Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad

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Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad
File:Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad logo.png
New paint (14818186188).jpg
Freshly-painted EMD SD40-2 No. 3423 in Rapid City in 2014
Overview
HeadquartersRapid City, South Dakota
Reporting markRCPE
LocaleMinnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming
Dates of operation2014 (2014)–Present
PredecessorCanadian Pacific Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Other
WebsiteOfficial website

Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (reporting mark RCPE) is a Class II railroad operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming and Nebraska. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming. The primary commodities shipped are grain, clay, and cement.[1] Operations began on June 1, 2014.[2]

History

The Genesee & Wyoming, a holding company of mostly shortline railroads, formed the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern to acquire the western end of the former Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) rail line from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The RCPE and DM&E entered an agreement on January 2, 2014, wherein RCPE would acquire 670 miles of track and 219 miles of trackage rights from the DM&E.[3] The acquisition was completed on May 30, 2014, for $210 million. Most of its employees came over from the DM&E.[4] Operations began on June 1, 2014.

The State of South Dakota partnered with the RCPE to enhance rail service and keep agricultural commodities moving to market.[5] In 2021, the RCPE received state and federal funding totalling US$42 million to upgrade 163 miles of rail between Fort Pierre and Rapid City.[6] This project updated that portion of the line with 136 pound continuous welded rail.[7] This increased the weight capacity of rail cars from 263,000-pound to 286,000-pound and the speed limit from 10 mph to a minimum of 25 mph.[7]

Route

The Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern owns 670 miles (1,078 km) of track. The main line runs between Tracy, Minnesota, and Rapid City, South Dakota, with branches north to Colony, in Crook County, Wyoming, and south to Dakota Junction, Nebraska.[8] Much of the main line from Tracy to Rapid City is paralleled by U.S. Route 14. The route travels the length of the state from the eastern border with Minnesota, to the western border with Wyoming, crossing the Missouri river at Pierre.[9]

  • Huron Subdivision, Tracy to Huron, South Dakota - 136 miles
  • Pierre Subdivision, Huron to Pierre. - 118 miles
  • PRC Subdivision, Pierre to Rapid City - 170 miles
  • Black Hills Subdivision, Crawford to Colony/Dakota Junction (Formerly known as the Crawford Subdivision for DM&E)

There are three short branches as well:

There are interchanges with the BNSF Railway at Wolsey, South Dakota, Crawford, Nebraska, and Florence, Minnesota. The interchange with the Canadian Pacific is at Tracy, Minnesota. The RCPE has trackage rights from Tracy to Mankato, Minnesota on the CPR, where there is an interchange with the Union Pacific Railroad.[3] The RCPE also has trackage rights over the BNSF Railway between Yale, SD to Watertown, South Dakota, and Wolsey, South Dakota to Aberdeen, South Dakota.[3][4]

Operations

Customers on the line ship approximately 64,000 carloads annually of grain, bentonite clay, ethanol, fertilizer and other products.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Nord, James - Rail funding expected to fuel job growth, development. Rapid City Journal, November 2, 2015
  2. ^ Stegl, Jeff - Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad aims to become engrained in South Dakota's agricultural products network Prorgessive Railroading, September 2014
  3. ^ a b c Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad, Inc.-Acquisition and Operation Exemption Including Interchange Commitment-Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corporation The Federal Register. March 27, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Blanchard, Roy (April 2015). "Daring to be different". Trains. 75 (4): 25–31.
  5. ^ Mall, Scott - FreightWaves Classics/Infrastructure: New railroad sidings opened in South Dakota FreightWaves, Friday July 8, 2022
  6. ^ Thompson, Nathan - RCP&E railroad project receives $42 million in funding from state, feds Rapid City Journal, November 30, 2021
  7. ^ a b RCP&E Railroad to upgrade main line in South Dakota. Progressive Railroading, November 23, 2021
  8. ^ Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCPE)
  9. ^ a b c d Official South Dakota Rail Map. South Dakota Department of Transportation, June 2021

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad.
Preceded by Regional Railroad of the Year
2019 		Succeeded by
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