Canadian Pacific is bringing a unique competition to Minneapolis as the railroad's annual Spike Driving Competition is being held in the United States for the first time.

Following district "spike offs," the top 16 men and women across CP's 14,800-mile network in Canada and the United States will meet at the railroad's Humboldt Yard on Sunday, September 18 to compete for fastest man and woman spike driver in the company.

"While there is so much modern technology that goes into track building and track maintenance, including special spike driving machines or hydraulic spike drivers, manual spike driving is still done for small jobs or for general clean-up work," said Brent Szafron general manager of track renewal and work equipment. "Track workers still need to be able to drive spikes. This competition showcases that special skill, which goes back to the building of the original railroad."

Participants will get two tries to hammer three spikes into softwood ties with winners receiving cash prizes and bragging rights until the next year's spike driving competition.

Competition will start at 1:00 p.m. near the front entrance of Humboldt Yard, 2650 49th Avenue N, Minneapolis, Minn.