While railroad employment in Minot has fallen from over 2500 in 1955 to about 200 today, the railroads are still a driving factor in the local economy.

Some of San Francisco’s landmarks are covered in the following posts:

Old Soo Line Depot
Amtrak Depot
BNSF-CP Crossing

Minot Links
City of Minot
Minot Convention & Visitor’s Bureau
Minot Air Force Base
Minot Public Library

Continue to Old Soo Line Depot…