Frosty Friday Morning

Early Frida morning found me bound for Hawley in the fog. Although the forecast called for clearing skies, the same system that moved the clouds out allowed it to get cold enough for the moisture in the air to condense. Thus, the fog. And along with the fog came hoarfrost.

As I approached the Highway 10 overpass between New York Mills and Perham, a headlight was peering out of the gloom to the west. After quickly pulling over and a mad dash back to the bridge, I was able to shoot a manifest train as it approached.


I had been hoping to meet him bit further west, but no such luck.

I missed another eastbound in very nice morning light as I passed through Detroit Lakes. The skies were nicely cleared up but I was stuck on Highway 10 as a long stack train sailed under the Highway 34 overpass. I figured there was no chance to catch him without a lengthy chase, which I didn't have time for.

A stop at Menards for new sunglasses allowed a westbound time to catch up with me. He was passing by as I came out of the store, so off to the races it was. I managed to reel this train in just as he neared Boyer Lake. It was still fairly frosty at this point.


Decided to wait for him in Hawley, and a short wait it was. I spotted a road that heads south just east of the tracks and set up near the flange greaser south of the overpass for this. As you can see, the skies were in "code blue" condition by this time.


I headed for home after lunch, and once again encountered a train in DL. This time, a chase was feasible, and the chosen intercept site was Frazee. Sitting at the S-curve, I was surprised when a westbound crept up on me. It was backlit, but I shot the unusual power anyway.


The tail of that train and the head end power of the westbound were both visible momentarily as I waited for the shot below. While foreign power is far from rare on the Staples Sub, it's a bit out of the ordinary to catch two consecutive trains with no BNSF units in the consist. The CN and CSX units in the train above were complemented by a matched pair of NS GE's on this train.


I met one more Z train entering New York Mills, but with the track angling to the north he would have been in poor light by the time I caught him so continued the drive home. That was all the trains for today, but it was a good day. Trains, sunshine, and some frost make for a pleasant drive along the Staples Sub.