 Stanley, ND | Empire Builder | Rugby, ND  |
Minot is an intermediate stop and service stop (crew change point) on the Empire Builder as it crosses North Dakota and has had some of the worst luck in recent years. The single story station was originally built in 1905. In 1975 it was 'modernized' with an ugly blue and stucco exterior. In 2008 a restoration project began to rebuild the station and return it to something more resembling its original appearance. The brickwork outside the station and gabled roof were restored. The waiting room was modernized with mainly modern benches but neat wood and grillwork around the ticket office and baggage check window (that includes a modern opening for baggage). The new renovated station hosted a ribbon on December 9, 2010.
After just 4 months disaster struck the modernized station in late June 2011 from the flooding of the Souris River that extensively flooded Minot including causing major damage to the station building and platform. It also caused extensive track damage and the Empire Builder was curtailed into two distinctive shorter sections, a western section between Havre, MT and Portland/Seattle and an eastern section between St. Paul and Chicago. No train service operated at the height of summer for the 952 miles across the northern plains. Continuous train service was finally restored across North Dakota the evening of July 18 (trains running in each direction). The damage to the Minot station and platform prohibited passengers from getting off and on (although a stop was still made for the crew change) and passengers going to Minot had to travel an extra 54 miles west to Stanley or 81 miles east to Rugby. Passenger service to Minot was November 15, 2011 with a temporary waiting room and ticket office opening in the baggage area. In April 2013 the waiting room and ticket office were finally restored and baggage service at Minot fully resumed.
Photos 1-4 taken on 13 July, 2006, 5-19 on 28 June, 2013
