Buffalo Ridge Rail Authority
The Buffalo Ridge Rail Authority bought the line and Rail Equipment and Transportation, Inc. (RETI), owned by Bill Dahlin and Dirk Lenthe, were contracted to operate on the line. This line ran from Agate Junction to Manley Interchange, located 1 mile east of the South Dakota state line. The railroad was named Nobles Rock Railroad (NRR) after the two counties that the rail crosses. RETI started a re-habilitation project that lasted two years. The track speed was 10 mph. RETI closed the railroad on March 13, 1998.
NRR track rights was quickly bought and was operating under new ownership by April 1, 1998. Tim Tennant, President/CEO of Cascade Railcorp, purchased the lease on the line.
In August 1999, Cascade Railcorp also invested in two other rail lines, the Minnesota Central and the NRR Dakota Division. Both of these railroads were in trouble. The Minnesota Central was based out of Morton, Minnesota and the NRR Dakota Division was based out of White Lake, South Dakota. Both railroads needed a lot of work. By July 2000, the Dakota Division had derailment bills that totaled in excess of $1 Million. The Dakota Division had the potential to make money, but the rail needed improvement to make it profitable. Cascade Railcorp called on the State of South Dakota for assistance. The State of South Dakota was uncooperative about granting Cascade Railcorp any money to give the line a much needed rehabilitation. NRR Dakota Division subleased the track from Dakota Southern Railway for the ten months NRR Dakota Division operated. As a comparison of cost of operation, Dakota Southern Railway in the twenty-five years it operated before being sold to new owners effective Oct. 1, 2009 never had a derailment that exceeded its $25,000 retained liability. Source of the Dakota Southern information is Alex Huff, co-owner of "old" Dakota Southern.
The debts incurred in the Minnesota Central and Dakota Division were catching up with the Cascade Railcorp. In July 2000, Independent Locomotive Service of Bethel, Minnesota recalled all the locomotives leased by Cascade Railcorp. Cascade Railcorp was $100,000+ in arrears on lease payments. This stopped traffic on all three lines. In August 2000, Cascade Railcorp filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
In 2001, the Buffalo Ridge Rail Authority awarded the operational lease to Minnesota Southern Railway, owned by Brent Polanchek.
Today, the railroad is still owned by the Buffalo Ridge Regional Rail Authority, of Nobles and Rock counties and is operated by the Minnesota Southern Railway.
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Read more about this topic: Minnesota Southern Railway
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