Highway 10-the Other Direction

I been bad about blogging. Seems like life has been getting in the way lately, but here's the first of a number of posts in which I try and catch up with what's been going down in my life.

Mrs. L4T and I have been discussing our need for new furniture, which led to an afternoon trip to Fargo March 16. The furniture hunt was pretty much a failure, but we did manage to bag a few trains on the trip home. The first one was a set of EMD spartan cabs in resplendent new paint, working the east end of the Dilworth yard.


That was a quick stop, as we wanted to get home at a reasonable time. A plan that was interrupted when we passed under a loaded crude oil train grinding up the hill in Hawley. All of a sudden a side trip up Highway 32 seemed proper. Here you go:


There's something about that long string of identical cars that just cries out to be photographed. This shot has been done by everyone who ever owned a camera, I'm sure, but just to be safe I did it once more.


As I was stopped an ATCS check was in order. Sure enough, somewhere out there a westbound lurked. It was but a short trip to Mt. Muller, from the summit of which I soon spied a headlight. Since I didn't have a saw with me I had to settle for this angle.


I do believe that might be a C4.

The day finished up with an excellent meal at the DL Taco Johns, and a drive home. No more photo ops meant no more stops. The end of an unproductive furniture shopping trip, and slightly more productive railfanning outing.

Against the Grain

This afternoon Mrs. L4T agreed to accompany me on a railfanning outing. Having done extensive analysis of traffic patterns via facebook posts, mailing list info, and reading chicken entrails, the conclusion was arrived at that the Paynesville Sub deserved our attention, and so it came to be that we set out for locations to the south at about 1500 hours.

Of course, first we had to go north for gas. After fueling up, I headed west on Highway 10 with the intent to intercept the DL Sub and follow it south. Luckily someone at the BNSF heard about my plan and took corrective action. We were less than a mile out of town when an eastbound behind 5(!) EMD spartan cabs made its appearance. All prior plans were scrapped, a u-turn was executed, and calculations regarding speed, sun angle, and time began to be made. So began our afternoon of fanning the east Staples Sub.

My first somewhat presentable shot of the train that coaxed me into staying on home rails was near Cushing. After blowing the Quiken Road shot, I was on a mission to at least get all 5 locos in one frame and that's about all you can say for this. Very neat consist, though.


SWA put him in the hole at Darling to let a stack train by, and then after he got rolling again told the crew they could stop and get a snack at Royalton if they wanted as Northtown had no where to put them. I finally heard them clear up at St. Cloud after taking more than 3 hours to cover the 90 some miles between Wadena and St. Cloud.

The exciting news was that during the chatter between trains and dispatcher, mention was made of a westbound! They have been scarce as hen's teeth due to the flooding in Minot but word was they should start showing up today. Sure enough, they did. After hearing one call a signal approaching Gregory, I decided to take a stand on the overpass just north of Little Falls. After a short wait, here he comes!


As there was a meet at Darling, it was no problem to get ahead of him. I was rolling along nicely when out of the corner of my eye I spyed what looked like a couple of railfans, so stopped to see what was going on. Sure enough, it was a famous railfan-here's Andy Cummings just after shooting the BNSF 7564.


I got the train next just south of Randall, at a curve I've pondered shooting many times before. I think there are some possibilities here.


Finally, here's a location I have shot once before, and it illustrates one of the things I really enjoy about the East Staples Sub-it's more than prairie.


And then another u-turn brought us south again, to chase the 7292. This shot is on a fill near Cushing. The tree on the right edge of the frame is my second favorite tree along the Staples Sub, after the giant just east of Verndale. It was also fun see a C4 in the consist.


Finally, the shot so many of us hoped for 8 days ago-a train headed west through the Verndale sag.


So on a day when things seemed to start out so wrong, they ended up being pretty right. It's good to see westbounds running "against the grain" as it were. Hopefully this is a sign that the people of Minot can begin the long and difficult process of getting their lives back to some semblance of normal. We need to pray for them.

I'm a Sucker...

...for ES44C4's. So when I spotted this one sitting at the east end of Staples yard nearly two weeks ago, I couldn't help but make a u-turn and take a picture.


And I'm glad I did, since I didn't have any record of it. With the addition on the 6617 I have caught 16 or 18 of the 25 (?) units on the Staples Sub. I'll keep looking.

Snowy Southwest Minnesota

So last week, I had to make a trip to the Tyler and New Ulm areas. I was hopeful about catching a little DME or Marshall Sub action, but came away with little to show from a railfanning perspective, although I was suitably impressed with the massive snowdrifts that were everywhere. They have much more snow on the ground than central MN, with the amount increasing as you travel south and west.

I followed the Marshall Sub from Willmar all the way to the DME crossing near Highway 14, but a section crew replacing a rail near Raymond kind of dashed any hopes of BNSF trains for the day. This was a disappointment as the section south of Marshall is one of my favorite sections of railroad in the state. Then, to add insult to injury, the DME ran a train through Tyler just as the meeting I was there for started. After that appointment was complete, I headed for New Ulm. The blue and yellow railroad doesn't really parallel the highway for a lot of the way. I swung into Tracy to see if I could repeat Jer's catch of the pride of the DME but had no luck. However, when I passed through Springfield, I was greeted by the sight of a BNSF shuttle train sitting at the massive elevator there. I grabbed a shot in the fog. This is a massive elevator that loads many trains, and I've heard they have the ability to store 10 million bushels of corn. I know they can load trains fast, as I was lucky enough to stumble across one loading three years ago. Today everything was quiet, as I think the train was waiting for a crew to take it west to the BNSF connection at Florence.


On my way to the office in New Ulm the next morning a swing by the yard caught a set of GP40's sitting in front of the depot. It's always neat to shoot some trains out the car window.


When I finished up in New Ulm, I had to run back to Tyler for another meeting. The train in Springfield was gone, but now there was a different power set sitting at Lamberton. I'm not sure what the purpose was, as there was what looked like a complete grain train and a complete ethanol train sitting near the Highwater Ethanol plant just west of that burg. Again, no action at the elevator. The neat thing, that I didn't even notice until I uploaded the pictures, was the ES44C4 on the head end of this power set. First one I've seen in a while.


The only trains I saw the next day were at Perry's Hobbies in Morgan, where I managed to convince myself to invest in an Exact Rail MDW boxcar, an Intermountain covered hopper, and a set of Walthers Bethgons for the stunningly low price of $59 plus change. And, no shipping fee!

A stop in Bird Island revealed no TCW action, nor was the CP doing anything when I went through Belgrade. So trainwise, it was a quiet week. That's all!

St. Cloud and Back

The trip to St. Cloud and back for the Granite City Train Show offered the chance for some more cloudy day railfanning. As we passed the west end of the Staples yard, a parked train caught my attention. A 6600 series GE was the leader on a manifest parked in the yard. U-turn time!


Oddly, the tracks were quiet the rest of the way down. After getting my fill of model railroading at the train show (and some quality shopping time for Mrs. L4T), we were once again northbound. And still the trains seemed to be hiding from us.

Finally, during a brief stop in Randall, I spotted an eastbound between Staples and Philbrook on ATCS. We headed straight for the old Highway 10 bridge near Lincoln and waited only about 10 minutes for what I suspect was a Becker load with a MAC leader. The leaves are starting to pop, giving us hope for some more scenic shots in the near future.


I still think whoever made the decision to peel off all the nose logos should be punished, but as a famous train blogger once said, "whaddaya gonna do?".

Shortly, a second eastbound popped up on the screen, and we decided to try and beat him to the Quicken Road crossing south of Philbrook. I've always wanted to shoot an eastbound here, and today was my (somewhat) lucky day-I got the eastbound, although it was under heavy overcast and in a light drizzle, none of which lessened the impact of seeing a train round the corner at speed.


These NS units are a particular favorite of Mrs. L4T for some reason. She says it's not the paint, but the name sounds neat-"Norfolk Southern"-and she maintains that the orange engines all look the same. You should have heard me try and explain why we needed to stop and shoot the C4 in Staples."But it looks just like all the rest" she said, as I tried to explain the concept of replacing 6 DC traction motors with 4 AC motors, and adding equipment that has the ability to raise the center axle on each truck to increase the weight on the driven axles. I gave up when her eyes glazed over in response to my explanation. Oh well, I'm lucky that she enjoys the ride.

Jim

More C4

Last weekend Mrs. L4T and I had to make a quick run to Wal Mart here in Wadena for who knows what,I can't even remember. Any, she questioned my decision to fetch the camera for such a trip, but it turned out to be worthwhile.

The crossing gates on Jefferson Street/Highway 71 in Wadena dropped as we approached from the north, on our way home. I expected a chance to watch a train sail through town before we continued south. But when the lead unit turned out to be one of the ES44C4's it was time to "recalculate", as my GPS likes to tell me. Off we went.


I quickly pulled ahead of the train and crossed the tracks near Verndale for an admittedly crappy photo. However, I wasn't about to let the chance to bag a unit MN Chris had shot slip away. So this is my own attempt at the unique "banged up numberboard" loco he had shot a week or so earlier in Cass Lake.

That is all.

Catch and Release

Made the trek home from the Cities this afternoon under cloudy skies. Having been away from home (and Mrs. L4T) for four days, combined with the poor photo conditions, meant I wasn't about to stop and photograph any old Dash 9 that rolled down the pike.

I raced a stack train from the Lincoln Highway 10 overpass to Staples. The race turned out to be a draw, with both of us arriving in Staples at the same time. I caught up to the power just as he passed the Dower Lake station sign and noticed this train had a 6600 series ES44C4 leading. Well, no reason to not pull over and shoot one since it would hardly slow me down.

This first shot is of the lead unit as he traversed a bit of elevated trackage just east of Aldrich.


I like the C4's and was sure I had shot this one before. When I got home I looked, and sure enough, I got him on another weather-challenged day just this March, as he passed through Perham.

The weather was challenging in its own way today. This next shot gives an idea of the conditions as I neared Wadena. The tree behind the train is the signature "big tree" east of Verndale. It sticks out like a sore thumb, and I've always wished I could climb it and spend some time shooting trains as they pass by from an unusual angle.


I decided I was done with him for the day, and headed for home. The appearance of a headlight from the west caused one last quick stop as I shot an eastbound Dash 9 just before he met the A1A GE at the Wing River. I know it's no good, but I have started a new mission to collect images of as many of the Dash 9's leading as I can. Wish my hard drive luck as I gather them. I guess I was wrong, I will stop and shoot any old Dash 9 that crosses my path.


And that was that. The C4 fascination continues. Given the uniformity out on the rails these days (most of the time, anyway), out of the ordinary units really raise my interest and these locos are just the ticket. This one was paired up with a Dash 9, leading me to believe that BNSF has released them into the free-running loco pool. If true, they can show up anywhere and anytime. Another great reason to keep looking for trains.

Jim

You Just Never Know...

...what you might see along the tracks.

Business this week has me travelling along the Noyes Sub in far northwest Minnesota. I have been lucky enough to catch the local working this branch a few times in the past, which gave me hope of seeing some action on this trip as well.

Tuesday turned out to be the day of no trains as my trip up revealed nothing all the way from Wadena to Hallock except a MOW crew around Donaldson. Kind of strange to travel all that way, paralleling lines the entire trip, and not see a train.

Wednesday I was in Hallock when I heard a horn, and ran outside to see the train. It was a mixed northbound, and wonder of wonders, the leader on this train was one of the ES44C4's. BNSF 6608 was proudly heading north with Dash 9 trailing. I grabbed a photo under completely overcast skies to capture the moment.


As the train passed, I thought "that picture could have been taken in countless places. I need something to show where it is." So here is a going away shot with the old and new Hallock water towers in the background.


This is one of those experiences that makes railfanning special to me. If you had asked me the likelihood of seeing one of these unique locos on the Noyes sub when I left home Tuesday morning, I would have given you extremely good odds on my not seeing one. I know all the reasons they shouldn't be here. Yet, in spite of the facts that I have never seen 6 axle power on the Noyes local, that there are only 25 of these engines in existence, and that it has been rumored they were bound for high speed service on the southern transcon, here it was ambling north along a dead-end BNSF line on a manifest. You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather.

That was the last action I was to see on the Noyes sub today. I swung through Grand Forks this evening to have supper with the heir to the L4T fortune, and we drove around town a bit to view the locos at the BNSF terminal. It sure doesn't look like this new GE was assigned due to a lack of 4 axle power, as there were 8 or 10 GP types parked in Grand Forks.

I met a westbound on the GF sub as I headed to Crookston for the evening, but the clouds and my yawning convinced me to continue on to the hotel. So here I am, posting this tale.

And the moral of today's little story is: keep looking for trains. You just never know...

Jim

Memorable Memorial Sunday

In what is becoming a tradition for me, this past Memorial Day weekend found the Canadian railfan bunch in the Wadena area for the third year in a row (for me-they have been coming down to this area for a lot longer than three years).


I was able to get out and spend some time with them Sunday afternoon, and the BNSF was thoughtful enough to even send a few trains our way. I'm sure the crews are surprised to see the influx of people and technology in the area when this group of career rails are in the area and hard at work recording the action on video, still image, audio and in written notes.


Anyway, it was a lot of fun to catch up with these guys, and to meet the wife of one. Who wouldn't appreciate a new wife who was willing to make railfanning part of a honeymoon trip?

It makes me appreciate the fact that I can always count on Mrs. L4T to be ready for a jaunt along the Staples Sub, especially our traditional Sunday evening drives. This week our destination was Staples, where we once again sampled the delights offered at the Dairy Queen.

Even before we made it to Staples we found this mixed freight passing the station sign at Dower Lake. Turns out he was using Main 1 as switching lead as he dropped off a few cars in the Staples yard. I got this shot as he was backing his train into the yard. As this took a while, he was still finishing up his work when we were done eating.


Knowing that he would soon be heading west, I decided to leapfrog towards Wadena and set up somewhere where the track had curved more to the northwest so I could get him in more 3/4 light. I was thinking somewhere around Verndale, but I spotted another headlight just after passing through Aldrich and swung into the next crossing to shoot that train. He was moving slowly as I waited for the 7250 to arrive from Staples. However, I thought I had heard the dispatcher talking to the 6609 west and I was anxious to see if this was an ES44C4. I hadn't seen one in a month or so and wondered where they had gone.

Sure enough, it was one of the new A1A-A1A GE's. This was the first time I have seen one of these units paired with a different model of locomotive, this time the trailing unit was a regular old Dash 9.


The problem with this slow moving train was that it might block my nicely lit shot of the 7250. Sure enough, just as he crossed the road, I saw the headlight of a westbound round the corner at Aldrich. It didn't turn out to even be close-the meet was well down the line from where I was, and most of the westbound was by the crossing when the eastbound cleared. Here's the closest I was to a meet:


All in all, an interesting evening, and an entertaining day catching up with friends and sharing stories from along the line. It's always a treat for a railfan like myself to get the chance to hear stories told by actual working rail employees like the bunch from up north. Thanks to Craig, Mike, and Chris, for putting up with my questions and being willing to discuss the things I see along the line.

I got to spend a little more time with them the next morning, and look forward to seeing photos from their extensive railfan journeys. I especially want to see the shots Chris and Craig got from the Powder River Basin, as Mrs. L4T has agreed that it will be a stop on our vacation this fall. I'm looking forward to the trip.

Jim, out

C4's on the Move

Having read numerous railfan reports of BNSF's new A1A-A1A configured ES44C4 locomotives criss-crossing the area over the last few days, I've been anxiously awaiting my first sighting. Tonight, that dream was fulfilled when Mrs. L4T and myself headed for the Staples Dairy Queen for supper.

Just east of Verndale I spotted the rear end of what appeared to be a stopped intermodal train, and as the power came into view, I immediately noticed the consecutively-numbered units. I let out a yelp that no doubt made Mrs L4T suspect that I had, finally, made it all the way around the bend, and made a u-turn at the next opportunity. When I reached the crossing where they were waiting, I jumped out and started snapping photos.


The conductor was on the ground, perhaps checking fuel levels, as I shot this my first photos. I decided to head around to the dark side to get a detail shot of the truck, including the unit designation for posterity:


I headed east for a DQ treat, but didn't make it to Staples before meeting a westbound, so once again it was off to the races. I caught this train at the same crossing, while the new locos were still paused.


While waiting for this train to clear the crossing, the eastbound started pulling, and so I decided to try and catch him in a spot where I could get all three units. Since he was heading away from the sun, it is a going away shot.


I don't know why they were stopped, but I suspect there was a train in front of them that was slowing them down. I heard the dispatcher talking to an eastbound CSX about going into emergency, and the C4's crossed from Main 2 to Main 1 in Staples, I suspect to run around that train.

So, my first C4's are in the bag. They don't LOOK a lot different from all the other GEVO's running around, but we all know that they ARE different. I posted to the OMR list from the DQ in Staples that they were through Staples at 1800, one of the few times I have ever posted from my BlackBerry.

Thanks to all the fans who have been keeping the railfan community aware of the movements of this new power. Your efforts are appreciated.

Jim, out