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Luce Line Railroad

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Black and white photograph of a Luce Line passenger train to Lake Lillian. Image is from the Lake Lillian News, ca. 1930–1939.

Luce Line passenger train to Lake Lillian. Image is from the Lake Lillian News, ca. 1930–1939.

The Luce Line Railroad, known by several different names, was a small rural Minnesota railroad that operated through much of the twentieth century. It connected rural communities in western Minnesota to the Twin Cities and offered transportation for passengers, lumber, grain, and other commodities.

On August 7, 1908, Colonel William L. Luce and his son, Erle D. Luce, incorporated the Electric Short Line Railroad. Although late by most standards, the Luce family intended to build a railroad that would connect rural Minnesota communities that were still without rail service by creating a line to Brookings, South Dakota. Construction began in 1909 and continued slowly over the next four years.

At this stage, the portion of the line east of Glenwood Junction in Minneapolis was the Electric Short Line Terminal Company, with new construction to the west called the Electric Short Line Railway. The distinction did not last long; nor did “electric” have any meaning, as the line could never afford overhead electrification.

In 1913, rail was laid westward between Minneapolis and Parkers Lake. Construction continued from Glenwood Junction in Minneapolis to Stubbs Bay on Lake Minnetonka, then further west to the communities of Watertown, Winsted, and Silver Lake until reaching Hutchinson in 1915. By this time, the line offered passenger service through a small fleet of motorcars that ran in both directions along the line. It also ran freight trains using second-hand steam locomotives from larger railroads. By 1917, there were nearly seventy-one miles of track on the line, including areas that were double tracked.

The Luce Line was built relatively late in comparison to other lines and serviced already-established cities. For this reason, it did not create new rural communities. The line would often build around the outskirts of existing towns instead. The line reached both Cosmos and Lake Lillian in 1923.

The Luce family encountered financial difficulty in the form of foreclosure and reorganized the line as the Minnesota Western on May 1, 1924. Construction continued to Gluek in 1927, but by December of that year, the Luce family sold their interests to the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway. Although the line now extended 115 miles between Minneapolis and Gluek, additional construction ceased because continued funding was not available. The line did not reach Brookings, South Dakota, and never went any further west. Gluek was to be the permanent western terminus of the “Luce Line” or Electric Short Line, known by this time as the Minnesota Western.

The line offered several passenger trains between both ends of the route and hauled freight in each direction, servicing a number of rural industries along the right of way.

Not surprisingly, as rural roadways improved, the need for passenger service diminished. The communities served by the Luce Line provided few passengers. By 1942, passenger trains typically required only one railcar. The road thus became freight only as of September 10, 1947, when the last passenger train ran. Steam locomotives were phased out, and only diesel engines hauled freight.

In 1956, the much larger Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (the M&STL), a Midwestern agricultural carrier, purchased the Minnesota Western from the Cargill company. In early 1960, the M&STL renamed the Minnesota Western railroad the Minneapolis Industrial Railway. The Chicago and Northwestern (C&NW) purchased the Minneapolis and St. Louis itself later that year on November 1, 1960.

The C&NW was a much larger company and therefore had little use for the small Luce Line. The company petitioned to abandon the segment of the railroad from Hutchinson to Gluek in 1967. The C&NW physically removed the line shortly after approval was granted. In the next year, the C&NW asked to abandon the railroad from Hutchinson to Plymouth. The state of Minnesota subsequently granted approval.

By 1972, the line extended from Minneapolis to Plymouth, with the remaining 104 miles of the line to Gluek now abandoned and removed as scrap. The line to Plymouth eventually became part of the Union Pacific railroad, in April 1995. Most of the remaining right of way west of Plymouth became a public recreational trail for bicycling, snowmobiling, and horseback riding.

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© Minnesota Historical Society
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  • Related Resources

Glischinski, Steve. Minnesota Railroads: A Photographic History, 1940–2012. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2012.

Grant, H. Roger. Twilight Rails: The Final Era of Railroad Building in the Midwest. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010.

Hofsommer, Don L. Minneapolis and the Age of Railways. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005.

——— . The Tootin' Louie: A History of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005.

Olson, Russell L. The Electric Railways of Minnesota. Hopkins, MN: Minnesota Transportation Museum, 1976.

Prosser, Richard S. Rails to the North Star: A Minnesota Railroad Atlas. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007.

Walker, Mike. SPV’s Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America: Dakotas & Minnesota. Canterbury, Kent, UK: Stuart Andrews, 2005.

Related Images

Black and white photograph of a Luce Line passenger train to Lake Lillian. Image is from the Lake Lillian News, ca. 1930–1939.
Black and white photograph of a Luce Line passenger train to Lake Lillian. Image is from the Lake Lillian News, ca. 1930–1939.
Black and white photograph of the first train on the Luce Line railroad crossing over the bridge at Winsted Lake, ca. 1900.
Black and white photograph of the first train on the Luce Line railroad crossing over the bridge at Winsted Lake, ca. 1900.
Black and white scan of a Luce Electric Lines, Electric Short Line Railway Company advertisement, c. 1910.
Black and white scan of a Luce Electric Lines, Electric Short Line Railway Company advertisement, c. 1910.
Black and white photograph of the Luce Line in Wirth Park, Golden Valley, Minnesota, ca. 1935–1939.
Black and white photograph of the Luce Line in Wirth Park, Golden Valley, Minnesota, ca. 1935–1939.
Color image of a  Minnesota Western diesel locomotive #51, a Fairbanks-Morse H10-44.
Color image of a  Minnesota Western diesel locomotive #51, a Fairbanks-Morse H10-44.

Turning Point

Due to financial difficulties under the ownership of the Luce family, the Electric Short Line reorganizes as the Minnesota Western on May 1, 1924.

Chronology

1908

On August 7, William. L. Luce and his son, Erle D. Luce, incorporate the Electric Short Line railroad. The portion of the route east of Glenwood Junction is the Electric Short Line Terminal Company.

1909

Construction of the new line begins.

1913

The company constructs rails from Minneapolis westward to Parkers Lake.

1915

Construction continues westward and the line reaches Hutchinson.

1917

The Luce Line builds approximately seventy-one miles of track, much later than the typical era of American railroad building and at a somewhat slower pace, however.

1923

The line reaches Cosmos and Lake Lillian.

1924

The Luce Line, under increasing financial strain, reorganizes as the Minnesota Western on May 1.

1927

The Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway purchases the Minnesota Western in December.

1942

Agricultural company Cargill acquires the Luce Line. The railroad is still managed by the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern until the Luce Line is acquired by the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway.

1947

On September 10, the last passenger train runs on the Luce Line.

1956

The Minneapolis and St. Louis railway purchases the Luce Line.

1960

The Chicago and Northwestern (C&NW) purchases the Minneapolis and St. Louis railway.

1972

The C&NW abandons the Luce Line west of Plymouth to become a recreational trail in most parts.

April 1995

The remaining portion of the Luce Line between Minneapolis and Plymouth comes under the ownership of the Union Pacific Railroad.