A BLE Kind of Morning

With a vacation day scheduled for the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend, what better way to spend it than heading out trackside. After a look at ATCS showed both north and southbound trains on the Missabe Sub this morning, that's where I went. 

First stop, Proctor. The first northbound turned out to be a transfer coming up the hill from Pokegema. The southbound was approaching Coons. But upon arrival the switch job was working, offering a nice view of the 215.

We have that, even if the CN doesn't paint a DMIR heritage unit. 

It was only a short wait until the transfer showed up, rounding the curve and approaching the yard. Judging from what looks like HelperLink hardware on the nose of the loco, one of the helper sets was doing transfer duty on this Monday morning. 

Finally the southbound shows itself, and it turns out to be a loaded pellet train led by a BLE unit. It was just cold enough to show a little steam from the hot pellets. 

There looked to be another meet coming up at Coons, so I headed north to catch whatever it was coming down from the range. Thought I'd try a drone shot at the Saginaw depot, but I think I got a little too high. Here's the result:

Another BLE leader makes two in a row for me. The northbound manifest rolled by at Coons but I didn't get a shot. One more stop at Jeffrey Road was kind of a bust, nothing from there to post. Then it was home for a cup of coffee and lunch. Tomorrow it's back to the grind. Woe is me. 

Green Hornet Redux

(Definition of redux-brought back)

Once upon a time, there was a railroad from Bemidji to International Falls called the Minnesota and International. Aftere being absorbed by the NP, it eventually ended up as a Burlington Northern branch, before being abandoned some time in, I'm guessing here, the 1980's? It handled traffic to and from International Falls and other points along the line. To the best of my knowledge, BN obtained trackage rights over the DWP from Duluth to International Falls when this line was abandoned. While I lived in the Falls, BN would run a train that was nicknamed the "Green Hornet" which interchanged with the Minnesota, Dakota, and Western at Ranier. The only customer in the Falls besides the paper mill was Ferrell Gas. Boise Cascade at that time was shipping a fair amount of their traffic via intermodal so in turn that was much of what the Green Hornet carried. Of course tank cars and covered hoppers of various chemicals and Box Cars were also common. Yes, I should have taken more pictures back in those days. 

Fast forward a few years and BN(SF) must have passed that business on to the CN. I had moved away from the Falls area and didn't keep track of what was going on up there. However, my move to Duluth has re-kindled my interest in the goings-on north of town, and the trains that replaced the Green Hornet. CN now owns all the former DMIR and DWP trackage and runs trains directionally between the iron range and the Twin Ports. Northbounds use the former DMIR and southbounds generally run on the DWP. The mainline "through" trains from Chicago to Winnipeg and points west come up the hill from Pokegama Yard but these local trains between Ranier and the Ports seem to call Proctor home.

Recently I have been more active chasing trains on the CN. For some reason, I have had pretty good luck catching what I think is the Ranier Local. From what I have gathered, this is the L567 northbound and the L568 southbound. For a while it was running with a pair of former Oakway SD60's:

Just last Sunday I caught a northbound at Coons that I suspect was this train as well. Again, pair of SD60's and a short L567:

It was a race to get that one and I didn't have time to get in proper position for a photo, so this was one of those point and shoot moments. 

I went out again this morning, and almost waited for a southbound at Simar, but decided to try something different. Proctor had already sent one north ahead of me, but ATCS showed another on the way. I headed north even though I knew the shot would likely be backlit, but I was "lucky" in that there was a cloud bank about where Highway 2 turns west. But Bear Trap was my target this morning. so I went straight. I got the drone unpacked and lit up about the time I heard a horn and was hovering when the train rounded the curve.

The combination of a pair of older 6 axle units with the string of MDW boxcars up front were an indication this was, again, the Green Hornet Redux. 

I swung by Proctor on the way home, but with not much happening there I didn't stay long and soon was home trying to extract something usable from the above photo. 

And that's the rest of the story.

Under the Overcast

 Unlike vampires, railroad photographers love sunlight. I'm no exception to this axion, probably worse than most, to the point that Mrs. L4T often scolds me for complaining that "the light isn't right for a picture here". 

So it's probably obvious that heavy overcast makes it harder for me to motivate myself to head out trackside. But the clouds do have the advantage of allowing you to shoot in just about any direction without worrying about backlighting. In fact, if you can't see shadows, it hardly matter which way you point the camera. 

All this is a long introduction into my train chasing trip yesterday morning. I didn't leap out of bed and hit the road, but after a couple of leisurely cups of coffee and contemplation of what to do with a day of vacation, a glance at the monitor told me that CN was calling with a northbound heading up the hill and something else coming south. After bundling up and grabbing the appropriate gear I headed west. The next check of ATCS showed the southbound lined to hold the main at Coons far a meet with the northbound coming up the hill. It wasn't long after settling in at Munger that the northbound came at me, working hard on the front of a long vehicle train.

An EMD up front is always a treat, and that BC Rail unit behind was a nice change of pace too. 

Although the plan had been to shoot the northbound, the southbound, then head for home, no one told the RTC about my plan. They had a northbound lined out of Proctor right behind the vehicle train, so it wasn't but a few minutes before this empty pellet train with solid EMD power passed by, gaining on  the vehicle train. 

Someday I will get an over-under at Munger. Yesterday was not that day. But being pretty confident that the next train is coming from the north, let's chase this guy and get another shot. Off Highway 2:

And finally it was time for the southbound. Leaving the house I had high hopes for a loaded pellet train, but instead I got limestone empties with a GE in charge. Canosia Road:

All in all, not a bad hour and a half door to door. And the solid overcast I discussed at the start of this post allowed me to get trains travelling both directions on this section of track without worrying about backlight. Maybe Mrs. L4T has a point. (But don't tell her.)

Like Old Times

 The days are getting short. We lose daylight both morning and evening, which means it's usually dark when I get up this time of year. This morning was no different. 

A glimpse out the window as the sun peeked above the horizon showed a fresh blanket of snow, maybe 3 inches, and with flurries continuing. ATCS told me that a northbound was heading out of Superior, so with the OK from Mrs. L4T I bundled up and headed out into the snow. The roads were less than ideal, but I figured I had plenty of time to catch the train somewhere north of Proctor. That idea was dashed upon reaching Jeffery Road, as the train was speeding north. Pressing on, I made it to North Coons with but a minute to spare, and grabbed a shot of what I figure was the Ranier local based on the fact that the train had a pair of SD60's for power and only a few cars. 

With one headed my out of Superior, I backtracked with the intent of catching the next northbound somewhere closer to Proctor. I decided to swing by the yard on the way and managed to get a limestone train being made up while the customary switch engines stood by. A pair of DMIR leaders is always a win. 

Then it was off to Stark Road to wait for the northbound. Didn't take too long, but I heard him blow for at least 3 crossings before seeing him. Anticipation was killing me. Then this:

I planned to head home after that train, but with a southbound showing approaching Proctor, I texted the Mrs. telling her I would be a few minutes late and was rewarded with pellet loads.

 Made it home in time to get a text from Mr. Mackey informing me that the WC heritage unit was headed my way. Well, clouds and fog or not, that merited a return trip. Munger seemed like a safe spot to intercept that train. But first, the CN had to run this limestone empty to Proctor so why not shoot that too?

Then it was the moment we have been waiting for-the arrival of the WC heritage unit. I spent a little battery on that.

And that was that. I headed home with a good day's railfanning in the bag. Thanks to Dan Mackey for the heads up on the WC unit. Would have missed it without that tip. 

The title of this post is Like Old Times, because this outing reminded me of many trips I made to Staples while I lived in Wadena. It felt like I am starting to become familiar with locations in the Twin Ports area, and that reminded me of how I used to feel along the Staples Sub. Good memories. 

Sun, Snow, and Steam (and Clouds)

 Saturday morning October 24 revealed a clear blue sky and significant snow on the ground. Seemed like the kind of day that should be captured for posterity. What better way than to take some train pictures?

I had been sniffing around the former DWP main out in the Munger area and thought the snow and morning sun would make for a nicely lit backdrop for a southbound CN train. Off I went to the crossing Maple Grove Road, where I could sit and wait and observe the glory of a Christmas scene in October. 

The wait was relatively short, and I was ready when the southbound passed by a row of flocked evergreens. 

That zebra painted second unit inspired me to have another go at this train, so it was off to Becks Road, where I shot this at the overpass.

It's kind of crazy how just a little drop in elevation reduces the amount of snow on the ground. That shot looked more like early November than Christmas. 

On my way home, a stop at the overpass on the north end of Proctor Yard yielded a shot of pellet loads steaming alongside a tunnel motor leader pointed toward the range. The overcast had moved in by that time, giving the scene a wintry appearance. Why not capture that?

With that, my morning was complete and I headed for home thinking Santa would show up any day. Another railfanning outing in the books.

A Dandy Lashup

 With the year end creeping up on us and vacation needing to be used before that date, I burned a day Friday. That allowed me to venture out into CN territory in the morning. I looked at ATCS before leaving the house and saw a southbound lined from Simar to Steelton. I made the dangerous assumption that he would get a light all the way to Pokegama and headed for the Wisconsin side of the Oliver bridge in the hopes of getting a drone shot of the train creeping across the river. 

No such luck, as he stopped in Steelton, and I ran out of patience waiting. ATCS looked like the main was tied up by a switch job at Pokegama. I made a swing through Superior and saw nothing much of interest, but there was another southbound waiting at Simar so I galloped up Highway 2 just to find myself once more waiting for a train to move. Since that one had his headlight on, I figured he would be moving as soon as a northbound coming up the hill cleared Nopeming. I had a little longer to wait, though, as the northbound was through Munger before the soutbound started to roll. I figured I would shoot him at Maple Grove Road since it would allow me a quicker getaway than waiting for the whole train to pass. Here's what I got:

As the train rolled by me I noticed the consist was interesting enough to warrant a second look. Draper bodies are getting rare and deserve a bit of extra effort, so I tried to think of where I could get a good broadside to capture the whole mess of power and settled on Steelton Hill. Off I went, and after a short wait he rolled down the hill and into view. The train, along with a late season fisherman, passed me at the same time.

That's a nice change from the steady diet of late model GE's that are usual on these CN trains. 

And that was it for my Friday adventure. I headed home and went to work (yes, on my vacation day!) for a couple of hours. But any day I get to take a train picture I will count as a win!