Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Born on September 5, 1986, the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad—usually rendered DM&E and marked DME—took over former Chicago & North Western routes in South Dakota and Minnesota. From its Sioux Falls, South Dakota headquarters, this regional freight carrier gave a second act to prairie rails that larger systems had been prepared to leave behind.

DM&E’s network reached from Rapid City across Pierre, Huron, and Brookings toward Minnesota, with later additions extending into Nebraska and Wyoming. Grain, clay, cement, lumber, and other practical cargoes kept the railroad moving. Not glamorous, perhaps, but a boxcar full of grain has never needed glamour to make an entrance.

In 2002, DM&E acquired the assets of I&M Rail Link and launched the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad. The affiliated lines were managed together through Cedar American Rail Holdings, creating a broad regional system linking Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, and the northern plains.

Canadian Pacific announced its purchase of DM&E in September 2007. After federal approval, Canadian Pacific assumed control on October 30, 2008, ending DM&E’s independent operating era. Later, in 2014, former DM&E lines west of Tracy, Minnesota became part of the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern.

Our Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad collection celebrates the stubbornly handsome regional railroad that kept old routes alive, hauled the unflashy essentials, and proved the plains still had plenty of iron in their veins.