Links to the History of Railroads in the Northwest

The railway station at Clitherall, Minnesota, ca. 1908
Image from the Bjornaas Photograph Collection, Northwest Minnesota Historical Center

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum -- web site provides an overview of this museum in Duluth, dedicated to the history of the Lake Superior Railroad.

Minnesota Steam Locomotives -- an interesting web site that lists the locations of steam locomotives on display in Minnesota, and provides a brief description of each locomotive.

Minnesota Transportation Museum -- web site provides an overview of this museum in St. Paul, which has displays and artifacts concerning railroad history in Minnesota.

Minnesota Historical Society's Photograph Database has more than 100,000 photograph entries (many with online images), including numerous images on railroads.

Northern Pacific Railroad Bridge Construction -- this site, designed by a professor at North Dakota State University, has a photo essay of the construction of the first rail bridge to span the Missouri River in the 1880s, and how the bridge's piers have needed to be readjusted over time.

The Stockwood Fill -- another site designed by a professor at North Dakota State University, provides a photo essay of the construction of the Stockwood Fill, a complex engineering project by the Northern Pacific Railroad.  From 1906 to 1910, the Stockwood Fill project created a carefully-graded embankment for the railroad to use in traversing the steep ground of the Red River Valley.