Stillwater’s first railroad was completed on a chilly day in December 1870, giving area residents fast, reliable, and economical transportation from the bustling river town to destinations throughout the region. After its 127 miles of track to White Bear Lake were finished, the line was immediately leased to the Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad for passenger and freight service, and after several lease changes Northern Pacific purchased the track in 1900 and operated it for the next 70 years. In the late 1800s, railroads crisscrossed the region with depots in large and small towns, making train travel easy, but by the 1950s passenger demand declined as buses and automobiles became preferred, and trucks also drew freight business away. In 1982, Northern Pacific abandoned the section from Duluth Junction to White Bear Lake, and a year later donated the section from Duluth Junction to Stilwater to the Minnesota Transportation Museum. The remaining Stillwater-Duluth Junction track found new life when the museum leased it to the Minnesota Zephyr Dinner Train in 1987; the five-course, white-linen train was successful, carried 20,000 passengers in its third year, and remained a popular attraction until its last trip on New Year’s Eve in 2008. In 1012, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources purchased the property and converted it to Brown’s Creek State Trail.