Was working a job at a current engineers house last week. He lives here, rents a house in Laurel and works based out of Laurel now. Has only 3 years to retire, so isn't planning to relocate. However, the talk around BNSF and MRL employees in Laurel is that things are in motion to sell or lease the entire line, Laurel to Casselton (?) to MRL. Now that would be very different, but in keeping with BNSF thinking. The only downside for MRL would be it would become a class 1, so a different set of rules apply.
Hmmmm. MRL's main track is a lease. They do own outright several of the branch lines along that current route, active and inactive at present. What sort of connection would they make at Casselton? Isn't it a junction? But there is no yard as such, currently? With whom with they interchange, if at all? Somehow it would need to put significant dollars into MRL's bank accounts.
An email to someone in the know this morning. Response was essentially 'ha ha ha', nice joke!' So, no. Nothing of the kind is happening. Whoever the BNSF guy was, must have been enjoying starting some fake news. Just like when a BN person started the famous fake story about the post-embargo abandoned MILW train on Snoqualmie Pass.
Casselton is a crew change point. Also where RRVW interchanges. Fargo, just east, has a few more interchanges. I dunno where they would go, maybe just to Mandan. The "old head" that passed this to me has been driving trains near 40 years, for BN / BNSF. There was a loty of scoffing and laughing about the MRL deal at first, too. Maybe jkust speculation, but it would be interesting!
Casselton, ND? You're right, not much there. The KO Switch which diverges from the mainline to Mandan sends trains up the Surrey Cutoff to Minot on the (you guessed it) KO Sub. Not sure of any shortlines, but RRVW is in that neighborhood. Would be very interesting to see MRL trains on the former NP in ND.