The Fairmont and Veblen Railway was chartered in 1913 and built a railway line between Fairmont, North Dakota, southward to Rosholt, South Dakota, then westward to Veblen that same year. The following year, the line was extended southward to Grenville.
The Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Sault Ste Marie Railway, known as the Soo Line Railroad, purchased the line in 1915 and continued operations over it.
In 1971, the Soo Line abandoned the end portion of the line between Veblen and Grenville. Then, in 2000, the Soo Line submitted for abandonment the new end portion of the line between Rosholt and Veblen. Before approval, however, the Sunflour Railroad purchased that section of the line; the section between Claire City and Veblen was abandoned in 2012.