The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (reporting mark DME) is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

The DM&E began operations on September 5, 1986, over trackage spun off from the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company in South Dakota and Minnesota.

[4][5][6] Lines west of Tracy, Minnesota were sold to Genesee & Wyoming in 2014 to form the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad.

[7] In 1983, the Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW) announced plans to abandon a section of railroad between Pierre, South Dakota and Rapid City.

The railroad was expanded in 1995 when it acquired additional former CNW branch lines from Rapid City, South Dakota; to Colony, Wyoming; and Crawford, Nebraska.

DM&E celebrated the anniversary with picnics and employee appreciation events and excursions in Waseca, Minnesota, and Pierre, South Dakota.

[12][13] In 1997, DM&E announced plans to expand into the Powder River Basin (PRB) in Wyoming and provide unit coal train service from that area.

In 2003, a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ordered the STB to re-examine potential environmental issues around Rochester.

The STB's preliminary report, released in early 2005, noted that no additional steps were needed by the railroad to alleviate noise and vibration caused by the projected increase in train traffic.

[22] With the final EIS in place and approval from the STB, DM&E had the authority to undertake the expansion as proposed, but needed financing.

[13] On February 21, 2002, DM&E announced that it would purchase the railroad assets of 1,700-mile (2,700 km) I&M Rail Link (IMRL) from its then-owner The Washington Companies.

DM&E renamed the IMRL property to Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad (IC&E) and began operations on July 30, 2002.

[9] A purchase price was not stated in the original announcement, but an article in the May 2002 Trains Magazine reported that several industry sources believed the total to be around $150 million.

CP stated its intention to the purchase to gain access to the Powder River and ship coal to Midwestern and Eastern utilities.

[31] Securities analysts said that competing railroads for Powder River coal, the Union Pacific and BNSF, could challenge the acquisition and delay STB approval, but were unlikely to have prevented it.

[38] The next day the railroad announced its intention to sell the entire ex-DM&E west of Tracy, Minnesota, roughly 700 miles (1,100 km) of track.

[39] On January 2, 2014, CP announced that all track west of Tracy, Minnesota, was to be sold to Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming, a short line operator.

Over the years, the locomotives were repainted, many with DM&E's paint scheme of blue with a yellow stripe along its length (it closely mirrored by that of sister railroad, IC&E).