its US subsidiaries. In 2001, CN entered into an agreement to purchase WC entirely on October 21 of that year, providing CN with an "iron lariat" encircling the industrially-important Great Lakes Basin. The only gap in CN's Winnipeg–Fort Frances/International Falls–Chicago mainline route was a short section in Duluth where CN had to operate on the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway to reach WC trackage from the end of DWP trackage. On May 10, 2004, CN purchased DMIR's parent company Great Lakes Transportation to give total control of the Winnipeg–Chicago corridor and remove the gap at Duluth between DWP and WC trackage. Merger with Wisconsin Central In December 2011, the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway was merged into Wisconsin Central Ltd., which is also controlled by Canadian National Railway. This merger was intended to increase efficiency. References External links DWP page at CNLines SIG Canadian Freight Railcar Gallery - Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Minnesota railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Former regional railroads in the United States Canadian National Railway subsidiaries Predecessors of the Canadian Northern Railway Railway companies established in 1909 Wisconsin railroads