Wednesdays with Dan (The GP Edition)

Once again this evening Dan M. was kind enough to drag me along on a local railfanning outing. This one turned out to be heavy on GP's although we didn't photo each and every one.

Actually the GP theme of this evening started to emerge even before I met up with Dan. On my way to supper with a former colleague, I spotted the UP switch job working in Superior and shot him just north of Belknap. Since I was in a hurry there was no time to wait for better light, so this shot will have to suffice.


After supper and a call to Dan, we headed out after 6 and promptly spied a pair of CN units at BNSF's Superior engine terminal. Since they both had 6 axles and were built by GE they don't fit the theme of this post, so no picture.

The radio brought news of a BNSF job at the Peavey elevator, and off we went. Sure enough it was a good decision as my old friends the 2765 and 2801 were tied on to a long string of grain cars coming out of the elevator.


News of a transfer from Duluth provided our next target. When Dan asked if I shot backlit I told him heck yes. After seeing the shots it was a good thing he asked. Here comes yet another pair of GP's, this time led by a freshly painted unit that probably still smells new. It likely won't stay that way for long, though, given the sander dust rising from the tracks as the engines move a heavy train into Superior.


Fresh paint called for a better lit shot, and sure enough Dan had just the location. The light barely held on as the pair swung into the Superior yard. That lead unit sure is pretty.


Oh and I almost forgot the day's oddity, this time some kind of scale and warehousing car tucked away back near the CHS elevators. You just never know what you might find, if you are looking in the right places.


A couple more GP's, this time CP, were at Rice's Point, but the light had pretty much given up by them. Finally it was off to the depot, for a report on the prototype and modeling events of the past week in the Twin Ports area. A good evening, for sure.

Rainy Day Layout Shots

Here's something I've learned.

The people who have layouts that are featured in the model railroad press, are really, really good modelers. Every time I try taking a picture of my sorry excuse of a model railroad it just drives home how far I have to go to consider my meager offerings presentable.

But for some reason even that doesn't stop me. Model railroading is unusual for me in that even though I know what I'm doing is sub-par, I can't help but enjoy it. That's different than a lot of other activities I have tried, and maybe it's because this is so much fun even when you're not an expert.

That's quite a lead in for just a couple of photos, but here's the first:


Another lesson from this corner of the layout is how one thing leads to another. This all started, believe it or not, because of the fertilizer plant I cobbled up some time ago. It needed a home on the railroad, and just to the right of this corner seemed like the perfect spot. There was already a switch that could feed the fertilizer plant spur, but the benchwork would have to be extended a few inches to accomodate the track.

Since this extension would make it kind of tough to reach the rear of the layout, it seemed only proper to do some scenery while it was still relatively accessible. First, I installed and painted the backdrop (which turned out to be too short, as the photos clearly show). Then some landforms and ground cover, a road, and the grain elevator that was planned for the corner, where a siding had already been laid.

And the grain elevator project took on a life of its own. My poor fertilizer plant languishes on some blue foam as it waits patiently for a home to be established. The grain elevator project just goes on, and on. Last weekend I built the three silos and headhouse that increased the storage capacity just enough to justify rail service. Since this model is set in the present day, you can't load covered hoppers without some sort of fall protection for the guys opening and closing the lids, so that's under construction. There's a desparate need for some kind of spout to fill the cars from. And it's a sorry elevator that doesn't have some kind of high capacity grain dryer on site, so I have to figure out what style dryer this one will have, where it will sit, and how the wet grain is stored and fed into the dryer. Heck, I've got more ideas than I do space!

Here's another angle of the complex as it sits tonight.


With near hundred degree temps and high sun in the forecast, hopefully this weekend will allow some more progress on West Central Grain and Seed.

Tuesday Twosome (from Last Week)

Last week's travels took me to various locations in the southwest part of the state. Destinations included Fairfax, Round Lake, and Westbrook, which meant my path would pass through CP, TCW, UP, and BNSF territory. One of the challenges of this trip, however, is that most of these lines are predominantly east-west, while my travel is mostly north-south, which means catching trains on some of these lines is mostly a matter of chance.

I headed out of Wadena early Tuesday morning, and the first tracks encountered are the CP Paynesville Sub at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 55. I get the chance to follow the right of way for a couple of miles into Paynesville before heading south on Highway 4, so I always check for a train here. Tuesday morning was a foggy one, and sure enough, the fog had delayed me just enough to catch a westbound right where I met up with Highway 55. I scampered down into the wet grass to grab a couple of shots as the train approached.





The foggy mornings turned out to be a theme for the week, with the fog burning off to reveal clear skies every day.

I made it to Fairfax about 15 minutes before a TC&W GP20C headed into town from the east on the Minnesota Prairie Line. He had a long string of grain hoppers, I assume for the elevator in town. This backlit shot shows the train against a backdrop of the grain elevator.


I had never seen a TC&W loco in this paint scheme before, so I grabbed a broadside of it as it stopped to work a cut of the grain cars it brought into town. It's a nice looking unit, but not as attractive as the maroon units I have usually seen on this line.


That was it for Tuesday (I have to work too, after all). I was planning on staying in Windom that night, and had hopes of catching some UP action while I was in that area. You will see the results of that effort in a later post.

Jim