Progressive Rail, Inc.

{{Short description|American shortline railroad owner}} {{Infobox rail |railroad_name=Progressive Rail, Inc. |marks=PGR | gauge={{Track gauge|ussg|allk=on}} |logo_filename=Prorail.png |logo_size=200 |locale=Minnesota<br>Wisconsin<br>Missouri |start_year=1996 |end_year=present |length= |hq_city=Lakeville, Minnesota |website=[http://www.progressiverail.com/ Progressive Rail, Inc.]<br>[http://www.prorailspecialized.com/ Progressive Rail Specialized Logistics] |system_map=PGR Map.png| |map_size=300px }} {{redirect|Cannon Valley Railroad|the abandoned Cannon Valley railroad line|Cannon Valley Trail#History|the closed heritage railroad|List of heritage railroads in the United States#Minnesota{{!}}Northfield & Cannon Valley Railroad}}

'''Progressive Rail Inc.''' {{reporting mark|PGR}} is a shortline railroad and owner of several other shortlines. PGR is directly operating several separate branches in Minnesota including the Airlake Terminal Railway. Progressive Rail also acquired the Wisconsin Northern Division in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and operates as a separately-named division. They also own the '''Chicago Junction Railroad''', '''Clackamas Valley Railway''', the '''Iowa Traction Railway''' and '''Iowa Southern Railway''' in Iowa, the '''Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railroad''' in Illinois, the '''St. Paul & Pacific Northwest Railroad''', and the '''Wisconsin Northern Railroad'''.

Progressive Rail is also known as the '''Cannon Valley Railroad''' {{reporting mark|CVRC}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.up.com/customers/shortline/profiles_a-c/cvrc/index.htm |title = UP: Cannon Valley Rail Co. CVRC #186}}</ref>

The PGR branches are listed as follows: * Transload Industrial Park (Airlake Terminal Railway) - Lakeville, Minnesota * The "High Line" (a.k.a. Dan Patch Line) - Bloomington, Minnesota, Richfield, Minnesota, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Service begins at Auto Club Yard in Bloomington and serves a variety of industries * The "Jesse James Line" - Northfield to Lakeville, leased CP Rail trackage<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.progressiverail.com/maps/minnesota/JesseJamesLine.pdf |title=Jesse James Line|website=progressiverail.com|access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref> * Northfield to Faribault, Minnesota via leased Union Pacific and CP Rail trackage * Northfield to Cannon Falls, Minnesota, with service to the Great Western Industrial Park in Randolph, Minnesota. * Eagandale Industrial line (Eagan, Minnesota) via leased CP Rail trackage (former Milwaukee Road) * Santa Cruz Branch - Davenport to Watsonville, California (operating with the Santa Cruz, Big Trees, and Pacific Railway as a subcontractor) [[Image:Progressive-rail-03.jpg|thumb|left|Progressive Rail train in Northfield, Minnesota]]

==History== Headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota (a southern suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul), Progressive Rail, Inc. was established in 1996 to initially serve the Airlake Industrial Park. In 2001, they leased the former Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway "High Line" in Bloomington and Richfield and started restoring trackage.<ref>{{cite news |first=Sam |last=Black |title=Progressive Rail buys Southwest Line |work=Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal |date=August 26, 2001 |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2001/08/27/story7.html |access-date=July 8, 2012}}</ref> The company's philosophy has been to provide service that a large railway chooses not to provide. They have also focused on economic development, including finding new customers, and working on regaining former rail customers along their lines. This strategy has paid off in an increase in traffic, from 600 carloads in their first year of operation to more than 5000 carloads in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jake |last=Weyer |title=Short-rail line tracks growth |work=Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal |date=March 23, 2003 |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2003/03/24/smallb1.htm |access-date=July 8, 2012}}</ref>

Major commodities include resins, chemicals, fuels, lumber, gypsum board, cement, fly-ash, metals, paper, machinery, food and kindred products, scrap material, and consumer products.

Progressive Rail, Inc. also operates wholly owned subsidiary '''Progressive Rail Specialized Logistics''', which provides rail logistics services for machinery and over-dimensional freight shippers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.prorailspecialized.com/ |title=Progressive Rail Specialized Logistics official site |access-date=2006-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714235052/http://www.prorailspecialized.com/ |archive-date=2006-07-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Locomotive roster== {| class="wikitable" !Locomotive model !Road number |- |rowspan="7"|EMD SW1500 |34 |- |36 |- |37 |- |38 |- |67 |- |74 |- |2347 |- |EMD SD39 |40 |- |rowspan="2"|EMD SD40-2 |41 |- |43 |- |EMD SD38-2 |42 |- |rowspan="2"|EMD GP15-1 |1500 |- |1501 |- |EMD GP40-2 |6211 |} <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thedieselshop.us/ProgressiveRail.HTML |title = Progressive Rail}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Portal|Railways}} * [http://www.progressiverail.com/ Progressive Rail, Inc. official site] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060714235052/http://www.prorailspecialized.com/ Progressive Rail Specialized Logistics official site] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120613191514/http://www.progressiverail.com/locomotives.html Current locomotive roster] * [http://www.uprr.com/customers/shortline/lines/pro.shtml Union Pacific shortline customer description] * [http://www8.cpr.ca/cms/English/Customers/New+Customers/Where+We+Ship/Rail+Partners+Profiles/Progressive+Rail+-+PGR.htm?PrintMe=1 Canadian Pacific shortline customer description] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050827202010/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~rrclubum/pgr.htm University of Minnesota Railroad Club]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Progressive Rail Inc.}} Category:Minnesota railroads Category:Railway companies established in 1996 Category:Switching and terminal railroads