This route was originally conceived as a competitive countermeasure to the steamship lines operating along the Red River. Chartered as the Red River Valley Railroad in 1875, the proposed line ran from Fisher's Landing to Breckenridge, parallel to the Red River and offering a cheaper alternative to steamship travel. Construction started later that year and reached Barnesville by 1879.
Meanwhile, the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad built separately north out of Breckenridge and into Barnesville in 1877.
Both railroads had come under control of the Red River & Manitoba Railway by 1889; as a result, the Breckenridge-Barnesville portion became obsolete and was abandoned in 1890. Beyond that, the portion of the line north out of Barnesville to Beltrami was abandoned in stages, with the last portion between Ada and Beltrami abandoned due to flooding in 2006. Here is a rough timeline:
Breckenridge Barnesville Downer Glyndon Felton Ada Beltrami
1877 |--- StP&P -----|------------ Red River Valley Railroad -----------|
1889 |---------------Red River & Manitoba Railway-----------------------|
1890 |...abandoned...|--------------------------------------------------|
1970 |--------- Burlington Northern Railroad -----------|
1974 |-----------|.abandoned.|--------------------------|
1981 |.abandoned.| |--------------------------|
1990 |--------|.aband..|--------|
2004 |.aband..| |--------|
2006 |.aband..|
Today, the northern portion of the line from Beltrami to Grand Forks is still in operation via the Minnesota Northern Railroad and BNSF Railway.
