Brainerd, MN: BNSF/Northern Pacific Railyard, Shops & Roundhouse and Lost Depot

Railyard: (Satellite, most of the land has been repurposed)

Shops:  (Satellite)

Roundhouse: (Satellite)

Depot: (Satellite)

While studying the railroad bridges in this town, I noticed that Brainerd was a railroad hub for the Northern Pacific.

Brainerd City Directory 1888, E. F. Barrett, Publisher via CrowWingHistory
"The first manufacturing establishment of any extent to be inaugurated in the City of Brainerd was the Northern Pacific shops. They are the largest and most complete of any similar works in Minnesota....The buildings south of the track are devoted to the Locomotive Repair Works. North of the Duluth main track lie the buildings belonging to the Car Department which at present are devoted to freight equipment exclusively."
[The referenced web page has a more complete description of each building.]
Tim Starr posted
Ann Nelson made a very nice keyed map of the Northern Pacific shops at Brainerd MN. (Crow Wing Historical Society)

I used this topo map to find what railroad used the bridges (Northern Pacific). That is when I noticed that this was probably a town created by the railroad ant that it had shops as well as a railyard.

1918 Brainerd Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

CrowWingHistory

Raymond Storey posted

Saving an image because you don't know how long it will last.

Satellite

Jeremy Jackson posted nine photos with the comment: "Here are some digitally colorized photos of the Brainerd Northern Pacific Railroad Shops. 19th century photos courtesy of the Crow Wing County Historical Society, and July 1963 images copyright NPRHA. All Rights Reserved."

Jeremie Bridge: Justin Horsman , does it look the same?

Fert Faust: Jeremie Bridge, the place DOES look amazingly the same, but mostly on the exterior. Most interiors are now shopping spaces, specialty food outlets, a restaurant, and LARGE event venues. Quite the hub of activity on that south side of the tracks as the Northern Pacific Center, a private enterprise. North of the tracks is now BNSF, still an active railroad.

Jeffery J Nordby: So many good paying jobs why did they close?

Jay Jordan: Jeffery J Nordby I can tell you part of the story but I would be ruffling quite a few feathers in the community. In short modern railroading requires less and less maintenance because improvements in technology and materials resulted in less need for repair work needing to be done. Northern Pacific had 3 major car repair facilities on line. With mergers and better quality rolling stock most repair facilities became redundant and were shut down. The timing and location of which shop to close was done by top management. That is where a lot of the other factors came to play in deciding which shop to close.

When the new shop was completed in 49 it was considered state of the art.

Tom Lyman shared with the comment: "NP Rwy. Brainerd, MN shops."

Although they may last because at least the Blacksmith Main building is being used.

Photo, Apr 2020

27:56 viddeo @ 22:21

.

Depot

Denny Olson posted
Jeffrey Rademacher: What year did they tear it down ?
Fert Faust: Jeffrey Rademacher, 1968. Frank McCarthy video of the demo, posted earlier:
Tom Lyman posted
NP Rwy. Brainerd MN.

Embedded 1:19 Frank McCarthy video in a comment by Fert Faust on a post of the demolition of the depot.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Tom's share [AR1VBZ000010034]
I appears the land is now occupied by a strip mall,
 https://www.google.com/.../@46.357737.../data=!3m1!1e3... (1954 aerial)