Nosing Around in the Fog

A  clearing forecast and decent temps combined with the offer of a guide seemed to create the conditions for a dream railfanning outing this morning, so I took advantage of the situation and was out the door before 7:30 AM. After a short stop at to say hi to Dan's wiener dogs, it was back on the road in foggy conditions, just right to catch a train looming out of the gloom. I was driving but taking directions from the fearless leader, and he guided us to a meeting with four EMD's right off the bat, including a blue and yellow visitor to the ports.

 



With CP accounted for, it was off to Black Bear where a fantastic trestle was shrouded in fog when we arrived. The twenty minute or so wait for the train allowed all the fog to clear out, yielding the finest-lit shot of the day as CN "land barge" struggled by with two big units up front and a couple more mid-train. Six hundred and sixty some axles, with lots of loads, had these engines groaning as they worked the train out of the basin.  

 



The upside was that slower progress made for an easier chase. We were able to beat the train to this secret location even when it involved a short run that left my legs rubbery. The photo may not be much but the sight and sound of the train cutting through the fog was pretty cool. I've never thought about how hard trains have to work heading out of Superior toward Wisconsin, but apparently hills ring the Twin Ports.  

 



 By this time, I had worked up a healthy appetite and the Escape was thirsty as well, so we headed back to Superior to fill everyone's tanks. After stops at Holiday and McD's (and a few well-chosen words about the lateness of this year's McRib), it was back on the road, to check out what my old friend the BNSF was up to. 28th Street Yard was strangely unoccupied when we drove up, with only a couple of units present, but the railroad fixed that in a minute when a couple more GP's backed a cut of cars into the yard. The fog was back in force as I shot the action. I do find something uniquely compelling about these foggy day shots.

 

 Of course no railfanning outing in Superior is complete until you at least do a roll-by inspection of the engine servicing facility. Today, we were lucky enough to catch a crowd of EMD's, of various vintages, paint schemes, and wheel arrangements, being prepped and fueled for service. I couldn't resist.

 

Finally, a swing around the yard and down past the elevators produced nothing new. However, I did get a valuable tip about a photo location for boats loading grain at CHS. Today it was the "American Mariner" filling up. Even got a tiny bit of fall color in the corner of the shot.

And with that, our three-hour tour had ended. Not stranded on a deserted island, either, but just minutes from home and already dreaming of the next chance I have to get out and look for trains around the Twin Ports. Thanks, Dan, for the tour and all the info you shared. It's appreciated.

Some Blue and Yellow

One of the best parts of spending a few days in the southwest part of the state is getting the chance to catch some blue and yellow engines while they are still around. Having left for Westbrook Monday afternoon, here is a sampling of what I was able to shoot while travelling from town to town for work.

This first one has already been shared on Flickr. With a 6:00 PM appointment in Westbrook Monday evening, the L4T official chase Escape was meandering down a county road paralleling the DME near Tracy when the tail end of a train appeared. Putting on a burst of speed, I was able overtake the head end as it crossed Plum Creek near Laura Ingalls Wilder's former home town of Walnut Grove. Here is the shot after stepping across the road and cranking up the ISO on the Pentax.


After overnighting in Windom, it was back to Westbrook on Tuesday. I've mentioned before that there are no trains in Westbrook. However, the road to Marshall goes through Tracy, and there is always a chance of finding something on the east side of town. This cloudy Tuesday afternoon was one of those days when you get lucky, as four units were sitting with a short train and no crew.


The last unit in the consist was a four axle EMD, and even though it's front coupled it seemed like it was worth the electrons to shoot it.


After spending most of Wednesday just a few feet from the tracks in Tyler, and not seeing any trains, my aim on the trip to New Ulm was to stay as close to the tracks as possible. This resulted in a good helping of "county tar" along with some gravel, but didn't yield any blue and yellow locomotives. There are some scenic spots along that line, though.

I stayed in the Microtel Inn in New Ulm, and was serenaded by three trains after dark and before bed. Guess the DM&E knew I was out looking and held the trains til dark. The next morning on the way to a meeting, a pass by the depot found a pair of blue and yellow units switching. With no time to spare I had to take the best shot offered and this was it.


All in all a good week. Got to shoot the classic paint scheme three days out of four, and got a good look at a reasonable section of the railroad. Every trip down there makes it more evident why people are so drawn to the area.

You Just Never Know

2012 has started out a lot like 2011 ended, from a railfanning perspective. Unlike Chris, I'm not going out and picking off four trains in a single day. In fact, four trains the entire year so far might be closer to the truth.

But that hasn't prevented taking advantage of the opportunities offered. Leaving for Owatonna early Tuesday it seemed a sure thing that the Staples Sub would offer up some traffic. Sure enough, it did-but they were all headed west, or in a spot that was hard to get to, or generally inconvenient in some way or another. Another letdown?

Sure seemed like as I cut across to Monticello and left the Staples Sub behind. I know where the traffic is, and a railfan sixth sense alerts me to nearby trains. So I just about left the highway as I cruised east on I-94 near Albertville when a glance out the passenger side window revealed a cascade green locomotive leading a short freight east-yes, that's right, into the sun under a code-blue sky. This calls for ACTION! Take the next exit south, race across the tracks and quickly pull over to the side of the road. Grab the camera and balance yourself on a guard rail post, for this:


I'm thining the Monticello local, with a pair of GP50's (the leader with a 5-man cab) leading a loaded centerbeam car and a Railbox. On jointed rail. Heck, yes!

On to Owatonna, and work. Luckily my clients finish up the day at 3:30, leaving a bit of daylight for an adventure in Waseca. An SD40-2 was sitting at the west end of the yard when I passed by, offering this image. My second green loco today.


Often there is a train sitting west of Waseca on the siding. I've only seen eastbounds there, but why not take a look anyway. It turned out to be worth the short drive, as tonight a westbound had taken up residence, sitting in the golden rays of a sun approaching the horizon, with no fewer than 7! SD40-2's on the head end. For anyone keeping score at home, that brings the day's total to 8.


So that was worth the trip. But. As I headed back to Waseca, the glow of a headlight and a pair of ditchlights appeared. More power. This time it was light engines, 3 SD40-2's with the two leaders being blue and yellow. U-turn time. I knew there was an ethanol train with no power at Janesville, so I speculated that was their destination. The train that they were passing surely had enough power already. I ran back to the west end of the ethanol plant siding, and waited. And waited, as the sun sank into the horizon. Finally the train appeared, and I took a couple of blurry shots as it approached. After slowing for the switch I finally got a better shot of these classics in the day's last rays of sun.


One more shot, as they nuzzled up to the buffer car. Shortly after this the conducter came out of the cab wearing, get this, (remember, it's January 10 in Minnesota) a t-shirt. The temp was falling from the 50+ degrees we had enjoyed but still didn't even require a sweatshirt.


All in all, a good day. A green engine in a new spot, and not to brag, 11 SD40-2's in half an hour. Nice.

Lucky Me

There's an old song that talks about how some days are diamonds. From a railfanning perspective today was one of those for me.

After finishing up the paperwork from today's work, a little railfanning adventure seemed to be in order. The River Sub was calling and so I headed south from Red Wing. After a brief stop at the Flower Valley Road crossing, something compelled me to continue southward. As it was only a little way to the Frontenac siding, I soon spotted a loaded COLX train waiting for a meet. This was pretty good evidence of a westbound, and the railfan senses were set to high alert. Sure enough, I was just getting up to speed after the 40 mph zone through Frontenac when the expected headlight appeared, moving fast. The leader was blue and yellow ICE 6451, and it was joined at the head end by three more SD's wearing the same paint scheme.

My first thought was how quick could I turn around and give chase. My second thought was how badly this was going to hurt MN Chris. And my third thought was I hoped there were no state troopers around. After waiting a few seconds for the cars speeding past me to clear I managed to reverse course and start the catch up game. And then I was back in the 40 mph speed zone for Frontenac, seeing the meager amount of ground I had gained melt away. Finally, the two cars in front of me started to speed up and once again I was passing the railcars rather than the reverse. There weren't many miles between my location and Red Wing, and if I didn't catch up before that all hope would be lost. Finally, just as I reached the still-stopped coal train, I was even with the blue and yellow quartet. My speed was limited to just above the speed limit by traffic, and crossed fingers were the order of the day.

Upon reaching Flower Valley Road and making it across the tracks before the gates started dropping, I quickly exited the car and dashed across the road to the music of the 6451's horn. I quickly snapped off this photo:


The all-EMD lashup swept around the corner and approached quickly, and my final shot got them much closer to the crossing. With access to PSE, this would look better as this shot could use a dash of USM, but here it is anyway:


And then, they were gone. I must confess, I sat in the Escape at the crossing, reveling in the sight of the four vintage engines charging northwest with a long freight train trailing behind. Needing to share the experience I posted a quick report to Facebook about NAILING four blue and yellows.

One of the things that I love about railfanning is the exhilaration when things go just right. That might mean lots of well-lit trains, a meet shot, great company on a railfan outing, catching a rare move (for example, the 4449 traversing the Staples Sub), or stumbling upon a really killer consist like this set of power. Lots of the time fanning can be mundane, an enjoyable way to pass time, and a great hobby. But once in a while it surpasses that, and to me at least offers great excitement and a feeling of reward. That's how I was feeling as I sat at that crossing. I did nothing to deserve this show, and still was rewarded with the appearance of these handsome locomotives. It's the kind of rare experience I'll have great memories of and will be able to share with lots of other people. Thanks CP, and keep up the good work!

Blue and Yellow

Last week entailed a trip to Austin, which means a chance to parallel the ICE from Owatonna to my destination and with luck, catch some blue and yellow power leading a train. It's happened in the past, although admittedly not regularly, but often enough to keep hope alive.

The trip down Wednesday afternoon and evening will keep the hope alive for a few more trips, as this train was posed for me as I neared Blooming Prairie:


As I said in the flickr post that night, it seemed like passing on this opportunity would have been plain rude. Besides, any chance to show MN Chris what a blue and yellow unit looks like needs to be capitalized upon. You don't have to drive all the way to Iowa to not see these engines. Heck, I was inspired enough to dig into my bag for the short lens to grab yet another shot.


The only problem with Wednesday evening was the cloud cover, and that was gone on Thursday. After work, it seemed like the perfect time to try my luck yet again, so it was off to the tracks and a hoped-for appointment with more of the classic EMD power. However, it was not to be. The railfanning wasn't an entire loss, though, as the sun gave me a chance to get my first well-lit shot of the former Milwaukee Road depot in Austin. At least I think that's the railroad this served:


What an attractive, and modelable, depot that is. It's almost enough to inspire one to take up passenger modeling, so a train could stop on it's regular schedule to drop and pick up HO scale passengers. Maybe someday?

It's Hard (but not Impossible) to Stop a Train

Toward the end of a long day, as I neared Austin, I encountered a northbound ICE manifest train picking its way along the 10 mph track between Blloming Prairied and Owatonna. Even though the clouds were thick, why not try a few photos? It's not like I had any pressing engagements this evening.

So after a u-turn and a run back up US 218 to Bixby, I fired off a couple of shots. These are the best I could do with the editing software on my work computer.



As I waited for the slow-moving train to approach a grade crossing, someone in an orange railroad vest drove up in a pickup. He asked me if I had reported a tree down on the tracks. I told him I hadn't, but there was another pickup a little ways further north parked near the tracks. The railroader thanked me and took off north.
After getting my shot I followed.

Amazingly, I found an open spot in the foliage just as the sun peeked through a crack in the cloud cover. It seemed as is fate would allow a nicely lit photo of this train after all. But just as his headlights appeared, the train speed went from 10 mph to zero mph. Now what?

Peering down the right-of-way, I thought maybe I could see something on the tracks. The rail in the pickup went racing down a gravel road, and since the train was stopped, I drove a little ways down the highway and pulled over. Sure enough, a good sized tree had blown down across the tracks. After asking the engineer and conductor if they minded me taking some pictures, and them telling me to go ahead, I shot a few. Here one of the crew members is snapping a photo of his own:


The crew was waiting patiently for help to arrive. Since darkness was rapidly approaching, I decided to move on, and thanked them for their cooperative attitudes. It was fun to talk with railroaders encountering something a bit out of the ordinary.


And that's my story of how it's hard, but not impossible, to stop a train.

Jim

Austin Bound

ICE 6452 heading for Austin
Originally uploaded by look4trains

Having spent a few days in the Austin and Owatonna area this week, I had hopes of catching some DME or ICE action. My last night in the area, I was staying in Owatonna. After checking into my motel, I heard a horn on the DME and headed out to check the traffic. Turned out to be an ethanol train headed east. Not knowing the town, I decided to try and get ahead of the train and finally accomplished that at the Highway 14 overpass south of Owatonna.

It was a cloudy day, and I tried to compose the shot in a way that would minimize the unattractive white sky. I also kind of like the way the cattle worked their way into the photo. As you can see, the EMD's were working hard on this long train as they passed under me.

Jim

(Partial) Success

DME 6056 leaving Blooming Prairie
Originally uploaded by look4trains

It's funny-living here is west-central Minnesota, with access to one of the busiest rail lines in the state, strangely enough seems to make it harder to get a shot of a train coming through a snowdrift. First, the train frequency and speed tend to keep the right of way clear, and second, even if a drift forms, there will be a train along in a matter of a few hours at the very most to clear the line.

So oddly enough, my travels to the furthest corner of the state gave me the chance to get this shot. I happened to be in Austin last night, and as I headed for home today under beautiful blue skies, I noticed a train on the main just north of Blooming Prairie. Having travelled this way a number of times I knew that trains were scarce, and this one had a FRED on the north end but no locos on the south. I suspected they were in town doing some switching and a quick u-turn revealed that was indeed the case. I found out from the conducter (setting the derail) that they were headed south again in a few mintues, as soon as they were coupled back up and the air pumped up on the train.

I checked out a couple of crossings south of town, and picked one for a first shot. After a wait of about 20 minutes I shot the train at the first crossing. Since they were travelling so slowly (about 15 mph) I was able to run to another crossing and get this shot. The train was still meandering along at the same speed so there wasn't too much excitement but it's a start.

After all, a day when you get to shoot a train in good light is a day worth remembering, whatever color the train was. And this day certainly fit the bill, and goes into the memory banks on the plus side. Here's to trains, and sun, and snow.

Jim, out

Prairie Observations

On Wednesday the 30th I travelled from west of New Ulm to Austin in southern Minnesota. I chose to take Hwy 14 to Owatonna then head south on 218, a route that parallels the DME/ICE conglomerate almost all the way. Even though the weather was a bit dodgy when I set out around lunch time, I hoped to get some shots of DME trains traversing the prairies of southern Minnesota.

My first sighting was in Sleepy Eye, where I stumbled across this item of DME MOW equipment on a siding on the west edge of town.


I'd like have seen some of the battles this plow has fought over the years clearing cuts drifted shut by the wind. Another interesting thing about this find was the road number, which was shortly proven to be very close to a DME GP40 type loco that I came across in New Ulm. I stopped at the depot to eat a sandwich while watching for train traffic, but the only action I caught was the crew climbing aboard this unit to head out for an afternoon of switching around the New Ulm area.


I paralleled the south bank of the Minnesota River in the hopes I would catch a train in the valley between New Ulm and Mankato, where there is the chance of a very scenic shot. However, there was no traffic to be had this early afternoon and my next stop was in Mankato, where I found this Pro Rail switcher resting between assignments in a yard along the highway.


After I found my way out of Mankato, I discovered the reason for the lack of traffic on the east/west main on this day: a Maintenance of Way crew was replacing a culvert near Janesville. I stopped and shot a couple of photos of the operation, which obviously had the railroad tied up for some time.


After seeing this I figured the chances of me encountering any more trains was slim, but I was surprised when I reached Waseca and found two eastbounds waiting to enter town. Flaky light and a lack of access to the area limited photo opportunties, but given that one train was led by a pair of KCS GE's, I shot a few pictures anyway.


By this time I had programmed the DME road frequency into my scanner (Thanks Hudson!) and soon heard a warrant being cleared near Owatonna. It sounded like a westbound was close, and I swung south about a mile to the tracks and immediatly spotted the westbound behind a pair of SD's, the leader still in CP red. I decided to try a sweeping landscape shot, with what I feel are less than stellar results. I needed to be a little closer to the bridge to make the shot what I really wanted. I did notice that heat waves were starting to affect the shots taken over the black fields.


Within about 15 minutes I encounterd my 5th and final train of the day when I was leaving Owatonna headed south on 218. Just on the south edge of town I came across this stopped ICE train behind a handsome matched set of SD's. With the light in pretty poor shape by this time and the head end of the train very close to the crossing photo options were limited but here is what I got:


All in all, it was more traffic than I expected to see, but I also learned that I need to learn some new approaches to photography to capture the best angles offered by the rolling hills and scenery this area presents. I'm kind of excited about heading back down after things have greened up and especially this fall when the "amber waves of grain" show up.