Crews rehabilitated a total 42.6-miles of track from Chamberlain to Presho, S.D., on a segment of the Milwaukee Road’s original Mitchell to Rapid City, S.D., main line.
The project called for replacing about 1,300 ties per mile, replacing rail, repairing bridges and culverts, and re-leveling most of the right-of-way. Crews also replaced ties, walkways posts and planks, and inspection planks on a bridge spanning the Missouri River. The bridge was the longest on the Milwaukee Road’s system, spanning a distance of more than three-quarters of a mile.
The $40 million Kennebec grain loading facility was built after state officials committed to rebuilding the rail line. The facility includes a shuttle loader capable of handling 80,000 bushels of grain per hour, a 115-car loop track and overall storage capacity of more than 4 million bushels.
The rehabilitation of the route was funded through $14.2 million in state funding, a $12.8 federal transportation grant and $1 million from local farmers.
BNSF Railway delivered the first 115-car train to the short line railroad’s interchange in mid-October. It was the first time a train had operated on the line since 2007. The Longview, Wash.,-bound soybean train featured run-through BNSF power, including GE C44-9W No. 4156 and ES44C4 No. 7155 leading and distributed power GE C44-9W No. 4148 assisting.
The number of trains serving the facility each week will vary on the time of year and grain markets.
This is the second time the state and Dakota Southern have partnered on a track rehabilitation project. In 2011, a federal grant helped finance a $28 million project to rebuild more than 60 miles of track between Mitchell and Chamberlain. The line’s reopening facilitated construction of the $32 million Gavilon-Liberty Grain LLC terminal in Kimball.
what is the history of the SD-7 ?
Don’t hold your breath waiting for “special train service” to the Black Hills area – either the entire ex-MILW line between Presho and Rapid City would have to be rebuilt, or trains would have to go via the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern, which line itself needs a lot of rehabilitating between Fort Pierre and Rapid City.
Special train service to Mount Rushmore and Sturgis during bike week.
Very good news indeed!
This is great news! Dakota Southern also has the Napa to Platte, South Dakota line. It would be interesting to know the latest on that line. Became a fan of it after reading Rick VanZee’s “Rails through the Grass.”