Highway 10 in the Sun

I'm behind. My last shots are from a trip to the Cities and back for meetings last Thursday afternoon and Friday gave me the chance to shoot a few train photos. For a change the sun was out and the trains were running. Only one shot from Thursday, a COLX train waiting patiently for a green signal just west of Becker.


So one the way home, a week ago, trains were once again fairly common on the Staples Sub. The first opportunity for a photo was near Rice, where I stumbled across a manifest train with a BNSF Dash 9 leading another GE wearing CSX paint and smoking up a storm.


Next stop, Little Falls. An eastbound local was waiting on the siding at the depot for a light to proceed toward St. Cloud. Power was a freshly painted GP38. This one was still shiny.





I polished off the day with westbound coal empties, illuminated by the setting sun. These were shot in the Randall and Cushing area.





And then it was time to head home. Thanks, BNSF, for entertaining me on my journey by running some trains.

Shows What I Know

After spending some time a couple of days ago putting together a post lamenting the lack of locomotive variety we now commonly see on the Staples Sub, it seems obvious in retrospect that fate would reach out and show me the error of my ways in drawing conclusions, and today that happened.


I spied the rear of a moving train as I approached Gregory. He was moving quite a bit slower than me, and I had no problem overtaking the power. What the heck-a rare GP40X (and it looked familiar to me), a pair of cascade green SD40-2's, and and H1 GP? Kind of blows my theory about old units on the main, I guess.

And not only that, but there was a westbound sitting on Main 1. Of course he was led by a GE wedgie, but that was the only new paint scheme to be found of a group of 8 engines, which between them sported 5 distinct paint schemes. The shot isn't much (actually, it kind of sucks) but you can't claim to get 5 different models of locos, from 2 different manufacturers, in 5 separate paint schemes in a single photo too often these days along the Staples. So I'm posting it.


I was so flummoxed by the first train I stopped again after I had passed him to grab another photo of the power just north of Royalton, with a touch better nose light and no billboards.


Well, that certainly had my attention. And since I seemed to have been issued a GP hunting license for the day, BNSF obliged me by setting up a couple of more targets of opportunity sitting on Main 2 at Becker, just after a stack train had run around them on Main 1. I figure this must be the returning St. Cloud local. Sure was a pretty GP leading with a shiny H3 paint job.


One more shot-a sneak peek at what I will try and fit in this week. Here's the DPU on a UP manifest I shot on my way to supper this evening. With any luck, I will get a chance to run out to the new Kate Shelley High Bridge tommorow after work.


A pretty good day of looking for trains while I drove 400 miles for work. I'm a lucky guy.

Jim

Friday the 13th....

Yes, I admit it. I am just a bit of a believer in the old legend that bad luck awaits on Fridays the 13th. After my experience today it might be proof of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Today's schedule called for a trip to Lake Park for meetings during the day. I was lucky to have company for the drive over and back, someone to share my extensive knowledge (kidding!) of the Staples Sub with. Thanks for being a good listener as I expounded on the intricacies of railroading in west central Minnesota.

The day's first train was an eastbound coal load headed up by a GE. We were just west of Perham when I spotted the oncoming headlight and made for the nearest crossing so I could get on the sunny side of this train. My travelling companion got a good laugh as I tried to clamber to the top of a handy snowbank while the train approached. His only comment upon my return was that he was looking for a tarp to cover me up as it would have been impossible to pull me out if I hadn't freed myself.


You can see the entire train stretched out in that photo. Now if only that darned power line didn't clog up an entire stretch of the West Staples Sub.

As we passed through DL I heard BNSF 9330 getting a warrant from Richards Spur to Wadena at Hawley. Given the hard work coal trains do coming up out the valley, I thought there was a chance I would beat him to the Lake Park curve. As we came into town I headed straight there, and as I rounded my curve here came the train around the first of his. I grabbed a few shots as he approached, and I like this one the best.


I know the engines are backlit, but I like how I can see much of the train. I also liked how the timing was almost perfect. Very un-Friday the 13th like, but I would pay later, both literally and figuratively.

We finished with our business, which included me having the chance to share a few of my shots on Flickr (thanks to a kick-fanny unsecured wireless connection at the Lake Park Library) with the guys I was working with. I think they get a kick out of my fascination with trains. Time to head for home.

As we approached DL from the west, I heard the dispatcher rattling off warrants to eastbounds one after another. I figured I might have a chance at a fleet as they flew through the Frazee curves, with the sun in just about the right place. A quick stop in DL allowed the first train to pass us, and the second, the Wadena local, snuck by as well. I heard something with 40 axles pass the detector at MP 203 and made an educated guess to my passenger that we would be passing a short train, two engines and eight cars, somewhere between Frazee and Perham. Turns out the GP's on the local must have been loading very well today as we didn't catch him until we were east of Perham. By that time the sun was too far to the west to get a well lit shot.

After discharging my passenger, I overtook the local between New York Mills and Wadena, with the aim of catching him at the crossing where the 4 lane ends just west of Wadena. I made it but just got a grab shot of the lead engine. Nothing at all special.

But I knew there was still an eastbound out there. I had heard him get a warrant, and this was my chance to try a new thing. I had spotted a fresh angle near the above crossing a few days earlier, and wanted to try it out. When I headed up the gravel road and turned around, I spotted a westbound approaching fast, and grabbed a shot from my new vantage point. I'm not totally happy with this due to the trees in the foreground, but if I can get the sun and train in the proper place at the same time, I might be able to put something together here.


The eastbound was having FRED issues, and trying to ring up Fort Worth mechanical, which I chalked up to Friday the 13th. I decided to pull over and wait a few minutes for him, since he was less than 10 miles distant (I heard him pass the detector at 174.1). The county snowplow operator had done a bang-up job of winging back the plow bank, as I found when I pulled over to the edge of the road and promptly entered the ditch! A little rocking only served to get me more stuck, and I got out to examine my predicament. Oh, I was stuck all right. I called Mrs. L4T to bring a shovel from L4T world headquarters. After refelcting on my situation for a few more minutes, I decided a shovel was a futile effort and I also called a wrecker. Mrs. L4T beat the wrecker by less than 5 minutes, and I was still playing in the snow when my ticket out arrived. He hooked me up and had me back on the road in minutes. I only missed TWO trains due to the mishap, which momentarily stifled my desire to shoot photos.

However, as I got un-stuck, I heard the crew of the local tell the dispatcher they had tied down their power, locked the derail, and that their ride was there. Hmmmm, wonder where their power is? After paying the wrecker bill, I swung by Drywall Supply and sure enough, they had "yarded" their train and the GP's were purring south of the main.


With that, I headed for home. I don't know if I can blame my mishaps on Friday the 13th or not, but I like to think I can. At least that way I can pretend they will be behind me at midnight tonite. And even when there are roadblocks, remember, keep looking for trains.

Jim, out

Finally Back on Line

With the recent attacks on Coppermine photo galleries and the severe damage that my old photo site suffered, I have gone without much of a web presence for nearly a month now. After researching what it would take to clean up the mess I had, and reading about the difficulties others were experiencing, I decided a totally new approach was in order.

After seeing signs this evolved from near grade crossings, I always thought there was something cool that could be done with the "Look for Trains" phrase. I decided it would make a good domain name and checked to see if look4trains.com was available. Since it was I grabbed it and set up a blogger account pointing to it. The rest, as they say, will some day be history.

Having spent the first 4 days of the week in the Warren and Hallock area I have a couple of shots that I wanted to share. The first one is of a GP38-2 in the H3 scheme. This engine was on the point of a southbound Noyes local Wednesday as I travelled north between Warren and Argyle. Work was keeping me jumping but I made time to stop and shoot this while the sun was out.


The second shot is of an industrial switcher at Northwest Grain in Warren, where there is a loop for (I think) both loading unit grain trains and unloading unit fertilizer trains. This is also where the Noyes Sub crosses the Northern Prairie Railroad. I enjoy finding these old switchers that have discovered a new life in industrial service.


Another interesting tidbit I heard while I was up there was that the loop at the Argyle grain facility is going to need a complete rebuild due to poor subroadbed. Apparently when the contractor built it they used rounded river rock in the "foundation" and it never locked together like crushed rock would with its sharp edges. Local word was that this has resulted in at least one derailment on the loop. When, I don't know.

Hey, it's a start, and I have lots more photos to get reposted over time. I just hope I figure out how to use this to the best advantage. Comments or suggestions on how to best present information are always welcome.