The original Museum railway operated out of Stillwater, Minnesota, however urban crowding caused the railway to seek other areas for service. Invited to operate out of Osceola, Wisconsin, the railway moved in 1992, undergoing a name change to Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway.
The line itself has operating rights from Withrow, Minnesota up to Dresser, Wisconsin. Due to climate conditions, the line does not operate in winter.
Under successive railroad ownership of the rail line "right-of-way" itself, Operations are currently based in the historic 1916 Soo Line depot, owned by the Osceola Historic Society and leased to the Minnesota Transportation Museum for its rail operations.
The railway operates every weekend May through October. On alternating weekends it operates the Osceola and St. Croix Dinner Train.
Equipment
The interior of a passenger coach on the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway
The railroad uses historic diesel locomotives from its fleet of Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) locomotives. It uses a variety of passenger cars for historic presentation and tourist runs throughout the operational season. The railroad runs coach trains every weekend from mid-May through October to Marine on St. Croix (Saturdays and Sundays) and to Dresser (on Saturday).
All operational equipment is serviced at MTM's Jackson Street Roundhouse, a functional railway roundhouse constructed in 1907. The Museum has its headquarters and maintenance base co-located at JSR, which is open to the public for railroad history. Every fall, 2–3 locomotives and up to 5 cars are ferried to St. Paul for annual servicing before returning to Osceola in late spring. Over winter, the maintenance shop demonstrate the servicing and repairs, being one of the few such facilities open to the public.
Locomotives
These are the locomotives that are active or in restoration for service on the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway:
Information used in this article is provided by Minnesota Transportation Museum, St. Paul, MN and based entirely on material in MTM archives or equipment inventories of the operating division of the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway. Photos depict actual equipment in appropriate livery for the Railway.
