The Story
The first locomotive reached Spearfish through the canyon in December 1893 on what became the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy's Spearfish Line. What began as a working line for lumber and livestock became, by the early 1900s, mainly a tourist excursion railroad — round trips ran about $2.50, dropping vacationers at fishing spots in the morning and collecting them in the afternoon. The line made its final run on May 20, 1933; three days later a major flood washed out the track and the Burlington abandoned it. US-14A was built largely along the old grade.
Surprising Facts
→ It's frequently mislabeled the "Crouch Line," but that was a different railroad in Rapid Canyon, near Rapid City.
→ A documented 1894 excursion train stopped tourists at the top of Spearfish Falls.
→ The line's final run and the flood that doomed it were only three days apart in May 1933.