Lakes Subdivision

BNSF Railway Lakes Subdivision

Legend to Duluth, Minnesota 5.4 mi Superior 7.6 54th Street 8.8 Central Avenue 9.4 M&J Junction 10.3 Saunders 12.6 Boylston, Wisconsinto Hinckley Subdivision Wisconsin/Minnesota border 34.0 Chub Lake, Minnesota 35.0 Carlton Junctionto Brainerd Subdivision 41.1 Cloquet 50.0 Draco 57.7 Brookstonto Casco Subdivision 75.6 Floodwood 82.2 Island 92.1 Swan River 101.0 Philbin 108.4 Gunnto Casco Subdivision 112.1 Grand Rapids 118.5 Cohasset 125.7 Deer River 132.8 Ball Club 152.9 Schley 164.9 Cass Lake, Minnesota west to Grand Forks Subdivision

The Lakes Subdivision or Lakes Sub is a railway line operated by BNSF Railway that runs about 157 miles (253 km) from the Grand Forks Subdivision at Cass Lake, Minnesota, to Superior, Wisconsin, where there are a number of lines. U.S. Highway 2 runs parallel to the line for most of its route. U.S. 2 continues across the St. Louis River east of Brookston, while the rail line stays on the southern bank of the river. Prior to the creation of BNSF, the line was operated by the Burlington Northern Railroad as part of their Lake Superior Division.^[1] Today, it is operated by BNSF's Twin Cities Division.

BNSF's Casco Subdivision to Hibbing connects to the Lakes Sub on both ends, at Gunn near Grand Rapids and at Brookston. The Lakes Sub also has a junction with the Brainerd Subdivision at Carlton and the Hinckley Subdivision at Boylston in Wisconsin.^[1][2]

As of 2009, the line carried about seven trains per day which primarily had loads of coal and taconite.^[2]

References

1. C.F. Tye (1995). "Lake Superior Division: Timetable No. 3 – In Effect at 0001 Central Continental Time, Sunday April 25, 1995" (PDF). Burlington Northern Railroad. Retrieved October 6, 2010. Republished by Friends of the Burlington Northern Railroad
2. Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (July 31, 2009). "Freight Rail Supply and Demand – Draft technical memorandum #2" (PDF). Minnesota Comprehensive Statewide Freight and Passenger Rail Plan. Minnesota Department of Transportation. pp. 3–4–3–6, B–6 – B–10. Retrieved October 6, 2010.

The BN Lake Superior Division Timetable No. 3 contains an error on page 5 in reference to the Cloquet MP, Diamond Match Spur. Although this spur has been defunct for at least the last 18 years, the MP designation should correctly have read 39.6 (or 39.7 as it reads on page 4) NOT 36.6. This may be less of a typographical error than an error in the predecessor document from which the 1995 version was compiled. There was a spur at 36.6 that allowed access to a gravel pit parallel to the railway line between Scanlon and Carlton Minn. The last remnants of this spur were removed in approximately 1985 when Burlington Northern removed the dual track on that corridor leaving only the one line. The designator 36.6 seemed to be a reference to this gravel pit spur that in the 1995 recension was inadvertently ascribed to the then-existing Diamond Match Co. spur in Cloquet, Minn. It would be interesting to compare this 1995 edition with its vorlage. Incidentally, the PDF URL for footnote number 1 should read SUNDAY APRIL 2, 1995 -not- Sunday April 25, 1995. April 25, 1995 was a Tuesday that year. (redactor MW 25 June 2016)