The New Prague mill was first established in 1896. Miller Milling took over the mill in the 1980s. In 2012, Miller became a part of the Nisshin Seifun Group of Japan. The company says the age and location of the mill are primary factors in the decision to shut it down. The mill is served by a weekday UP local that connects with the former Omaha Road main line at Merriam, Minn.
When the mill shuts down there will be two customers remaining on the branch: Seneca Foods in Montgomery and Chart Industries in New Prague, which designs and manufactures cryogenic equipment for liquid gas.
The branch was once part of M&StL’s main line from Minneapolis to Marshalltown and Oskaloosa, Iowa, and east to Peoria, Ill. The other remaining portion of this route in Minnesota is a short stretch in Minneapolis and Canadian Pacific’s 19-mile Hartland Spur from Waseca to Hartland, which has not been used for several years. Other remaining Minneapolis & St. Louis trackage in Minnesota is operated by Minnesota Prairie Line and BNSF between Norwood and Madison 129 miles.
