Staples Sub Redux

I lived along the Staples Sub for 8 years. Spent a lot of time railfanning the tracks in the Wadena area over those 8 years, in fact, the majority of the posts on this blog are related to the Staples Sub. In a way, it was and always will be my railfanning "hometown". All this means that cutting ties with the area is bittersweet. And yesterday Mrs. L4T and cut our final material ties with Wadena when the sale of our house closed.

That meant a trip over to Wadena, with the attendant visit to the Staples Sub. MN Chris has joked I don't know how many times about my comment on crossing the tracks and seeing a headlight. Well, yesterday I didn't even make it across the tracks before a headlight showed up, just as we were approaching the Staples depot. After some fancy driving I found myself in position to fire off three quick poorly lit, badly composed frames, which caught the entire consist of a track inspection train headed east on the Staples.

I made it all the way to Dower Lake before being distracted once again. This photo was shot on the trip home, but is an overall view of what that distraction was. What strikes me about this is change-whereas it used to be expected to see a number of coal trains staged in the yard at Staples, currently you are much more likely to catch it with oil trains in residence, as we did yesterday.

That north train had interesting power as shown here. I haven't had the chance to feast on NS heritage units as many of you have, so this was a must-shoot for me. Viva Penn Central!

We arrived in Wadena with a bit of time to kill, and one way we did it was to get a shot of the pair of GP50's on the Wadena local. Not sure what was going on that kept them tied up the entire time we were there, but something unusual was in the works. Anyway, here is the mismatched couple:

And then our closing was pushed off for an extra hour and a half. With nothing to do, a ride west seemed to be in order. We made it to New York Mills and were on the way back when we encountered a classic Staples Sub coal empty passing through Bluffton. A true reminder of times past.

Then it was time for business, followed by the long drive home. A couple of poorly lit eastbounds accompanied us to Staples, where we took the diverging route the follows the Brainerd Sub east. That was quiet with the exception of a loaded coal train encountered near Deerwood, which we chose not to shoot. 

It was a day that brought back many good memories. I will always look back on the time we spent in Wadena fondly. While I know I will railfan the Staples Sub again, it will be as a visitor, not in my backyard, and that will be different. 

Old Days

One of the great blessings of my railfan "career", if such a thing exists, has been the willingness of Mrs. L4T (that's my wife for those of you who have always wondered) to humor me by tagging along on "train hunting" expeditions. We have explored nearly every inch of the Staples Sub together, and she has gotten to the point where she occasionally sees the train before I do. She even questions why I am taking a shot from time to time, commenting that "the light is no good here". We've been great friends as we cruise up and down Highway 10, always on the lookout for the distinct pattern formed by a headlight and a pair of ditchlights.

With an impending move to the Twin Ports just a few weeks away now, something Chris Muller posted on Facebook today inspired me to check ATCS, and sure enough, the westbounds were lined up all the way to Gregory. Mrs. L4T and were out the door with visions of GEVO's and ACe's dancing in our heads.

My first move was east. It seemed a good bet we could catch the leader of the pack the other side of Verndale, but he beat us to the punch and surprised me just outside Wadena. If not for the glorious consist of new BNSF covered hoppers I would have passed, but these cars called for a u-turn and chase. The slow order near Bluffton allowed us to just beat the train to a crossing.


Hoping to beat something to Staples, we once more headed east, and this time made it almost all the way to Aldrich before a Z train sailed around the corner. Once more we were ready.


The action was pretty steady at this point, as the next train was approaching Dower Lake when we got there. This time is was a crude oil empty, led by a GEVO. You might also notice a blur of color in the distance that will come into play a bit later.


But the interesting unit was third out. For the third or fourth time I got the H3 painted 8987, an SD70MAC. The paint sure holds up nice, as this is at least two years old.


One of my goals for the day was a shot from the new overpass in Staples. Alas, it was not to be, as the final westbound was passing the depot as we neared the parking area. Plan B took us back to the Dower Lake crossing, where we captured a manifest with lots of oilfield traffic, including pipe, sand cars, and empty tanks. I even noticed an ADM car placarded for crude oil in this train.


This thing got me excited. I wonder what it hauls and where it hauls it?


The treat of the day was next. A manifest train sat on Main 2, sans power, just west of the Dower Lake crossing. It was only a few minutes when the power for the train ran back west from the yard. It was great to see a 4 unit set of SD40-2's "leading" this power as it backed up onto the train. What a sight! I hollered "Nice Power" to the conducter as he passed by and got a smile and wave back.


After getting the air pumped up and the train underway, we were able to swing by the Staples yard and shoot three more classic EMD's sitting at the west end, including a fairly uncommon GP40. Second one I have seen this week, the other was in Superior.


And so you have the story from today. We probably won't get many more chances to fan the Staples Sub, but I'll always remember this one and the day Mrs. L4T once again brought me luck!

Catching Up

And some more catching up. I tell you between work and family sometimes it seems there is very little time for railfanning. Oh, and I guess I should include modeling as another time sink interfering with getting trackside.

That doesn't mean there is no time to fan. Last Monday (the 21st) involved a trip to the Lake Park and Hawley area. Meetings were set up for morning, afternoon, and evening, but the drive over started in nice light. A train hit the detector on Main 2 just as I left Wadena, so a short pause at the Bluffton curve was in order. Here comes a warbonnet-led manifest, throttling up from the slow order over the Bluffton bridge where the BNSF is driving piles.

There is a "black hole" of sorts in scanner coverage west of Bluffton. The radio still works fine, but when you get close to the detector at MP174.1 long trains can pop up before the detector registers the end. I've had this happen a few times, the latest on Monday morning. As a result this shot required a u-turn and race back east to beat the train to CR 147. I shot it out the passenger window as the Escape rolled to a stop.

Finally for the trip to Lake Park, one more east of Frazee, rounding the curve. Dark skies served as a backdrop to this photo.

My day in the Hawley area ended up being busy with no free time to railfan. It was about dark by the time I got out of town and it made me anxious to get home at the end of a 15 hour work day, so the three shots above are the grand total of my production from that day.

A trip to International Falls on Wednesday and Thursday provided the opportunity to shoot a CN train in nice light at Ranier. Unfortunately, I left the camera at my folks house in the Falls so no photo was made. Sadly I didn't see any headlights upon crossing the tracks in Bemidji. 

On Friday my #1 son made the trip home from Grand Forks. He's not so much of a railfan but we do like to visit the rifle range west of New York Mills when he is home. Friday evening that resulted in 5 trains but again no photos due to the clouds. Saturday we managed to get a shot, though. Here's a manifest on the Brainerd Sub just after crossing the Gull River. Yes, I'm a sucker for H1's, always have been and probably always will be. 

And that's the trains from last week.

Some Easter Sightings

Mr. L4T Jr. was home for the weekend. He has not been infected with the railfanning bug, which is likely a good thing for me as his presence will occasionally inspire me to do something a little different. However, he is also willing to humor me on occassion, such as when a matched set of NS GE's happen by with a loaded tank train. Easter Sunday afternoon revealed just such a sight, which was captured initially crossing the bridge that is being worked on in Bluffton.


The backlighting is strong in this one, and the next one, which is not much further down the line due to the slow order that is delaying every train through the area. Once more from the Highway 75 crossing.


After he headed back to Grand Forks Mrs. L4T suggested we go for a short ride. I agreed, but told her we needed to check ATCS to see if any train traffic was likely. Sure enough a westbound was approaching Wadena, and we encountered it at the crossing upon heading uptown. I decided to try shooting it just west of the overpass, and here's the result.


I liked the outcome of that one, although I should have waited a bit for the train to get closer to the silos before tripping the shutter. Live and learn.

After swinging through Perham, we headed for home. Once more a westbound was showing, this time in Staples. I figured I had just enough time to grab a smoothie at McDonalds and get back west of town for a shot. What a prediction-the headlight was showing as I once more pulled over on Highway 75! A short wait in the gale-force winds, and a COLX empty marched by, slowing for the bridge.


They're only GE's, and the paint is a bit faded, but a matched set is a matched set. As the GEVO's arrive and coal traffic seems to fall a bit, matched power is getting more rare. The MACs that used to be strictly coal power are still found on coal trains, but they are also showing up on manifests, grain trains, and crude oil trains.

The railroad seemed busy this weekend, although I didn't get much chance for photos. I hear another train passing through town as I write this. Life is good.

Working in the Evening

I'm sure everyone who take a minute to read what is posted here has a "real life", the thing that gets in the way of just doing what you think is fun 24/7. Once in a while this real life can get in the way of what we might prefer to be doing, which is exactly what has happened to me recently. Go here, go there, do this, do that. All of a sudden you take a breath and realize that days have passed since you have had much time to concentrate on "fun".

But the flame still flickers, even though a strong wind tries to blow it out. Case in point: on Tuesday an evening meeting called me to Perham. With the days getting longer and the sun angle improving the hope of a train photo existed. Sure enough, a baretable train was passing through town as I headed up Jefferson. This night luck was with me as I beat the power to the Bluffton curve.


Under normal situations, the chase to catch the head end would have taken almost to Perham, but a slow order due to bridge work in Bluffton allowed me to catch the train as it snuck around the corner and entered the Leaf River plain.

Once the tail end of the train cleared the bridge, the hogger was back on the throttle and I was back in a photography position, this time near Perham's "Big Woods". The train was making up for lost time as he flew by me with a long string of empty well cars.


And that was it. After a meeting at the Cactus, where the 250 or so attendees were reminded of the importance of calling before they dig, it was back home for another late arrival. Someday I have to learn how to schedule.

Bluffton

Way back on a late January Sunday I get a text from Jer: "Got a fleet of Westbounds headed your way assuming you're home." After replying that I might have to check that out, he comes back with this gem: "I bet there's at least 10." Me: "WHAT????" Oh, he had it all figured out, with one each at Randall, Gregory, Little Falls, St. Cloud, and finally at MP 66. Then he threw in, for good measure I guess, "Might be three or so in TWC." Heck, he could have been dispatching the entire sub.

So now you have the background on how I happened to wind up in Bluffton for a few minutes that afternoon, just a-waiting for some trains to show up. I know this gets old but I saw the first headlight when I crossed the tracks in Wadena, and only had to wait 5 or 10 minutes at Bluffton for a string of tanks behind some fairly nice looking GE's.


I knew there was a train pretty close to his block, so I stuck around for one more. This time the power was not as nice, and the cars were a lot more varied.


The clouds moved in fast, so I gave up after these two. There was something extra fun about catching a train that a fellow railfan had given you a heads-up on, though.

As much as I like trains, real and pretend, and taking pictures of both kinds, the enjoyment is multiplied when people who share your interest can take any part in the outings. I've explained in the past that the people are what make Verndale Rail special for me. We only get one chance a year to do that, but there are lots of other chances to get out with another fan, or share information like Jer and a lot of other OMR members are so willing to do. While these might not be as exciting as the big show in June, they still add a huge amount of enjoyment to the hobby. So thanks to all of you who call, or email, or post, or text heads-up alerts on rail action in the area. We might not always be able to make use of the intelligence but the times we can make it all worth it.

Note: it's even fun when the news is that there will likely be no trains that day! Yes, you know who you are.

Central Intelligence Agency

The CIA is rumored to have its headquarters in Langley, Virginia, but I think there is a branch office somewhere near Alexandria, Minnesota since lots of really good intelligence comes out of that area.


For example last weekend I received word that a Z train with a pair of new GEVO's on point was headed west. With plenty of advance notice, I was able to keep one eye on ATCS and time my adventure almost perfectly. Given the sun angle it seemed like the best shot would be at Bluffton. Sure enough, just as reported, the train showed up with fresh paint leading. When the trucks and fuel tank are as silver as these were you know the power has to be just out of the factory.

I want to take this opportunity to say thanks for the heads-up, not just for this particular piece of information, but for a lot of different tips. They are greatly appreciated, please keep them coming.

Today's Coalies

A trip to Lake Park and back offered the opportunity to catch some Staples Sub traffic today and the BNSF held up their end of the bargain. Catching three trains, all coal loads, was a great bonus to an enjoyable day of work.

I left Wadena a bit before 8, and didn't make it to New York Mills before coming across this train. A u-turn and short trip back towards home resulted in this shot, taken in one of my favorite close-to-home railfanning locations. Long time readers probably have figured out my weakness for train photos with a farm silo in them, and this one doubles the pleasure.


The next train, my last of the morning, was captured near Boyer Lake. This one ground its way out of the woods, the uphill climb out of the Red River valley almost complete.


And finally, the lone train I shot on the way home. The shorter days and sun angles make the Frazee S curves useful in mid afternoon this time of year for eastbounds. Here's a shot of an eastbound, with good nose light, around 2:00 PM or later. The engineer of this train was a friendly sort, quick with a wave and a toot on the horn for the railfan out taking pictures. Thanks!


And that's it for my day!

To Perham

Mrs. L4T and I were contemplating a place to take sustenance earlier today, and part of the research involved a look at ATCS. With a pair of westbounds showing, I proposed that we make Perham our ultimate destination, after a stop or two for photography. So we were off.



First stop was the Bluffton curve, where we waited impatiently for the train. Finally he was in the plant at Wadena, and I dismounted to await arrival. The horn for the Highway 75 crossing presaged the new gates at Black's Grove Road dropping, and then he swept around the corner and into my view:





In the meantime it looked like another train had joined the parade, coming off the Brainerd Sub. I decided to wait for another train at this location, and after a few minutes here he came. This time the train crept rather than swept around the corner, as he must have on the blocks of the first train. Doesn't take much of an excuse to grab a few frames of a 60M:





The sun had been buried behind a massive fluffy cloud not more than 10 seconds before the shutter was released for this shot. I was alternating glances between the sky and the tracks, wondering if there was a chance for a sucker hole, and sure enough a crack in the clouds allowed a bit of sunlight to illuminate this one.



With that we were off to Perham for a DQ stop. After quickly picking up our food (and a gigantic smoothie) it was back to the tracks. The rock train passed by us just as we reached the tracks, leaving me thinking that there was still a coal empty coming. Sure enough, after a couple of chicken strips and some fries, headlights popped up to the east. It was an EMD led coal empty from MERC:





I think Mr. Pentax's focusing system fell in love with the milepost on that shot.



That was it for our brief railfanning outing while grabbing supper. Tonight the BNSF treated us to some traffic and even a cascade green unit in good light. The food was good, the smoothie was better, and the SD60M was best!

Almost a (1997) Calendar Shot

If not for the crappy light, the foreground clutter, the locomotive re-numbering, the fact the leader is wearing the absolutely most classic paint scheme of all time, and the second unit is pointing the wrong way, this photo could have been considered for a first-edition BNSF company calendar. When was the last time you saw a trio of shiny H1 SD40-2's?


Mrs. L4T and I were out for an evening drive, with nowhere to go and expecting little if any traffic due to the derailment in Fridley. Enjoying my Rolo McFlurry (snack size!) as we cruised west on Highway 10, it seemed like a nice evening to just relax. Even the sight of an eastbound behind a pair of H1 Dash 9's and a warbonnet wasn't enough to motivate yours truly into a simple U-turn. For some reason I just kept heading west on Highway 10, speculating with the Mrs. about where the train we just saw would spend the evening. I explained to her the intricacies of traffic routing, and how even sending them east to Superior wouldn't open the way to Northtown yard. I think she was listening, but can't say for sure. It was clear that she was watching, though, when she informed me of another train. Sure enough, we had stumbled upon the set shown above. This was enough to motivate me to make a U-turn, and step on it. The EMD's were making good time as I barely caught them near Bluffton for the shot above.

All four units were leaning into the train as they climbed out of the Leaf River plain. Smoke belched from the exhausts, and the train slowed just enough to let me catch him for one more going away shot on the west side of Wadena.


As they lifted the entire train up the grade, the locomotives rapidly brought the speed back up and they were almost clear of the grade crossing in Wadena when we turned to go home.

Another lesson in why you never quit looking. Sometimes the real treats show up at the most unexpected time.

Hey Mr. Cloud, Who's Boss?

Father's Day, what to do. ATCS shows three westbounds possibly "in range". With the first one getting fairly close it seemed only natural to set up at the Bluffton curve for a shot. It looked lovely sweeping around the corner, not so much when that big old cloud reached out and gave me a beating.


So, I'm 0 for 1. Let's go to Staples, and see if we can do something productive with the next train. I knew it would be tight timewise and sure enough a headlight appeared as I neared Dower Lake. After a short hike through the ditch a pile of ballast provided a perch for shooting the train.


The Staples DQ provided supper, which was consumed while sitting at the Dower Lake crossing. I was hoping that the Ferromex unit in the yard would head west, but an eastbound cleared up a warrant so after a short wait I got to try an artsy backlit shot that focused on the rail that had been replaced but not yet picked up and hauled away.


There was a DPU facing the right way on this Becker train, and that gave a chance for a nicely lit going away shot. At least the clouds let me have this one.


Mrs. L4T and bumped into someone we knew at the Staples Depot and had a nice conversation. Time flies when you're having fun, and soon enough the last westbound showed its face for me. Once again, Mr. Cloud showed who was boss.


Having given up hope that the visitor from the south would come out and play, I had to try one shot of it hiding behind a bare-nosed MAC. Here's what I came up with.


With that we headed for home. Even though the clouds reminded me once more who was boss, it was a fun outing.

An "SD" Kind of Day

SaturDay, Mrs. L4T and I headed over Brainerd way after lunch to get some things taken care of. Since the sun was out, I brought the camera (OK, I would have brought the camera regardless-"Pentax: don't leave home without it!")

My first victim showed up as we pulled into Brainerd, where a set of vintage SD's were sunning themselves on the east end of the yard. I crept up on the pair from the south to snap a couple of photos without disturbing them.




The rails were quiet the rest of the way to Brainerd and almost all the way back to Staples. As we approached town from the east, a loaded coal train was announced by the presence of the familiar trio of headlights. This one had an ACe and MAC up front. I decided to wait a bit and see if there was a DPU to shoot. Sure enough, this time they left it pointed the right way. I failed to anticipate the glare off the windshield, though, and this is all I have to show for the wait.


An eastbound was passing through town, staying on the Staples, as we rolled by the depot. For some reason I kept on going, and it turned out to be a good decision as we spotted the tail end of a coal empty before reaching Aldrich. Immediately thoughts turned toward the Bluffton curve, and even with a red light in Wadena I had managed to open a big enough gap on the train to make it there with a couple of minutes to spare. I shot him as he approached the new crossing gates there, with plenty of sun to illuminate the pair of ACe's leading the train.

That's all the railfanning we managed this weekend, as the clouds rolled in on Sunday and I got occupied with the models. It was fun to see a great selection of EMD's fine products on display along the BNSF on a sunny spring Saturday.

Central Minnesota Gloom

It hardly seems fair that on the same weekend a couple of OMR members are out shooting trains in glorious sunshine and spectacular scenery, the rest of us were stuck under leaden skies. But it's the truth.

So it came to pass that Mrs. L4T and I made a short chase through a gloom to catch the DPU of a coal empty as it blasted west on Sunday evening. We had planned on heading to Verndale for supper, but the presence of the empty coal train passing through Wadena was enough to lead us astray for a bit. I managed to catch up to him at CR 143, just west of Bluffton, where I grabbed a shot of the trailing unit as it was swallowed up by the fog.


And that was the sum total of my prototype railfanning last weekend. Not much, but a little train action sure beats none at all. And I have to admit to spending a bunch of time over the weekend in the basement, where the sun shines on the trains at my command, not someone else's.

Next time, I'll hopefully have uploaded the shot of a Dash 9 on a coal train in
Staples yard, which was today's sighting. There's that to look forward to, at least.

Sunday Z

Fate left me all alone this afternoon. There were a lot of things that needed doing, but the lovely weather was a temptation as well. A check of the ATCS revealed a solitary westbound the other side of Philbrook, so after puttering around the house for a bit I decided to head for the most west-facing segment of track in the Wadena area to see if there was any nose light to be had.

I waited less than 10 minutes before hearing the train blowing for the crossings to the east. The weather nice enough to leave a window down giving me plenty of notice. A cranked up zoom yielded the first shot, as the train approached the bridge over the Leaf River.


This Z train was moving fast, but there was time for a couple of more shots as the train approached. The train had a nice looking set of power, three Dash 9's all with decent looking orange paint. There are a lot of really ugly Dash 9's on the rails, and it's a pleasant surprise to see three that look like these do.


After the train passed, it was back home again, for a session playing with CV's and soldering feeders to the track.

Jim

Close to Home

Railfan Craig from Thunder Bay was in the area this past weekend, and a phone call from him was enough motivation to spend early Sunday morning along the tracks right in Wadena. We were lucky enough to get 4 trains in that time, and three of them were headed into the rising sun. Here you go:




That second coal train was kind of nice, with decent morning light and a matched set of power. Could have been ACes instead of GEVOs though. A good railfan always finds something to whine about. I've got that part of the hobby pretty much down pat.

Mrs. L4T agreed to a brief evening outing on Sunday, and we headed to Staples after hearing that an H train was preparing to leave the yard. First, at the Dower Lake crossing:


And then after a short drive, a shot to try and catch the 5 unit set of power at the Bluffton crossing.


The time of year is coming when shots any further west of CR 143 get tough, as the nose light is going away. A sure sign of fall.

With work to do and time wasting, we headed home after stopping at Wadena's Original Fresh Freeze for a Sunday supper. The fleet of westbounds passed as the sun was setting with no one present to shoot them.

Jim