Black Hills Central Railroad
In 1956 two steam enthusiasts, William Heckman and Robert Freer, promoted to "“have in operation at least one working steam railroad, for boys of all ages who share America’s fondness for the rapidly vanishing steam locomotive.” " They soon gathered financial, political and popular support for this venture adjacent to the tourist destination of Mount Rushmore. The intention was to have summer steam train operations with 1880-period equipment. Heckman and Freer proposed a new three foot gauge heritage railroad, using the Keystone Branch, by laying a third rail on five miles of the standard gauge track. CB&Q was supportive, and the dual-gauge line was constructed from Hill City to a new terminus with a wye, to be named “Oblivion” about midway along the branch. The choice of narrow gauge was influenced by the availability, also from CB&Q, of a complete 1880s styled "Deadwood Central" trainset which had been assembled for the Chicago Railroad Fair of 1948-49. This consisted of:

Additionally, White Pass & Yukon Number 69, an outside-framed 2-8-0 built in 1908 was acquired, to be named "Klondike Casey"
The narrow gauge operation began in 1957 and ran successfully for several years until a decision was made to extend the operation to Keystone, which included a change to standard gauge. The third rail was removed in 1964 (although as of 2020, the abandoned Oblivion Wye rails remain in place), and the locos and rolling stock were eventually divested to other heritage railways: Number 69 went to the Nebraska Midland Railroad in 1973, and then home to the White Pass in 2001. Number 9 went to the Georgetown Loop in Colorado in 1988. As of 2020, Number 69 is operable but has been stored since 2013, and Number 9 is on static display at Breckinridge, Colorado, having suffered mechanical damage in 2006. BHCR gradually acquired its current range of locomotives and rolling stock, and continued operations over the full length of the branch until the 1972 Black Hills flood destroyed the last three miles of track into Keystone. Burlington Northern relocated and rebuilt two miles, to a new Keystone Junction a mile west of the town. During the rebuilding, the BHCR ran its trains out of Custer, 15 miles south of Hill City on BN’s Deadwood branch. In 1977 the Black Hills Central returned to the Keystone branch, and in 1981 acquired the trackage from BN, which withdrew freight services after its freight traffic had withered away. The last mile was continued into Keystone in 2001. In 1986 Burlington Northern abandoned the Deadwood branch through Hill City, leaving the BHCR as an isolated railroad. (The entire former Deadwood line is now the George S. Mickelson Trail, a long distance rail trail.) The BHCR operates five rare, well-preserved and operational steam locomotives, As of 2021:


The Black Hills Central Railroad also has two diesel locomotives on its engine roster as of 2021: Eight coaches are wood-bodied, arch-windowed former electric interurban cars built in 1912-13 for the Oregon Electric Railway, acquired in 1970. Two of these have been cut down to the belt rail to serve as open cars. South of the Hill City depot, a small rail yard holds a variety of rolling stock, mostly early twentieth century, awaiting restoration.
History ; Standard Gauge
It currently operates the 1880 Train on the former Keystone Branch of the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) between Hill City, South Dakota and Keystone, South Dakota.