The
Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad (also known as the
St. Paul & Pacific Railroad and the
SP&P) was a
shortline railroad in the
state of
Minnesota in the
United States which existed from 1857 to 1879. Founded as the Minnesota and Pacific Railroad, it was the state's first active railroad. It went bankrupt, and the state changed its name to the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad. The SP&P went bankrupt as well. It was taken over by
James Jerome Hill and others, who used the railroad as the basis for building the
Great Northern Railway.