With roster by Randy Keller
Minnesota Commercial (MNNR) is a short line that began its current operations with the lease of Minnesota Transfer Railroad in February 1987. MNNR serves the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn., area with lines branching out in several directions. Minnesota Commercial interchanges with every Class 1 railroad in the Twin Cities: BNSF Railway, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and Union Pacific, as well as regional Twin Cities & Western. The road’s roster has been and continues to be an interesting mix of diesel locomotives from a variety of builders and railroads. Across these pages are views from the late 1980s to contemporary era.
ABOVE: MNNR 63 at Minneapolis, Minn., on March 11, 2000. Alco’s C-424 was a common example on Minnesota Commercial’s roster with veterans from multiple sources. —Tom Farrell photo, Kevin EuDaly collection
ABOVE: MNNR 100 at Stillwater, Minn., on August 19, 1991, and Minneapolis, Minn., on August 11, 1993. This EMD NW2 served Elgin, Joliet & Eastern beginning in mid-1949 as its 441. This paint scheme shares the general design of Minnesota Commercial’s red-and-white look, but swaps those colors for olive and yellow. —Jim Shepard photos, Randy Keller collection
ABOVE: MNNR 81 at Minneapolis, Minn., on May 6, 1999, this unit was built by Montreal Locomotive Works as Canadian Pacific RS-18 8771. —Alan Miller photo above, both Kevin EuDaly collection
ABOVE: MNNR 1971 at Minneapolis, Minn., on March 11, 2000. As its fresh paint suggests, this B23-7 was a recent addition to Minnesota Commercial’s roster at the time of this photo. This four-axle GE was bought by Conrail as its 1971, and went over to Norfolk Southern (as PRR/NS 4060) before moving to MNNR. —Tom Farrell photo, Kevin EuDaly collection