Over the years, increased efficiency and the better positioning of the more centralized Livingston, Montana, shops led to a decline in the importance of a railroad station that once employed over 1,000 and serviced locomotives for the whole Northern Pacific line. The BNSF Railway (successor to the Northern Pacific) continues to employ approximately 70 people in Brainerd at a maintenance-of-way equipment shop that repairs and maintains track and equipment. The former Northern Pacific railway station has been converted to breweries, coffee shops, and event centers available to rent for special occasions.