THE OFFICIAL WEBPAGE
OF ROBERT D. WEST
Minot, North Dakota is the Ward County seat and has a population of about 35,000 people, with an additional 10,000 living at nearby Minot Air Force Base. Lewis and Clark spent the Winter of 1804-1805 with Native Americans near present-day Minot. Minot is located in the Souris River (AKA Mouse River) Valley, and the original downtown is just above the river's flood plain. In 1969, a winter flood forced 15,000 Minot residents from their homes.
Minot is a railroad town, and much of its early growth is a result of the arrival of railroads. The city gained the nickname "Magic City" because the city seemed to grow like magic after the railroad arrived. Minot was officially named by Great Northern Railway President James J. Hill for Great Northern executive Henry D. Minot, a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt.
Today, Minot is served by the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, the Canadian Pacific Railwayand Amtrak. While railroad employment in Minot has fallen from over 2500 in 1955 to about 200 today, the railroads are still a driving factor in the local economy.
Old Soo Line Depot
This historic depot
was built in 1912 and once served the Minneapolis, St.
Paul & Sault Ste Marie Railroad, or Soo Line, which is now part of the
Canadian Pacific Railway. This depot is no longer owned by the
railroad. It is located in Minot's historic downtown district and houses
the Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum.
New Amtrak Depot
This depot is the one currently served by
Amtrak.
It is located just west of the old Soo Line depot, on the opposite side
of the U.S. Highway 83 overpass. This depot was originally built
in 1910 by the Great Northern Railway. A major renovation in 1975
replaced the original gabled roof with a flat roof, covered the original
brick with stucco and remodeled the interior. Here Amtrak's Empire Builder can be
seen making its station stop. Just to the north of the depot, on
the other side of the tracks and past some trees, is the Souris River.
BNSF-CP Crossing
Just to the west of the
Amtrak station, and visible
from its platform, is crossing of the
Burlington Northern-Santa
Fe
Railroad and the
Canadian Pacific Railway. In this photo, Amtrak's
Empire Builder is stopped on the BNSF track and the freight train
crossing in front of it is on the CP track. This crossing is the
busiest rail crossing in the state of North Dakota. The building
visible behind the Canadian Pacific freight train is the
Minot Public
Library.
More Pictures
Pictures of trains in Minot
Minot Links
Minot Convention & Visitor's Bureau
Minot Depot at Great American Stations
Also See:
PLACES - Stevens Pass, Washington
PLACES - Illinois Railway Museum, Union, Illinois
PLACES - Antique Powerland, Brooks, Oregon
All website content, including graphics and pictures are © Robert D. West unless otherwise noted. Content is not to be used out of the context of this webpage without expressed permission. Any opinions expressed herein are mine and are not necessarily shared by the Milwaukee School of Engineering, or anyone else.
Questions? Comments? Critiques? Corrections? Concerns? Email me at westr@msoe.edu.