Hutchinson was once served by three railroads. The Electric Short Line (commonly known as the Luce Line) provided freight and interurban service between Minneapolis and Gluek via Hutchinson. During the mid-20th century, there was extensive restructuring in the railroad industry, as automobiles caused a decline in passenger traffic and trucking cut into freight movement.
The Electric Short Line was purchased by the Minneapolis & St. Louis in 1956, which was in turn purchased by the Chicago & North Western in 1960. The tracks west of Hutchinson were abandoned in 1967, and the tracks between Hutchinson and Plymouth were abandoned in 1972. The Milwaukee Road had a branch line to Hutchinson from Glencoe, which was abandoned in 1956. The Great Northern Railway also had a branch line, which went from Wayzata to Hutchinson. This was taken over by Burlington Northern in 1970. In 1985 Burlington Northern petitioned to abandon its line to Hutchinson, but Dakota Rail took over operations that same year. Dakota Rail struggled to turn a profit and sought to abandon the line in 2000. The tracks were officially abandoned in 2001. Hutchinson's Great Northern Depot has been preserved.~Wikipedia
