Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company

Scale: HO

“The Lakeland Route”. The Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company is a standard gauge short line railroad located in central Minnesota. This freelance railroad is an east-west bridge route connecting the Great Northern Railway on the east end, the Chicago North Western at the mid-point, the Milwaukee Road on the west end and the Chicago Great Western on a branch line that runs to Randolph, Minnesota from Northfield, Minnesota. The layout’s towns reflect a Midwest flavor and consist of many scratchbuilt buildings. Locomotives consist of 1st generation Alco EMD diesels and Fairbanks Morris switch engines decorated with the company’s blue, orange, and white paint scheme. The M&N’s rolling stock is a mix of super detailed, ready-to-run, kit-bashed and some scratchbuilt cars that are all based on prototype photos. The railroad is based loosely on the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern and is designed for operations.

Era/Locale: 1955, Central Minnesota
Size: 785 square feet
Benchwork: 100%
Track: 100%
Scenery: 100%

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From Minnesota Digital Library:

“The growth of Minnesota can be tied directly to the growth of railroads. The railroads supported farmers, millers, miners, and loggers by moving the raw materials they produced to sell at markets. In turn, the railroads brought other goods and products to the people to build their homes, businesses, and towns. Railroads also brought immigrants to settle the land and provided jobs and income to laborers and investors.

Three of Minnesota’s major railroads were the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, and the Soo Line. While these three were not the only railroads that operated in Minnesota, they had a major impact on the state.

The U.S. Congress chartered the Northern Pacific Railway in 1864 to build a transcontinental railroad from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast. When it was completed in 1883, the railroad had laid nearly 6,800 miles of track through Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Its headquarters were in St. Paul, Minnesota.”

From ThievesRiver.com:

1) Uff da

Background: A Scandinavian import, particularly from Norwegian, “uff da” is widely used to express dismay, exhaustion or sometimes even relief. It embodies the stoic yet expressive nature of Minnesotans.

Example: “Uff da! I forgot my wallet at the cabin. Now I can’t pay for the meat raffle tickets, gosh darn it!”

2) You Betcha

Background: This phrase epitomizes the friendly and positive attitude of Minnesotans. It’s often said with enthusiasm and is used to mean “absolutely” or “you can count on it.”

Example: “Do you want to come to the hockey game this weekend? Grain Belts are on me!” – “You betcha!”

Read more at ThievesRiver.com