THE DAN PATCH RAILWAY

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DAN PATCH THE RAILROAD

The Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, and Dubuque Electric Traction Co., universally known as the Dan Patch Electric Railway, was incorporated in 1907 by Col. Marion Willis "Will" Savage of Minneapolis.  It was intended to be an electric line, but the cost was prohibitive, so the cars were gas-electric.  In fact, the line had the first gas-electric freight locomotive used by an American railroad.

The train was nicknamed the "Dan Patch" for Savage's famous racehorse (see below). Indeed the symbol of the Dan Patch Electric Line was a lightning bolt on a horseshoe.  The line originally ran from Minneapolis south to Savage's 750 acre farm in... Savage. The 1,700 acres of land he owned outside of St. Paul had been called Hamilton, but he renamed it Savage in 1904.

Construction began in 1908, and the line came to St. Louis Park in 1913, when a presentation to the Village Council was made on September 30. Representing the railroad were D.S. Smith, General Manager; Albert Graber, Engineer; and R.T. Boardman, Attorney. The line was approved by the Council with the provisions that the fare be reduced, and that steam was prohibited.

The line began at what was called Auto Club Junction, which was near the clubhouse of the Minneapolis Auto Club on the Mississippi River Bluffs.  It traveled through Edina and St. Louis Park, and ended at the juncture of Glenwood Ave. and Highways 100 and 55. 

Passenger service started in 1915. The St. Louis Park section started at Superior Blvd (394), traveling to  Cedar Lake Road, Park Manor (Dakota), Lake Street, Broadway (Walker), and Goodrich.  Stations on the middle section were set up at Foster’s Place (?), Excelsior Ave., Goodrich Ave., Lake Street, and Minnetonka Blvd. The southern leg crossed Alabama Ave., Excelsior Blvd., 41st St., 42nd St., Brookside north of the Creek and Brookside south of the Creek. There were passenger stations at Interlachen Blvd., Brookside Ave., and Division Street. A short spur ran north from behind the Brookside station.

It took 15 minutes and 5 cents to get from St. Louis Park to the passenger depot at Third Ave. No. and Seventh Street No. in Minneapolis. [In 1914, the company was ordered not to take dirt from the middle of 41st Street between Brookside and Zarthan after a request to close that road was denied.]

Although its charter called for electric lines for passenger traffic only, on June 3, 1915 the line requested permission to use steam. With or without the Council’s approval, they started to run steam trains and haul freight [1920]. The trains were noisy and left behind black, oily smoke that clung to laundry hanging in back yards.

On July 16, 1916, the line went into receivership and was reorganized as the Minneapolis, Northfield, and Southern. Passenger service was discontinued in 1942.

In 1984 [1982], the Soo Line bought the line - and the Milwaukee Road in 1985. The team track at Excelsior Blvd. was discontinued and leased to Fred G. Anderson in the 1980's. The line was purchased by Canadian Pacific in the 1980s, but even today, many people still refer to it as the Dan Patch.

Also see the article on the Dan Patch Railroad in the Re-echo.

DAN PATCH THE HORSE

Dan Patch the horse ran a mile in one minute 55¼ seconds at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on September 8, 1906, breaking the world’s record for the first of 14 times. This amazing harness-racing horse had been purchased in December 1902 by Savage, owner of the International Stock Food Company in Minneapolis. Although Mr. Savage lived in Minneapolis, Dan Patch lived like a king in Savage, in a barn called the Taj Mahal. Dan Patch died on July 11, 1916, and they say Savage died of a broken heart the next day.

Dan Patch may have had another connection to St. Louis Park. Some remember a racetrack in the vicinity of Webster/Xenwood. Mrs. Ora Baston remembers Dan Patch being trained at a track "in the heart of the Park."

A great Dan Patch web site is http://www.deckernet.com/minn/DanPatch/.  Also see the article on Dan Patch in the Re-echo.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.