Sunshine! And Trains, Too!

After what has seemed an interminable cloudy and overcast period, the sun finally came out in Wadena this afternoon. Since Mrs. L4T and I were planning on a little ride and supper, we decided to hit up the Staples DQ and see if the BNSF was up to anything.

Crossing Highway 10 in Wadena, we spotted a headlight to the east. An empty coal train was waiting on Main 1. I shot him from a distance and continued east, figuring that a zipper would should up to overtake him on Main 2 before crossing over at Wadena.

Instead, the next train was another coal empty sitting at Oink Joint Road. Once again I took the chance for a nicely lit shot, and this one is worth sharing. Of course it would be even nicer with a nose logo on the leader.


It is so nice that the sun is coming back toward the north. Finally, some nose light.

We continued on to Staples, and checked out a number of trains in the yard, but took no photos. I noticed at least one each loaded and empty coal train along with what looked to be a manifest. Then it was off to DQ for supper.

Just as we approached the depot after supper the rear end of a westbound pig train was passing the depot. I figured this for the zipper that would pass the coal empties spotted earlier, and formulated a plan to shoot him west of Wadena, but rapidly pulled ahead of the train. By the time we made Verndale he wasn't visible in the mirror. Then the plan changed again. An eastbound worm train was passing through the sag. With two units up front I guessed there would be a DPU, and was lucky to find it facing the sun. So I sprinted to the other side of the crossing as the train passed to shoot this:


If you click on the photo to view the larger image, you might be able to make out the headlight of the pig train. It wasn't moving anymore. So a u-turn and visit to Verndale was in order, where I managed to get a shot from a good sized snowpile. The third unit is a warbonnet SD75.


He had to stop, as the two coal empties we had spotted on the way to Staples were still sitting there. Seemed to be the evening of snowpiles, as I found another one to shoot the first coal empty as he waited at the CTC signals in Wadena. The power was a matched set of GE's.


I like the way this shot catches some of the industrial trackage in Wadena. The siding that takes off to the right is the K line, which ends a few hundred yards further south but serves Drywall Supply and is a candidate to be extended to the new fertilizer plant that has been built in the Industrial Park on the south edge of town. The line that comes toward you is only used for MOW equipment when the crews are in town, but used to be the siding for the Peterson-Biddick elevator that was razed this winter.

So we managed to get out and see some trains in the sun, and enjoy some DQ food. Not a bad way to spend late Sunday afternoon. Hopefully this will become more common as the weather turns.

Sunday in (all-of-a-sudden) EMD Land

A couple of westbound trains mixed in with Sunday afternoon's lovely cooler weather and the sun peeking out from between clouds created the perfect environment for a trip to the Staples DQ to treat Mrs. L4T to supper. We tried timing the trip to get the food between trains, and were somewhat successful.

The first westbound was passing through Staples as we left Wadena, which seemed to create an opportunity at the Verndale sag. I shot him a number of times but the sun was positioned so that the glare off the windshield was atrocious until the locomotive got pretty close, so here's my image of a lone execu-MAC bringing a "Slot Machine" out of the Wing River dip.


The radio revealed that a loaded coal train had just taken the Brainerd Sub, and a manifest was passing though town staying on the Staples Sub as we arrived. I didn't get a chance to see the power, but a few minutes later I heard BNSF 8184 call the signal approaching Philbrook. Drat!

By this time we needed to hit the DQ drive thru so we would be fortified when the second westbound arrived in Staples. Then, just as we were ordering, I heard BNSF 6821 clearing up at Wadena. Interesting.

So we went back to the depot with our chow to see who would get their first-the westbound or the SD40-2. Turns out the old-timer won the race by a hair, with the meet happening within spitting distance of the depot. First shot is the pair of 40's approaching the depot, then the meet between that pair and a stack train led by an SD75I.





The 8300 was leading yet another EMD product, this one some variety of spartan cab SD wearing a black paint scheme. Let's hope that the eventual mega-merger won't result in us shooting black across the country on a regular basis.

Since we had to be home by 7, a chase back west seemed in order. I beat the stacker to the Dower Lake crossing and shot him just as a sucker hole passed over. The shot 10 seconds earlier is dark, but this time fate smiled on me.


Fate was on my side in more ways than one, since a loaded coal train was working at blocking my shot at the westbound, but again, I was on the winning side. I needed only to turn around to shoot yet another meet.


Since we were headed for home, and in the process once again got ahead of the stack train, seemed only right to shoot him once more. Sadly, I wasn't as lucky with the lighting this time. The high haze combined with my poor timing on the shadow from the abandoned grain elevator did a number on this shot.


And even then we weren't done. A scratchy detector call just outside Wadena suggested another eastbound, and sure enough he came into view just as the stack train passed. Now, since I had to be home at 7, and I still hadn't stopped at the Fresh Freeze, there is no photo of this train. A man has to have his priorities in order, you know. I will tell you this-I waited long enough to see that this coal train was led by an ACe, making for the fourth different EMD model in some type of BN or BNSF paint we had spotted during this short outing. Add that to the radio call from the SD60M and the Staples Sub was thick with various 6 axle EMD's this night. Outstanding!

Jim

Verndale Rail 2010 Part 1-the Trains

Since last Thursday night the evening of June 17, life around L4T homebase has been hectic to say the least. Attending Verndale Rail 2010 was a welcome respite, but I haven't had time to more than look at the pictures until recently.

Since the best part of these outings is the time spent with other fans, I decided to focus first on the trains and leave the "human interest" type shots until I have a little more time to devote to them. So what I am sharing here are some of the train photos from that afternoon and evening. First up is a coal load that I caught as I left Wadena and decided to shoot at the Wing River sag, since the DPU was facing me. The sun was high and heat distortion was evident, but it's hard to pass by any opportunity for a train photo. I took the presence of a train as a good omen for the day, which I think it turned out to be.


Steve and Todd were both in Verndale when I arrived. We didn't have much time to make introductions before we were rudely interrupted by a westbound stack train led by-you guessed it-a set of GE's. Here's my shot of this train:


I believe this next train is the Laurel-bound intermodal that plies the Staples Sub. This short train would be the perfect prototype for a modeler who can't quite afford an intermodal fleet consisting of spine cars and well cars numbering in the dozens. (That would be me).


And here's another lovely scene for the model railroader-a pair of SD70MAC's in charge of an empty coal train that looks like it was put together by throwing every aluminum coal gon BN or BNSF ever owned into a bag and having a blindfolded person randomly select cars from the bag. I love these trains!


And finally, another coal load DPU, just like the photo I opened this post with. Only this time the pusher is a GE, and the loaded coal train is on Main One instead of Main Two, the dispatcher having crossed him over at Wadena. Since he's bound for the Brainerd Sub, the crossover had to happen relatively soon anyway.


Hopefully, I'll free up some time soon for the rest of the Verndale Rail shots I have. Until then, I've got a few more posts in the hopper that will hopefully help remind everyone I haven't completely been swallowed up into a black hole.

Jim

Something Different

A touch of sunshine and the promise of some rail traffic was all it took to lure Mrs L4T and I out of the house for a bit last Thursday evening. So, once the dishes were done and put away, off we went.

Coal loads were heading east as we made it uptown. Not knowing if the DPU was oriented favorably, I decided to run east to set up for a shot. As I paced the train for a few miles, I noticed that this train had one of the most random mixtures of BN and BNSF coal gons I had ever seen. Every class of coal car that BNSF operates regularly on this line, and even a couple I rarely see, were present. Seemed like it would be worth shooting some video of this train. As a result my plan changed to catching the head end and getting on the south side to shoot the cars in good light.

But as often happens in railfanning, well intentioned plans are tossed to the wind as circumstances change. When I spotted a westbound empty coal train with four units, it became a higher priority after identifying the lead unit.


In all the time I have spent chasing trains on the Staples Sub, the number of sightings of Dash 9's as power on those train could be counted on one hand. Dash 9's and coal trains just don't seem to mix. In fact, the only photo I have that I can put my finger on showing DC motor GE's on coal was shot in Wyoming.

So this train was unique enough to tempt me back west, and I shot him at the Wing River sag. With this under my belt, we decided to meander back to Wadena. We nearly made it, too, but a loaded coal train interrupted us. And so it was back to the same spot, where I shot the leaders as they approached. This train also was a mixed bag of BN and BNSF cars, but not quite as unique as the earlier one. Here's the power.


And with that, we did make it home. Not a lot of action, but we saw three trains in less than an hour, and that beats anything on TV any day.

Jim

Train Huntin'

Greetings train fans. A couple of photos for your enjoyment tonight. Mrs. L4T and myself plied the roads around Wadena this evening in search of trains and found a few.

I knew there was a westbound out and about from the ATCS display. This coal empty off the Brainerd Sub was in Staples when we left home, so I decided to have a go at him at the Wing River. I clambered this old frame up on the Escape bumper for a little extra elevation, but it's nothing like balancing on the side of Jer's Silverado. Anyhow, here's the resulting shot:


I didn't even realize the lone leader on this train was my old friend the 9999 until after I looked at the shot. I just saw this engine last week on a COLX train headed down the CP River Sub. Since then he's been upgraded from DPU to leader.

Mrs. L4T likes to call these little outings "train hunting", a term that has caught on in the L4T household and even the extended family. When the Mrs. calls her mom a few minutes late some evenings, the question is always "Have you been out train hunting again?" She also has a friend who, when she heard the term, thought we were out looking for tiny toy trains. Turns out she was too embarassed to ask what it really meant.

Since I knew there weren't many other westbounds out tonight, I chased this guy to Perham for a second shot. If it had been any almost any other MAC I would have likely passed, but I have a special affinity for this unit. I shot him from a new angle (for me) as he rolled around the curve east of Perham.


As I was setting up for this shot, I heard a horn to the west. When I turned around a worm train was bearing down on me with three Dash 9's in the lead. The plan became an eastbound chase with the hope of a glint shot as the sun got lower. When I reached the overpass between Perham and New York Mills, I decided to try another new shot for me, and I was kind of pleased with the results.


In this view the train has just passed over old Highway 10. It's one of the few places where you can show foreground and background along this section of track without having to worry about a huge pole line or the road interfering with the shot. I'm sure I will try other shots here in the future, especially later in the year when the sun gets around to the south more.

ATCS showed another westbound in Staples, so I decided to continue east. I was so focused on getting a glint shot of the worm train that I was surprised by the fast moving westbound right just as we entered Verndale. I considered a u-turn and chase, but I knew I wouldn't get him before Wadena and wasn't going to run all the way to Perham again. So after a couple half-hearted attempts at a glint, we called it a night and headed for home.

That's all for tonight, thanks for reading and keep on train hunting.

Jim