St. Paul Union

Company History: The SPUD was completed in 1923, replacing an earlier facility that burned in 1915. Construction was halted during America’s involvement in The Great War. As the name implies, the facility served nine railroads in St. Paul, Minnesota. In total, the facility had more than nine miles of track. There were nine platforms with tracks on each side. Although 10 of the 18 tracks ran through, the railroads that served the Depot all approached from one side or the other and therefore either backed in or out, even on the through tracks. At it’s peak in the 1920s, there were 282 arrivals and departures per day. Since 1941, a GE 44-tonner switched the line. The creation of Amtrak in 1971 brought an end to the show. Amtrak consolidated their Twin Cities stops at the Great Northern station in Minneapolis. The buildings were repurposed (including as condos) but there was support for someday bringing trains back to the SPUD. With renovations completed in 2012, SPUD became a hub for the city’s light rail line and Amtrak’s Empire Builder returned two years later. With no switching to do, the 44-tonner remains a thing of the past.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.