The Rice Lake, Dallas and Menomonie Railway (RLD&M) was a railroad company based in Wisconsin, United States. It was known locally as "the Blueberry Line" due to the abundance of blueberries along its route.[1]
The RLD&M was chartered on February 9, 1893, and built a 7.52-mile long (12.10 km)[2] connection from Rice Lake to Cameron; construction began on October 16,[3] and the line began operations on February 22, 1894.[4] In the Summer of 1899, surveyors began work to extend the line from Cameron to Menomonie, with the first surveys taking place on August 23.[5] Construction continued through Barron in 1900[6] such that by the end of the year, a second line connecting Barron and Ridgeland was completed.[7] Ridgeland was as far south as the RLD&M was to reach before its absorption.[8] The RLD&M was purchased by the Soo Line in 1900,[9] then was fully absorbed by 1901.[10]
The railroad's president was George Fuller, vice president was George Morehouse Huss[11] and secretary and treasurer was J.E. Horsman.[12]
^"Railroad Rumblings". The Saint Paul Globe. July 22, 1900. p. 13. Retrieved March 30, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
^Gordon, Newton S., ed. (1922). History of Barron County, Wisconsin. Vol. 1. H.C. Cooper, Jr., & Company. p. 5. Retrieved March 30, 2016 – via Google Books.
^"Wisconsin". The Minneapolis Journal. Minneapolis, MN. October 23, 1901. p. 9. Retrieved March 30, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
Colby, Arlyn; Wundrock, Bob (2013). The Blueberry Line: the history of the Rice Lake, Dallas & Menomonie Railway. Barron, WI: Arlyn Colby. OCLC859342257.
