Mesaba Railway
Encyclopedia
The Mesaba Railway was the first and only interurban
electric transportation system on the Mesabi Range
, with its inaugural run on December 25, 1912. The track covered 30.5 miles between Gilbert, Minnesota
and Hibbing, Minnesota
with 6 cars offering hourly service between 6 a.m. and midnight, seven days a week. The cars could travel at speeds up to 40 miles per hour and offered passengers such modern conveniences as heat, smoking cars, and toilets.
The introduction of the Mesaba Railway changed life on the Iron Range
. The emergence of the interurban marked the beginning of the end for other forms of transportation including “livery stables, horses and buggies.” People now had more choices of where to live, shop, and find entertainment. Prior to its introduction, public transportation was practically non-existent and limited to horse and buggy, railroad transportation, and a few cars for the more affluent. A majority of the population lived in mining locations, which were small communities built in close proximity to the mining operations, where one could easily walk from place to place.
The last interurban passenger car operated on April 16, 1927. The Mesaba Railway Company was sold to Northland Transportation Company (later incorporated as Greyhound Lines
in 1930). The railway company went into receivership on March 7, 1924, and was sold in December 1927. All of the offices and equipment were sold to the Minnesota State Highway Department.
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
electric transportation system on the Mesabi Range
Mesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in...
, with its inaugural run on December 25, 1912. The track covered 30.5 miles between Gilbert, Minnesota
Gilbert, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,847 people, 842 households, and 495 families residing in the city. The population density was 156.7 people per square mile . There were 900 housing units at an average density of 76.3 per square mile...
and Hibbing, Minnesota
Hibbing, Minnesota
Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,361 at the 2010 census. The city was built on the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range. At the edge of town is the largest open-pit iron mine in the world. U.S...
with 6 cars offering hourly service between 6 a.m. and midnight, seven days a week. The cars could travel at speeds up to 40 miles per hour and offered passengers such modern conveniences as heat, smoking cars, and toilets.
The introduction of the Mesaba Railway changed life on the Iron Range
Iron Range
The Iron Range is a region that makes up the northeastern section of Minnesota in the United States. "The Range", as it is known by locals, is a region with multiple distinct bands of iron ore...
. The emergence of the interurban marked the beginning of the end for other forms of transportation including “livery stables, horses and buggies.” People now had more choices of where to live, shop, and find entertainment. Prior to its introduction, public transportation was practically non-existent and limited to horse and buggy, railroad transportation, and a few cars for the more affluent. A majority of the population lived in mining locations, which were small communities built in close proximity to the mining operations, where one could easily walk from place to place.
The last interurban passenger car operated on April 16, 1927. The Mesaba Railway Company was sold to Northland Transportation Company (later incorporated as Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
in 1930). The railway company went into receivership on March 7, 1924, and was sold in December 1927. All of the offices and equipment were sold to the Minnesota State Highway Department.