The Story Of The Lost Train Of Pine City Is An Unforgettable Minnesota Urban Legend
By Betsy Rathburn|Published November 04, 2020
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Betsy Rathburn
Author
Betsy is a Minneapolis-based writer who's lived in Minnesota for 20 years. If you know of any amazing Minnesota restaurants, nature areas, or other attractions, feel free to let her know about them at brathburn@onlyinyourstate.com or on Twitter @betsyrathburn.
Here in Minnesota, more than a few urban legends have made the rounds in every region of the state. Stories of extraterrestrial encounters, bigfoot sightings, and haunted roads, are the subject of many stories. Some of these stories, like the 1979 UFO encounter in Marshall County, are commonly told. Others, like the story we’d like to share today, are known only among locals. Though it’s not well known, it’s still a fascinating story with a decades-old mystery that remains unsolved to this day. Read on below to learn about the lost train of Pine City, Minnesota.
The legend of the lost train of Pine City, Minnesota, is centered on Devils Lake, a small but deep lake not far from downtown Pine City. Though it’s only 18 acres in area, its water reaches depths of 80 feet.
As the story goes, long ago at train plunged into the deep waters of Devils Lake, never to be recovered. But is the story true?
There is some happenstance that supports the legend. Trains have traveled around the perimeter of the lake for more than a century, ever since the railroad was put in during the 1800s.
At that time, during the railroad’s infancy, crashes and derailments were more commonplace than they are today. It was so commonplace, in fact, that such incidents were not always reported to authorities or covered in the news.
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Because of the possibility of unreported derailments, it’s theoretically possible that a train may have slipped into the water unnoticed.
An 1889 article in the Pine City Pioneer gives the lost train claim even more veracity: the author wrote about the poor conditions of the railroad around the lake, noting the significant movement of the rails.
But as with any urban legend, there’s another side to the story. If there’s really a train stuck at the bottom of Devils Lake, why hasn’t anyone found it?
In 2016, a team of divers made two separate dives in Devils Lake, on a mission to find the lost train once and for all. But both dives were unsuccessful.
Poor visibility in the lake made it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. Prodding the bottom with long poles also turned up no results.
But that does not mean the legend is untrue. Much of the lake is still unexplored. It is also theorized that the train could be stuck several feet beneath the mud, or in a part of the lake not yet explored.
Until another way is devised to search the lake, there may be no real answers to the legend of the lost train of Pine City. All we can do is wait for more evidence to arise. What do you believe?
For more information about the lost train of Pine City, check out this article to learn more about the legend’s origins, and this article to learn more about modern searches.
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