Nosing Around in the Fog

A  clearing forecast and decent temps combined with the offer of a guide seemed to create the conditions for a dream railfanning outing this morning, so I took advantage of the situation and was out the door before 7:30 AM. After a short stop at to say hi to Dan's wiener dogs, it was back on the road in foggy conditions, just right to catch a train looming out of the gloom. I was driving but taking directions from the fearless leader, and he guided us to a meeting with four EMD's right off the bat, including a blue and yellow visitor to the ports.

 



With CP accounted for, it was off to Black Bear where a fantastic trestle was shrouded in fog when we arrived. The twenty minute or so wait for the train allowed all the fog to clear out, yielding the finest-lit shot of the day as CN "land barge" struggled by with two big units up front and a couple more mid-train. Six hundred and sixty some axles, with lots of loads, had these engines groaning as they worked the train out of the basin.  

 



The upside was that slower progress made for an easier chase. We were able to beat the train to this secret location even when it involved a short run that left my legs rubbery. The photo may not be much but the sight and sound of the train cutting through the fog was pretty cool. I've never thought about how hard trains have to work heading out of Superior toward Wisconsin, but apparently hills ring the Twin Ports.  

 



 By this time, I had worked up a healthy appetite and the Escape was thirsty as well, so we headed back to Superior to fill everyone's tanks. After stops at Holiday and McD's (and a few well-chosen words about the lateness of this year's McRib), it was back on the road, to check out what my old friend the BNSF was up to. 28th Street Yard was strangely unoccupied when we drove up, with only a couple of units present, but the railroad fixed that in a minute when a couple more GP's backed a cut of cars into the yard. The fog was back in force as I shot the action. I do find something uniquely compelling about these foggy day shots.

 

 Of course no railfanning outing in Superior is complete until you at least do a roll-by inspection of the engine servicing facility. Today, we were lucky enough to catch a crowd of EMD's, of various vintages, paint schemes, and wheel arrangements, being prepped and fueled for service. I couldn't resist.

 

Finally, a swing around the yard and down past the elevators produced nothing new. However, I did get a valuable tip about a photo location for boats loading grain at CHS. Today it was the "American Mariner" filling up. Even got a tiny bit of fall color in the corner of the shot.

And with that, our three-hour tour had ended. Not stranded on a deserted island, either, but just minutes from home and already dreaming of the next chance I have to get out and look for trains around the Twin Ports. Thanks, Dan, for the tour and all the info you shared. It's appreciated.

Trifecta

With Northwest Minnesota work awaiting me Wednesday and Thursday, I set off after lunch Tuesday with a destination of Thief River Falls. The plan for the next couple of days was the Warren-Argyle-Stephen-Hallock area, and TRF is a good place to work out of when up in that part of the state.

Before even leaving town the tail end of an intermodal train was spotted, and after some thought I decided to shoot him at the Big Woods just east of Perham. After a very brief wait, the trio of Dash 9's appeared. The side-lighting is strong this time of year, but here's my best effort.


Then the story got a little more interesting. A CP westbound was fooling around in the Vergas area, and it sounded like a meet in Callaway was possible. My thought was to try and make it north of town soon enough to get the eastbound in the sun. After reaching DL and seeing nothing to the south, it seemed like the odds were I had made it. Sure enough, a foreman was on the radio with news that the weld they were making would take another half hour and the dispatcher might want to let the eastbound come to DL for the meet. But he didn't want to mess with changing the warrants. Fine by me. North I went, knowing that there was a train out there somewhere, coming toward me and the sun. Nothing but a long string of grain cars was visible at Callaway, so the trip north continued. Imagine the disappointment felt when the CP 2010 called the dispatcher to report problems with the spout at the Callaway elevator and ask if the meet could be moved south as they couldn't get out of the way. Somehow, a bandit had eluded me!

Since traffic is fairly light on the DL Sub, I pretty much gave up hope of seeing anything else. That's always a good way to be surprised, and it worked again, as I spotted the glow of a headlight between Bejou and Winger, and managed to get this shot in nice light.


That was the end of the trains for Tuesday. A text from Jer later that day confirmed that the local had a bandit leader and I had missed it!

Having felt fine when I left home, by night I was in the grips of a world-class head cold and was able to get very little sleep. I set out for work the next morning, and was able to keep going until after lunch, but then gave in and called off the trip. Homeward bound, with Dayquil, coughdrops, and decongestant powering me.

In somewhere near the same location as the previous day, I again spotted a headlight. This time it was a westbound, and this time the overcast was heavy. Being in no condition to do anything fancy, I drove across the tracks and shot him out the car window. Today, the bandit was trailing.


I spotted 4 westbounds on the Staples Sub between DL and Wadena, but the call of home was strong, I felt extremely crappy, and it was very overcast, so no photos. All I have to show for 400+ miles of driving is a trifecta of train photos.

Nosing Around Noyes

Hallock, MN, Monday August 8-with work taking me to NW MN once again, I was on the lookout for train action while travelling from Wadena to Hallock. I was surprised by one eastbound CP near Mahnomen, but the clouds removed any incentive to try a shot. The only other rail action spotted on the way up was a lonely ballast regulator heading north out of Crookston. Photos were shot under high sun out of habit but not worth sharing.



After a short stop in Argyle, the trip to Hallock continued. It was after 4:00 before I was done and could head for my home base for the week in TRF. I did spot one interesting item in town before leaving. This photo, along with a pair of RJ Corman sideboom cats that passed through Argyle just after lunch, are clues to one of the subjects of my next post.





The journey to TRF began with the Escape pointed east on Highway 175. A couple of miles before reaching Highway 59, lo and behold, I spotted railcars moving northwest on the CP. A slight increase in speed wasn't enough to reach the intersection before the train had passed but it was visible up the road, and so a left turn was made in place of a right. The chase was on.



Nearly catching the train on the south side of Lancaster, he once again opened up a gap as I had to slow to pass through town. That gap quickly closed after leaving town, and this shot is from a spot near the NW MN metropolis of Orleans.





Having passed a detector, it seemed like a good idea to fire up the scanner and get an axle count on the train. Lo and behold, within a minute I heard BNSF 5471 calling the dispatcher for permission to leave Noyes. My fate was sealed. Off to Noyes it was, passing through the booming community of Humboldt, the turn-off to St. Vincent, and finally, the destination. There was no nose light on the power, and after a u-turn I shot something kind of "artsy"-some CP rolling stock, as seen looking under a tank car in the BNSF train.





Knowing the BNSF train would be travelling away from the sun for a bit, I decided to risk a turn north to once again intercept the CP westbound. Here he is, approaching the border as the train passes the rolling stock seen in the previous photo.





Then it was back on the horse to chase down the BNSF eastbound. Just south of Humboldt was the opportunity to get him passing front of a wheat field, and I took it:





Say, what's that strange looking car coupled directly behind the power? Why it looks like a four truck heavy load flat, earning its keep carrying something big and heavy.





By this time my back, which had been sore all weekend, was really starting to flare up. Setting a reverse course I headed for TRF once again, with about an hour and a half drive ahead of me. The scanner was still on and all of a sudden announce another CP train, and just a couple of minutes later I hoisted myself out of the car for this shot, which should have been better but wasn't since I was moving pretty slowly.





That was it until I reached Thief, where a plethora of maroon and gold units waited. I reached the hotel after a great evening of railfanning, with good luck on the train count, paint scheme, and variety fronts. Gotta love NW MN!

Over and Over

This morning found me in Perham to conduct a morning training session. The folks I was working with had their own work to do, and were in a hurry to get done, so a relatively early trip back home was in order. Sometime between 9:30 and 10:00, while leaving the shop in Perham, I heard a horn. This called for an investigation.

I found the Wadena local sitting in Perham, pointed east. With a set of old grungy hoppers in tow, an imminent departure seemed likely, and sure enough they started to pull before I even got a shot. Traffic was wild on crazy days, and it seemed like the train would get well ahead of me, but as quickly as they started, they stopped, and uncoupled from the train on Main Two at the east edge of town. I reached the crossing in time to see them back into the trailing point spur, grab a few more of what I believe were tie cars, and run back up to the main, as seen here.


Just as all this was going on, a headlight appeared at the curve near the Ottertail River bridge. Although the light was awful for a westbound, the power was unique enough (for Perham at least) to warrant a shot. For the second day in a row CP GE's graced the lens of the Pentax.


With the crew putting the local back together, a quick trip a mile or so east found me at the bridge. Before I knew it, the GP's came flying down the hill and around the curve, surprising me so much I only got this shot showing the dark side.


Hopping back in the Escape I gave chase, finally getting a bit of breathing room east of New York Mills. Here comes the local once more, undulating across the swales of the Staples Sub.


I figured if I hurried I could get him once more as he rounded the Bluffton curve. Sure enough I was in place with a minute to spare. They still had these GP's wound up as the train climbed out of the Leaf River Plain.


It's always enjoyable seeing how the train works Wadena. To the best of my knowledge the only run-around that is available is down by Drywall Supply, and when I stopped to watch them work, I found that track occupied by a covered hopper being loaded with what I think is edible beans. This is again new business for Wadena to the best of my knowledge.


This raised the question of how the hogger would get his power on the proper end of the train. As they backed into the spur, it seemed that somehow the loading operation would be interrupted. Was I ever surprised when, after clearing his warrant, the dispatcher and conductor started talking about work they had to do in Staples! All of a sudden they headed up the spur, light power, and indicated they would be leaving as soon as everything was properly lined.

With that I was off, intending to grab a shot of the pair of geeps as they made their way east. It was a competitive chase, and I barely managed to get ahead of them on the west side of Verndale. In fact, this was shot out the car window as there was no chance to dismount.


Well, now you know the story of shooting the Wadena Local "over and over", plus what happens where Jer gives me free reign to shoot red GE's. Thanks for looking!

CP Under High Sun

Around noon I left a meeting in Henning, and was greeted by the sound of a GE horm when I walked outside. A swing down by the tracks revealed a meet underway, with the westbound having taken the siding and the eastbound passing through after a stop to line the East siding switch. Hmmm, perhaps a trip to Soo Line Road? Yes, there really is such a place. Here's a sample of the view:


Unlike the Staples Sub, a long CP train still gathering speed is an easy chase, so the next stop was at the detector south of town. This is looking across a hay field, obviously toward the tracks.


The sun was high, but still. That is some lovely countryside the tracks pass through. I need to take a lesson from Jer and spend some more time along the DL Sub. Maybe he's selling licenses?

Sampling some Switchers

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like any railfan who wakes up in Thief River Falls, looks out the window to see sunshine, and has a half hour to spare should be obligated to take a swing by the CP yard to see what else is up and about.

So that's what I did this morning. After shooting some pictures of the Farmer's Coop concrete grain elevator (one of my new obsessions) I tracked this down sitting what I think is south of the roundhouse.


It was the beginning of a long day, a day that would interestingly enough involve the sightings of a number of switch engines. The CP engine above was the first, but after reaching Crookston sometime after lunch a little exploration revealed a couple of others. The Minnesota Northern engine is hidden behind this little gem, and there didn't seem to be a way to get a shot that included them both. The heat distortion is really getting to be a problem when combined with the high sun.


Since the day seemed to be developing a switch engine theme, and the trip up offered a look at the unit that lives in Callaway, a return route through Ulen seemed fitting. This engine is hard to get from a good angle AND in good light. I finally got a little better light today, although it was high sun, but the angle was awful. Too much "elevator" stuff around.


While doing a little more snooping, I thought I spotted a crew van in Ulen, although there was no grain train present. This instantly alerted the railfan senses, and after heading south sure enough headlights were spotted leaving Hitterdall. This train is an easy chase, as I think the track is only 10 mph and they absolutely don't speed, so I shot him in a couple of spots between there and Ulen. Since this post is about switchers, though, I will save those for another day.

The Back Way

Saturday Mrs. L4t and I set out for Grand Forks to see our son. Rather than the typical trip west to Fargo and then flying up I-29, I convince the Mrs. that a short cut through Erskine was the way to go this day. I don't know what I missed as a result, but here is a short report on what I did in fact catch on National Train Day.

Just south of Waubun, we encountered our first CP train. This eastbound had a GE leader and white SOO SD as the second unit. I shot him at max tele to capture the hump:


The heat distortion is already setting in, so I got him again as he approached:


My assumption that this was all the CP action for the day proved correct. The next line encountered was the BNSF Grand Forks Sub, which we started to follow at Erskine. The line curves away from the highway in a few spots so we were lucky to spot a headlight in the distance as we approached Fisher. Mrs. L4T confirmed that it was a train and I found a crossing. I thought this was a Noyes train but on further reflection it almost had to have been headed to Superior. That's if all the old open hoppers were limestone cars, anyway.


We made a couple of passes by the yard in Grand Forks over the weekend but even with a healthy collection of GP's near the shop I didn't get any shots. Someday when I have more time I'll try and find a place to shoot them from.

We followed the Hillsboro Sub home and met one westbound fertilizer train, all CSX covered hoppers with three CSX GE's leading. Again, no shots as home was calling out strongly. I do suspect seeing the exact same train returning empty this evening near Wadena, which would have been a very fast turnaround.

Thursday's Train

After spending Monday through Wedensday in Austin and Owatonna, I was back on the road Thursday afternoon, with a stop in Randall and subsequent trip to the Cities for a Friday meeting in order. As usual the camera was in the car.

Just a couple of miles west of Staples, I encountered this thing, which is likely one of the reasons for the abundance of MOW personnel and the corresponding lack of trains during weekdays along the Staples Sub. Anyone know what it is?


I was just getting ready to leave Randall when I heard a horn, and the train flew through town eastbound as I left. Seemed like a good candidate for a chase, especially with a gorgeous H1 Dash 9 on the point and a pair of CP units rounding out the consist. I caught the head end just as it passed under the overpass at Little Falls, and was well ahead of the train by Gregory. After a stop at the Rice Holiday, the train had caught up and I played cat and mouse with him until turning off to intercept it approaching Sartell, just west of the paper mill. I was lucky enough to get him in a sucker hole:


I already had seen one interesting piece of rolling stock in this train, so decided to grab a shot of a 12-axle depressed center flat towards the rear of the long train. Here's a shot:


That was the end of my railfanning for the day. I decided to cut through St. Cloud and leave the Staples Sub. It wasn't a "big number" day, but I did get a sunny shot of a nice looking loco and some unusual power, so it was fun.

A Cold Day along the SOO

On a cold and snowy Sunday, just as I pulled into the driveway after church, my phone rang. Seems that somehow Jeremiah had managed to talk Chris into sharing my phone number, and wanted to report that 3 SOO SD60's were leading a train north. He even had location info, and was able to clue me in that a meet was set for Henning. Entering all this data into my mobile railfanning computer (head), the plan for a brief railfan outing was output.

Of course, Mrs. L4T had to be let in on the plan, and put together a "go" bag so we could be on our way. After a quick stop at McDonald's drive-thru, we were headed west on Highway 10. Soon the radio announced a pair of trains clearing warrants in Henning, signalling that the 60's were once again on the move. Another short consultation with Jer and plans were finalized to intercept the target somewhere in the Vergas area.

Arriving in the MP 203-204 area, I selected a curve around a pond as the ambush location. Jer reported that he was in hot pursuit of a BNSF westbound and should make the intended photo location near Vergas with time to spare. The next piece of information was a location report to the dispatcher, which placed the train near MP 188 just before Jeramiah's arrival. As the black Silverado drifted by I dismounted and was greeted by a blast of supercooled air, driven by a howling wind.

Jeramiah was wearing a pullover sweatshirt and gloves so I knew the wind chill had to be well below zero. We chatted for a while, then decided to get into position for the shot. As I huddled, shivering, behind a snowbank, I turned around to take in Jer's suffering.


Nothing like roughing it.

Distant blasts of the horn signalled the impending arrival of the train. It seemed like an eternity before the three SOO units swept majestically around the corner into sight.


A final shot, as they pass my location. Jer got them from a slightly different angle, and with some elevation as he has no fear of "teh wind chill", as the kids on the internet would say.


I also got video of the train, but that's for another day. By the time they had passed, and everything was packed up, my hands felt like they might shatter if I bumped them against something hard. And so we went our separate ways, with Mrs. L4T and I headed home for Wadena, after successfully completing the great SD60 intercept of 2011. Thanks for the heads up and the company, Jer, and you are a true Minnesotan! Uffda!

The Scenic Route

I was nearing Karlstad early Thursday morning, when my beleaguered eye detected what appeared to be a headlight far to the north on the tangent CP track in that area. After crossing the tracks at the first available county road, a short wait allowed me to catch one of the CP's famous "one unit wonders":


Any of you who have had the opportunity to travel Highway 59, especially during this time of the year when the amber waves of grain have been harvested, the leaves have mostly fallen, yet the first flakes of snow have yet to hit the ground, probably figured out the title of this post was written somewhat in jest. Regardless of what anyone might try to convince you of, this is not a very scenic area. Pretty flat, with scrub forests mixed among fields, their isn't much to try and include to add interest to a photo. Maybe that's why we have trains-to give the photographer and rail enthusiast something to focus on while trekking through just this type of area.

It's not a photo to be celebrated, but then neither are many of the trains we see. It's part of America (and in this case Canada), part of the civilization and culture we live in. And that's enough to make it interesting and worth the hard drive space to me. It's a train, and while some are prettier than others, I like 'em all.

Jim

Return to Rollag

Last year I made my first ever trip to the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion just outside Rollag, MN. It was so much fun that I had to go back again this year, and it was worth the trip. While many of you were out chasing a very late Amtrak #8 on Saturday, I had a different passenger train in my viewfinder. I was after the former SOO Line 353, which serves as power for Rollag's "Railroad to Nowhere". It seemed to me that they had beefed up the consist of the train this year, with 5 passenger cars available to guests. I suspect that this train can carry more people at one time than the standard consist of the Empire Builder, albeit not in the same luxurious style.


It's not all about trains. There is an endless variety of steam engines, both mobile (tractors) and stationary. In addition, the gas engine fan would be entertained to no end by the hundreds of units of every conceivable size, from little engines that would run a wash machine to the giant 600 horsepower Snow engine that is 67 feet long and weighs in a 140 tons. Some examples of the equipment you see during a visit to Rollag:



We ate like kings, we toured the grounds and watched as the giant steam hammer from the old railroad shop in St. Paul did its thing, making the ground shake under a large crowd as it stamped out commemerative plates for the 2010 edition of the show. We saw threshing machines, sawmills, a flour mill, a couple of enormous steam powered electrical generators, a working foundry and machine shop, and actual STEAM rollers and STEAM shovels go through their paces. After walking until I thought my legs would fall off, it was time to head for home. Since one of the attendees from our party was staying at Rush Lake, we followed the scenic route through lake country. Wherever we crossed the CP I took a good look each way for any railroad action, and when we reached Dent, it paid off as I spotted red to my southeast. This called for a brief stop to shoot a SOO SD60 that was sitting in the siding, waiting for its call to work.


I'm already looking forward to next year.

Jim

Windmilling

OK, so for St. Valentine's Day, I had directed Mrs. L4T to make 6 PM reservations at Thumper Pond in Ottertail. No Dairy Queen in Staples with the Mrs. this year-nothing but the best for her. Plus, it was all part of a plan-head west for some railfan adventures, then intercept a CP eastbound at Detroit Lakes and chase it to Ottertail.

My plan almost worked, sort of. Well, at least the part where we head west for some railfanning. And the part where we eat at Ottertail at 6 PM.

Just like many railfan adventures, it started with such promise. The ATCS display and radio traffic indicated a number of westbounds on the Staples Sub. I also knew I would see at least one eastbound. And, that one eastbound turned out to be my BNSF "take" for the day. We were between Perham and Frazee when a Z train showed up and a hike through the snow yielded this shot:


First shot of a promising day on the West Staples Sub.

Just a few minutes before this train arrived, I had heard a CP 4451 east get a warrant leaving Richville or Dent or somewhere south of where we were. I figured it was too far down the line to chase so I passed on it. But while I was waiting for a second BNSF eastbound, who I had heard get a warrant to Wadena, another CP train chimed in. This time the warrant was from MP 219, just north of Detroit Lakes. Since I knew Jeramiah was out chasing a windmill train, our plan changed instantly and we were off for Vergas in hopes of catching the high/wide loads.

After searching for a location to shoot the train, I settled on a spot just northwest of Vergas, and the train appeared within a couple of minutes. My first look at the windmill bases being hauled by the CP:


I could hear him talking to someone regularly, and it sounded like they would have to slow down for Dent. On the way there, I stopped at a crossing and shot him again:


As soon as I was back in my vehicle, I heard the train report the presence of possible "terrorists" driving a light colored Ford Escape. This was in addition to the shady character who had been chasing them earlier, driving a "purple" pickup. Somehow, I didn't get the impression that the crew felt they were truly in danger, but I stopped and reassured the CP employee that was accompanying the train that I was not a terrorist. He seemed happy to know it, and just asked me to stay a safe distance from the train.

The train got a good roll-by in Dent, and I was already off for Richville, hoping for a good shot there. About this time the overcast that had rolled in really began to thicken up. However, since windmill trains are not everyday traffic, we pressed on. Here is the train at Richville, waiting to slowly pass the centerbeam flats on the siding.


After he got by these cars, the highball call was made and the train really started to move. I barely beat him to the crossing just north of Ottertail, and he made that time up and beat me to the crossing on the east edge of town. At this point it was a race to the Henning overpass, which I won by a nose as the train again slowed to pass through town. I got a personal greeting from the train crew as they approached the overpass. This shot doesn't show the big friendly wave, as my Pentax blew the focus on that one.


It was one of those days-I heard numerous trains pass by on the Staples Sub, and each time asked myself if this was worth missing a day with what seemed like pretty good traffic. The answer was yes. It was a lot of fun to catch something out of the ordinary.

Then we were done, and still had more than two hours to kill before supper at Thumper Pond. So we headed home, for a little post processing and a dry pair of shoes to wear to the restaurant. And that was my Valentine's Day.

Jim

Meet Me in Mahnomen

It was a dark and gloomy morning, last Monday as I pointed the Escape northwest for a trip to Hallock. It's kind of a neat drive for me, since you can parallel tracks almost the entire way. Oddly, by the time I made it to Detroit Lakes and made a hard right to follow the CP, I hadn't yet seen a train. It's kind of unusual to make the Wadena to DL run without seeing a train on the Staples Sub.

I didn't expect much on the CP DL Sub as that has always been a tough place for me to catch a train, but for the first time, I stumbled across a meet in Mahnomen. The northbound train was waiting for the southbound, which I have to assume was to take the siding. I didn't have time to wait around and see. I did snap a cloudy day shot as the train crept toward the crossing on the north edge of town.


Just as I left the crossing the southbound appeared. I pulled over and again grabbed a shot under leaden skies.


Having caught two trains, I knew I was safe the rest of the way to Erskine. As I headed west on Highway 2, my expectations were still pretty low as the clouds gave no sign of thinning. I took a close look at the shuttle elevator, and saw no activity there.

I confess to being shocked to see a headlight coming toward me as I rounded the curve near the elevator. Dashing across the tracks to the south at the first available crossing, I peered into the gloom to identify the oncoming train. There was something unusual about it, that I couldn't quite place. The first horn blast confirmed that this was not the usual Cass Lake local Geep. Imagine my surprise.


Take a close look at the second unit, this isn't the last you will see of it.

I continued on to my destination, spending the rest of the workday in Stephen right along the Noyes Sub. I've been lucky there in the past, but not today, as the BNSF didn't run a train for my enjoyment either on the Staples or Noyes Subs, and the only train I saw on the GF Sub was the Minnesota Northern one.

Pipeliners have literally taken over the extreme NW part of the state, and I ended up going to Thief River Falls to find a motel room. That turned out to be a lucky break, as the sun tried to peek out for a few minutes just before dark and I was able to get a couple of pictures before retiring to my motel.


As I headed up to the yard, I came across this car scrapping operation, which was shut down for the evening. It must be where EEC hopppers go to rest.

There was still a substantial line of stored SD60's in a couple of paint schemes in the yard, but no decent photo opportunities. Same story with the repainted switchers, I think at least one was an MP15, but no chance at a decent photo.

NPR was putting a train together, though, and I grabbed a quick shot at the north end of the yard. That must be a fertile engine, to have a light pole growing right out of the top of it.


Last up was the ILSX 1381, second unit on the morning Minnesota Northern train. Evening found it resting just north of Thief River Falls, coupled up to more fodder for the scapper's torch from the writing on the car. I got it in the only sun I saw all day.


I also walked out across a stubble field, that was surprisingly dry (although it wouldn't be by morning) to shoot the entire train. Some day I want to go up and chase them to Roseau.


Next morning I was off for Hallock well before dawn, and made the return trip to Wadena in the evening. The skies were still dark and gloomy, and the trains were rare. I was just thankful to have seen the action I did the previous day.

Keep looking for trains,

Jim