Twin Ports Oddities and More

Well, maybe not all "oddities", but in a few cases, certainly, "things I don't see every day". 

I slipped away this afternoon for a short jaunt around Duluth and Superior, intent on finally taking a few train photos. My first stop was Rice's Point, where I found the CP local power gurgling away on the lead to one of the Port Authority tracks. The most unusual unit for me in this day and age was the SOO.

Just turning around, I spotted this thing in the yard. Now we're getting somewhere on the oddity front. Not sure of the heritage of this former caboose, but it's sure not something I see often, or even ever before. 

TEXX is a logistics outfit that arranges transportation for unique cargoes, according to their website. The unique cargo in this case might be the heavy load shown below, which was spotted in CP's Rices Point yard a couple tracks over from the caboose. 

With those shots in the bag, I headed to Superior, and swung by the BNSF facility. That's where I spotted these freshly painted sno-dozers, waiting patiently for mother nature to provide the conditions that will allow them to strut their stuff. I'm waiting too!

 
Then it was on to the yard, where I spotted a couple of BN grain hoppers coupled next to each other. The difference in paint condition was enough to get me to stop. These photos will go a long way toward helping me get the weathering right on some models in the future. It is amazing how almost anything I can imagine can be found on the railroad in one way or another. A great example of life imitating art.

Finally, after getting a text from Mrs. L4T recalling me for more mother in law moving duty, I started back for Duluth. As I crossed the yard on the 21st Ave viaduct, I spotted a train that forced me to make a short detour. It's not everyday that you can see a pair of former bluebonnet GP's handling a coal train. OK, it wasn't actually an entire train, but it was a goodly sized cut of coal gons, and while the power was another example of why the Twin Ports might be the world's EMD capital, this specific power set-a GP50 leading a GP40X-is anything but common. It was enough for me to call it an oddity, and a day. 

Independence Day

I present you the completion of my backwards-blogged weekend with a short post describing my Independence Day observations. Since I had been warned earlier that BNSF was operating a reduced schedule for the holiday I was expecting less traffic than normal, but my experiences from one year earlier still had me holding out hope for some traffic on this beautiful summer dawn.

After leaving home, the wait was short before some traffic showed. I found an eastbound almost as soon as I arrived at the crossing in Wadena, and decided that since this is the only time of the year when the sun gets around far enough to shoot an eastbound through the legs of the Verndale station sign I might as well take advantage of it. Here is the result.


I continued on to Staples, and since the theme for the day started out as station signs, I decided to work in the Dower Lake sign in a shot as well. I'm not as happy with this one but I was in a hurry-this train didn't cut me any slack.


Trains were certainly scarce, and the Staples yard was vacant with the exception of a string of grain cars and what seem to the permanent residents of this yard, a Sno-dozer and a couple of "vintage" natural gas fuel tenders, which I think are reminders of a past energy crisis. I have been meaning to take these photos for over a year, and now I can finally sleep nights knowing I have recorded these images to disc before this equipment disappears.



Since I was on a mission to record vintage equipment, I decided to take a look at the caboose on the east side of town. It seems to be sporting a fresh coat of paint.


And with that, I returned home.

A trip out in the evening with Mrs. L4T led to one more intermodal train, this time a westbound I captured near Perham.


Happy 4th to the crews that had to work on the 4th, and I hope you made it home in time to shoot off some celebratory fireworks!

Jim...out

Southwest Minnesota Sightings (Cont.)

We pick up the story on Thursday morning, which found me deep in the corn country of southwest Minnesota. After finishing up at my first stop on Thursday, I had one more visit for the week, in Marshall. A glance at the map told me that I would be able to follow the DM&E for a few miles until I reached Highway 59, which would lead me right into town. The few miles of DM&E were trainless, though, and I continued on north.

Leaving Marshall, I decided to take MN 23 northeast as it parallels the BNSF line to Willmar. I turned the scanner on and in a matter of minutes I heard chatter between a train and the dispatcher. I also heard Fort Worth Mechanical talking to a different train about a radio problem. My first sighting was a southbound merchandise train just entering Cottonwood. He was moving at a good speed and I didn't have time to get to the sunny side, so shot him backlit.


I passed through Granite Falls with no further action, but when I reached Clara City I spotted a headlight. This proved to be BNSF 1061, the train I had heard the Fort Worth Mechanical Desk talking to earlier about a bad radio. I think they were having problems with the DPU unit on this train. I shot him from the ground, and from the overpass as he backed past the elevator.



That proved to be the extent of BNSF action for the day. My next target was the CP line into Glenwood and north. I was determined to catch something-anything-on that line to complete my trip. Ny first opportunity was an old SOO caboose that was part of an MOW consist sitting in a siding near Sedan.


Trains were moving both ways as I entered Glenwood. This was my first time in town, and I snooped around a bit trying to find a shot, but the yard was packed and all I could come up with was this.


And that was the end of trains for the day.

It's great to have a job where you get to travel the entire state, and to have a chance to pull over and take a picture once in a while. It was a good trip, got a lot of work done, and had the chance to see some railroad action.

Jim