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WINTHROP - A dash of history and hint of the future sparked the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Coalition's (MVRRC) Whistle Stop Tour that visited Arlington, Gaylord and Winthrop Tuesday.

The tour traveled along the Minnesota Prairie Line, which runs from Norwood-Young America west to Hanley Falls.

At the Winthrop stop, former Redwood County Commissioner and MVRRC member Gene Short provided some of the history.

He portrayed James J. Hill, known as the Empire Builder and the father of Minnesota railroads.

"If not for him (Hill), we wouldn't be here," Short said.

"I'll make my mark on the face of the earth so that no man can wipe it out," Short said quoting Hill.

"He did it with hard, intelligent work, then more work," added Short.

Rob Edwards, MVRRC Executive Director, said the Whistle Stop Tour's objective was to make people aware of the publicly-owned railroad, one of just two such railroad lines in Minnesota.

"We taxpayers own it," Edwards said. "Do we want it back in the mud like it was 16 years ago or finish upgrading it for 25-mph trains on 265,000-pound rail?"

Edwards said the rail improvement project, which is about one-fourth funded, will generate regional economic growth and development, and will provide shippers with increased efficiency and profitability.

"Winthrop is the biggest shipper on the 95-mile line between Norwood-Young America and Hanley Falls, but we want all towns on the line to replicate that," said Edwards. "It's vital. We're asking for a hand-up, not a hand-out," Edwards said.

Last year, the Coalition asked the State of Minnesota for $10 million and received $4 million for its $80 million project to upgrade the railroad from 10-mph to 25-mph trains.

The State of Minnesota recently appropriated $2.5 million for the railroad upgrade.

The Coalition is working with local and regional economic officials and state and federal legislators to allocate more project funding.

Commodities shipped on the rail line include corn, soybeans, distillers dry grain, fertilizer, ethanol, butter, lumber, canned vegetables, biodiesel, tallow, commercial and industrial salt, aggregates, kaolin clay and railcar storage.

Today, the Whistle Stop Tour has scheduled stops near the Gibbon Community Center, 8-8:20 a.m.; at the Fairfax Depot, 10:30-10:50 a.m.; near the Franklin BP station, 12:15-12:35 p.m.; near the Morton MPL shop, 1:30-1:50 p.m.; and east of the Highway 101 crossing in North Redwood, 3-3:20 p.m.

Short pointed to the visionary efforts and achievements of Hill as an example of the economic impact of railroads in the late 1800s.

Hill went into the railroad business in 1877, becoming a co-owner of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (StP&P) after it went bankrupt along with other railroads, during the Panic of 1873.

After three years of research, Hill and several other business partners bought the StP&P, expanded it and bargained for track rights with the Northern Pacific Railway. Hill got settlers to move to new homes on his rail lines by selling them wood and wheat grown as far away as Russia. He worked to hybridize Russian wheat for Dakota soil and weather conditions.

He ran experimental farms in Minnesota to develop superior livestock and crop yields to aid settlers locating near his railroads.

Short now manages the End-O-Line Park and Museum in Currie, which is located between Marshall and Slayton.

The park and museum feature a former Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Depot, water tower, caboose, country school house, family store and a Georgia Northern steam engine and coal tender.

(Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).