Fairfax, MN

On occasion job duties find me in Fairfax, MN, a town on the former M & St L east-west line. Such was the case Thursday. Whenever I'm there, I see the depot and think about how it must have looked to my Grandpa at times. He was a section hand and section foreman for the "Mained and Still Limping" and later the C&NW for 51 years, and during some of those years my dad has told me that Grandpa certainly passed by, and almost as certainly spent time in, the Fairfax depot. It still looks pretty spiffy:


This line, which I think is identified as the Minnesota Prairie Line, is operated by the Twin Cities and Western. One of the things I like about these short lines is the variety of grain cars they have bought at, seemingly, yard sales and auctions. You never know what you will see. The first car is a wonderful prototype for someone who really knows how to create that rusted look.


There must be some hoppers with the "PEAVEY" billboard lettering to serve as a starting point for this car.


I was lucky enough to be meeting with clients at the power plant in Fairfax, which is right next to the tracks. The people I work with never cease to be entertained when I leap up at the sound of a locomotive horn to rush outside and take a picture, only to return and take up where we left off.


The rest of my day, including a stop in New Ulm and a drive to the Twin Cities, turned out to be trainless, so you've seen all I have to offer from a Central Minnesota Thursday. But who knows what might have popped up during the trip home on Friday? Stay tuned for the next installment.