Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad
The Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad was the first rail link between the Twin Cities and Duluth and came into existence in 1863 when financier Jay Cooke selected Duluth as the northern end of a new railroad. Lyman Dayton, a local businessman put up $10,000 of his own money to do the original surveying work and served as the railroad's president until his death in 1865.
The railroad was completed in 1870, running through the city of Carlton and running along the path of the St. Louis River to Duluth. Later that year the first passenger trains started running between the Twin Cities and Duluth.
The Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad was a victim of the Panic of 1873, as Jay Cooke's company was overextended and burdened with financial commitments to the Northern Pacific Railway. The LS&M reorganized in 1877 as the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad. It was later folded into the Northern Pacific railroad. Northern sections of the railroad were relocated but it remained in service carrying passenger traffic until the 1930’s.
The name of the railroad was revived in 1981 when a group of volunteers making up the Lake Superior Transportation Club incorporated the line and started scenic tours along the St. Louis River. Much of the route uses the original track that the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad used earlier in the century.
References
- The Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad
- Saint Paul & Duluth Railroad Company - Trustee Certificate from Jay Cooke & Co. - Minnesota 1878. Scripophily.com. Retrieved on 2006-04-20.
