[1] At Tracy, the rails continue as the Huron Subdivision of the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE).
[2] Further railroad milestones were: Janesville, Minnesota, in 1870, St. Peter in 1871, New Ulm (via Nicollet and Courtland) in 1872, and the western boundary of the state in 1874.
West of Tracy, the original mainline had gone northwest to Watertown, South Dakota and nearby Lake Kampeska.
[4] Passenger train service continued on the line from its formation until the 1950s when the Dakota 400 was shortened to only run as far as Mankato.
Chicago and North Western continued to operate the line across southern Minnesota and South Dakota until the 1980s, but started planning to abandon it.