Warren Wonder

With work in extreme Northwest Minnesota this week, I started out Monday by making the Staples/DL/Noyes Sub trip that I am lucky enough to make a few times a year. However, this time the only action all the way up was evidence of a recent derailment in Mahnomen-trackwork must have been heavy as no trains were running.

All afternoon, nothing passed through Warren on the BNSF or the NPR. I resigned myself to a trainless Monday. Then, just as I was leaving town on my way to Thief River Falls for the evening, here it came.


Sure enough, a LOOOONNNGGG NPR train headed west, into the sun. Well, this calls for a u-turn. The train was travelling slowly enough that it was easy to get a couple of other shots west of town. I think I like this one the best.


This certainly seemed like a long train, so I decided to count the cars. I made it to about 80 when the count was interrupted with this sight:


Since I seriously doubt the NPR is using old chop-nosed GP9's as remote mid-train helpers, it seems likely this veteran is going somewhere, hopefully to work.

Once I regained my composure it turned out the train was about 142 cars, with one four axle locomotive dead in consist and four six-axles up front. What a pleasant way to end the day!

Jim