MNVA

Company History: MNVA opened in 1984 as the designated operator of a 94 mile former Minneapolis & St. Louis line from Hanley Falls to Norwood, Minnesota. M&StL’s successor Chicago & North Western had sold the line to the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority after announcing plans to abandon it in 1982. MNVA later purchased the line outright. MNVA’s operation also included 42 miles of trackage rights on C&NW between Norwood and Minneapolis. Traffic included grain and other farm products, lumber and kaolin. The diesel fleet included six GP9’s, a pair of NW2’s, and one each of SD35, SD7 and SD24. The operation lasted a bit over ten years before being sold to Minnesota Central in 1994.

Successor/Parent History: The MCTA was established in 1994 to take over the 94 mile former Minneapolis & St. Louis line between Norwood and Hanley Falls, Minnesota from the previous operator MNVA Railroad. The track is owned by the Minnesota Valley Regional Railroad Authority. MCTA didn’t have much more luck with this route than MNVA did and in 2000 they withdrew as operator. The track sat idle for 2 years before a subsidiary of Twin Cities & Western took up the challenge.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.