After Effects

After spending a few days in the Twin Ports and along the North Shore, Wednesday evening found me headed for home. I was curious about the level of rail traffic that the Brainerd Sub might carrying, and not sure what to expect after the recent derailment. Maybe trains weren't even running yet? Suspicions grew as the miles ticked by with no rail traffic in evidence.

I was just getting out of the Escape at the Holiday in Deerwood (a favorite stop of mine on 210) when a throaty EMD roar jerked me out of my trance. After a glance east I was back in the car and on the road in a jiffy. A pair of green GP's were smoking it up as they worked hard on a long Brainerd local. I easily outdistanced the train by the edge of town and hit the ground running to grab this shot:


A long string of loaded coal gons must have been leftovers from the recent derailment that had been pulled back towards Brainerd to open the line for other trains. They needed to finish their trip to Superior one way or another and fate had chosen this pair of Cascade Green veterans as their appointed power this day. I couldn't help but think I was seeing an unusual occurence as the local power moved 16 loads of coal along with the normal consist of covered hoppers, tanks, and boxcars along the Brainerd Sub. Next stop-a curve along the highway.


After that shot I set out for the S-curve near Aitkin, a spot I've passed by many dozens if not hundreds of times but never shot a train passing. Obviously the light was far from ideal but what the heck. Here comes the train, snaking through a series of curves as it winds along the shore of a small lake.


And one more shot, as he passes me. The conductor gave a wave, probably wondering what kind of strange railfan was out shooting on a cloudy, rainy Wednesday evening.


I counted 16 loaded coal cars as the train passed. I'm almost sure these are the cars from the recent derailment, which seemed interesting to me. Made the trip a lot more enjoyable to finally see a train. Keep looking.