(rshsdepot) Hutchinson, MN

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Photo link:
http://www.hutchinsonleader.com/ArticlesImg/4775.jpg  (May 2000)

Plan to bring trains to city losing steam
By Terry Davis
Staff Writer - Hutchinson Leader

It is becoming less likely that Hutchinson residents will ever again hear a
train blow its horn at the numerous railroad crossings in the city.
On Monday, members of the McLeod Regional Rail Authority and the shippers'
Central Prairie Railway Associa-tion heard an update on the status of Dakota
Rail from Chairman Sheldon Nies.

Nies said it appears unlikely that the 44-mile ex-Great Northern branch line
from Hutchinson to Wayzata will attract the necessary rehabilitation money
needed to restore service. The last Dakota Rail train departed Hutchinson on
June 14, 2000.

The rail authorities from Carver, Hennepin and McLeod counties, along with
assistance from the Minnesota Department of Transportation, purchased the
railroad in December 2001 from Florida-based RailAmerica. Under a ruling
from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, they must attempt to find
operators for the line for a period of up to two years.

Hennepin County, as the lead agency in the partnership, has been leading the
effort to survey the shippers' interest in restoring service and the
potential to attract an operator, Nies said.

"The state has said it won't put more money in for rehab. It is already
putting money in for the purchase of the line," Nies said. The shippers are
unlikely to be able to invest enough to restore service, but under the
purchase agreement, the track will likely stay in place for two years, he
added.

Under the purchase agreement, the three county rail authorities retain
control over the portion of the abandoned rail line within their county
borders. None may sell off property within the main rail corridor right of
way. Other railroad property can only be sold with the permission of all
three county rail authorities and MnDOT.

"The 100-foot right of way has to be preserved. The state isn't going to let
us sell that. In some places it is narrower than that," Nies said. "We are
hoping the spur line north of the river in Hutchinson (which is former Luce
Line trackage) is outside of that agreement. We hope to be able to sell that
to pay back the $550,000 the rail authority owes the state."

Nies also asked for the city of Hutchinson's assistance in controlling weeds
along the right of way within city limits and for help in cleaning up debris
near the railroad's shop at the Bluff Street crossing.

Rail authority member Larry Graf was appointed by Nies to lead a committee
that will study the condition of the Hutchinson depot, which was damaged by
fire in April 2001.

Mayor Marlin Torgerson said a consultant for the Hutchinson Downtown
Association has suggested the depot be preserved and moved to a site north
of the river to serve as a trail head or chamber of commerce office. A local
model railroad group is interested in preserving the depot and two pieces of
maintenance of way equipment parked outside as a historical display and home
for a model railroad.


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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