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The NP/MILW merger is an oft-touted scenario.  But it never would have happened.  For one thing, NP owned half of the CB&Q (along with GN) and they would hardly give up their half of the CB&Q to merge with the MILW which had a route structure which was highly inferior to the CB&Q.  This unlikely "what if" would have logically resulted in the GN purchasing the NP's half of the CB&Q and merging with the CB&Q.  GN already had the superior route between the Twin Cities and Pacific Northwest, and other than Snoqualmie Pass, the MILW had nothing that would have benefited the NP.  And a combined GN/CB&Q would likely result in NP/MILW losing a lot of interchange traffic to/from the Pacific Northwest to/from the CB&Q at Laurel, which would move instead via the GN route through Great Falls to the main at Shelby.