The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern, Serving the Northern Plains
The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, commonly known as the DM&E, is a fairly new railroad, actually very new when compared to the overall age of the railroad industry itself, and will celebrate its 22nd birthday this year. The DM&E also owns and operates the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad, commonly known as the IC&E (or simply ICE), and together they are under the holding company of Cedar American Rail Holdings (although this is basically a “paper” company and in no way manages or operates the railroads). Of note, both railroads were purchased by Canadian Pacific in September 2007. While the railroads will, for the time being, continue to operate independently it is likely only a matter of time before the D&ME becomes another fallen flag.
The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern came into existence in 1986 when the Chicago & North Western (the C&NW) decided to abandon a large chunk of its railroad in South Dakota in 1985, which at the time was quite unprofitable as nearly all of the granger railroads during that period were having a very tough time earning a profit on a region which was not only overpopulated with railroads but also losing traffic. What actually led to the DM&E’s creation was in part due to US Senator Larry Pressler who fought against the C&NW’s proposed abandonment of the South Dakota lines and won (which then led to DM&E being created to serve the routes).
When the DM&E came into existence in 1986 it was actually a quite large railroad gaining some 826 miles of railroad with another 139 miles of trackage rights, which also included other capital such as buildings, locomotives, vehicles, etc.; all from the C&NW. The rest of the DM&E’s current system comes from its purchase of the Union Pacific Railroad's Colony Line.
In all, today the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern operates a railroad of some 1,103 miles of track, with nearly 195 miles of that trackage rights. Along with operating a 1,000+-mile rail system, the DM&E also owns some 200 locomotives and 8,000 rail cars. What’s interesting about the DM&E is the fact that its IC&E subsidiary is actually larger than it is, with some 1,400 miles of track. The IC&E operates east of its parent connecting cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City.
Perhaps what the DM&E is most notable for is its recent attempt to access the lucrative Wyoming Power River Coal Basin. The process has taken a decade and construction has yet to begin. Worse for the railroad is the fact that recently its requested federal loan of some $2.3 billion to fund the project was denied by the FRA. The DM&E has stated that it has private backers to fund the project so it shall be interesting to see what the next move will be by the railroad, particularly with the CP now involved.
Currently the DM&E rosters entirely EMDs, ranging from Geeps to six-axle SDs. Below is a listing of locomotives currently active on their roster:
The Dakota Minnesota and Eastern Railroad Roster
#1463-1484 - EMD GP9
#3800-3803 - EMD GP38
#3830-3835 - EMD GP38-3
#4000-4006 - EMD GP40
#6601-6621 - EMD SD9
#544-560 - EMD SD10
#6056-6067 - EMD SD40
#6200-6370 - EMD SD40-2
#6050-6055 and #6068-6097 - EMD SD40-3
#5000 - EMD SD50-3
Even if the DM&E is not successful in accessing the lucrative Wyoming coal basin it is still amazing that such a profitable railroad has been possible from trackage that was disregarded and nearly abandoned twenty years ago.
For more reading on Regionals like the DM&E consider the book Regional Railroads of the Midwest by Steve Glischinksi. Along with featuring the DM&E other Regionals covered in the book include the "Chicago Central Pacific; Escanaba Lake Superior; Iowa Interstate Railroad; Iowa, Chicago Eastern; Indiana Rail Road; Kyle Railroad; Red River Valley Western; Twin Cities Western; Toledo, Peoria Western; Wisconsin Central; and Wisconsin Southern" with plenty of photographs and information about each. If you have an interest in smaller carriers like Regionals, and/or are interested in learning more about their operations, you will almost surely enjoy the book.
