Morning Coal, Afternoon 'Bonnets

A day trip to Lake Park always brings out the railfan in a person, and today was no different. By the time I made it to Detroit Lakes, the sun was peeking up over the horizon. When a westbound coal empty showed up, it seemed like just the chance to try to catch him with morning sun lighting up his flank.


Knowing there was a DPU on this train, I waited to get a shot of the end as it rounded the curve at Richards Spur. The DPU's sometimes have FRED hanging off the coupler, but luckily this one didn't. Some fans pet peeve seems to be open cab doors, but I'm more put off by a DPU facing the right way and nicely lit, but wearing a FRED.


There was no way I could get to the S-curves in Lake Park ahead of him, or even behind him, as the tail end of the train was just disappearing when I pulled up. So off to work it was, just a couple of blocks from the tracks and stewing as every train passed. You can be just about anywhere but on the bridge in Lake Park, and not see the train that is passing through town due to the cut. The railfan's frustration sure entertains those he is working with, though.

Soon enough it was time to head for home. Before even reaching Audubon, though, circumstances dictated a u-turn. A dandy looking warbonnet was leading a string of grain cars west, with a CSX EMD the other unit in the consist. This one was shot near my third favorite Staples Sub tree, just east of Boyer Lake.


CSX must have farmed out a lemon to BNSF in this case, as not long after this was shot, the 706 called the dispatcher to inform him they had lost the second unit. With the downhill run to Dilworth, they should have had no problem with power but maybe needed a bit more brake since the EMD's dynamics might have been AWOL as well.

Before reaching Richards Spur, another u-turn was needed. The target was another warbonnet-led train, this one looked to be a solid block of DDG cars. 97 of them to be exact, as the Lake Park detector later announced he had an even 400 axles. Here's the shot, just west of Audubon with the elevator in the background.


I missed one more coal empty just outside DL, and a pretty Z train with what looked like a matched set of four H2 Dash 9's on the point near Perham. That was the end of the rail action for the day, but what I saw was entertaining. Next week I will be over that way a couple more times, so may get a chance for more Staples Sub action.

Springfield

It's been a couple of weeks since I was last down south, but I still have a few photos from the trip that haven't been posted. These particular ones were a great reminder of one of my most interesting railfanning experiences, and the chance to take a (short) cab ride.

Last time through Springfield, sure enough, Harvestland was loading a train. And just like every other time I've seen this, my friend George was running the Harvestland engine.

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This is a huge facility. It's likely been mentioned before that they have storage capacity for around 10 complete shuttle trains, and can load such a train in less than 12 hours when everything goes right. Here's a shot of the shuttle power, which brings the train off the BNSF at Florence and across the former DME to Springfield. You can get an idea of the size of the elevator in the background.

Interestingly, although they load these unit trains, there is no loop, just a long siding. The complex also includes a fertilizer plant and Harvestland unloads both dry and liquid fertilizer at this location along with loading grain trains. It's a good rail customer.


In addition to the nicely painted GP, they also have a trackmobile, I assume for the fertilizer cars. A trackmobile wouldn't do much good when trying to get a shuttle loaded.

For that you need a hard-working locomotive, something as seen in the following picture. You can bet that George is at the throttle, waiting for her to load up and then the radio call from the control booth "That's good, George".


This is one of the countless activities on the railroad that will never get old for me. It's hard to picture passing this location and not stopping when something rail related is going on, and I hope I never have to.

An EMD Festival

Imagine yourself in New Ulm, MN, at 5 PM on a HOT, what-used-to-be-sunny-but-is-rapidly-becoming-high-overcast Tuesday, with a hotel reservation in Springfield for the night. What would you do?



Might you swing by the depot before leaving town, to see if the former DME left some power parked facing the sun for you to photo? If so you would have the chance to shoot a pair of EMD's that look like this:





And as long as you're in town, why not stop at the Hanska Farmers Co-op elevator, down by the river, to see how the pair of former Soo Line GP's with torpedo tubes on the roof are parked today? With any luck, they too might be facing the sun.





If I encountered such a situation, I'd be sure to keep my eyes open on the off chance I catch a train running into the sun, or even because we may meet something. You might make it all the way to the hotel parking lot before hearing the horn on an eastbound, in which case a short chase would be in order. Isn't that 4 more EMD's bringing a long freight up the hill out of the Cottonwood River drainage, doubling the EMD count for the day while spotting nary a GE? And putting on a smoky show while doing it?





Finally, since the sun was still trying to peek through the overcast and the engine was pointing that direction, you might decide to stop at the huge Harvestland Elevator just east of Springfield to shoot one final EMD. That one might bring back some happy memories.





That's how my day went Tuesday. How about you?

Heading Home

The last couple of posts on this blog have hinted at a new customer on the BNSF Noyes Sub. Well, here's a look at what is under construction as we speak-something called Northstar Agri-Industries:





As the link explains, this new facility will have the capacity to process 345,000 tons of canola per year. Word on the street in the area says that the plant will be able to empty both 300,000 bushel bins every week when operating at full capacity. This is a big plant, which is currently keeping 150 construction workers busy and promises 50 permanent jobs for far-northwest Minnesota. All of which is nice, but the really important part of the story for this blog is the rail business that will be generated. I don't know the exact composition of the traffic but any plant that is spending the money to install a loop track has to anticipate significant volumes moving by rail.



This story actually begins on Monday, when my first indication of anything unusual in the area was the sighting of a pair of RJ Corman sidebooms passing through Argyle headed north. In fact, this was so unusual it necessitated a phone call to MN Chris, to see if there had been a derailment in the area. With no news of any such event, the mystery deepened. After a couple of hours, though, I received word that the equipment had turned into the canola plant construction site. Leaving for Hallock in mid-afternoon, I spotted a pre-built switch in a gondola sitting in the siding at Kennedy. Things started to come together. I bet they are going to install the switch for the canola plant!



Fast forward to Friday, when I again passed the site headed south, and sure enough the Corman cats and some BNSF equipment, including a couple of ballast cars, were on site. The location of the switch is way out in the middle of a field so it was impossible to get very close for a photo, but I got this:





Since I was stopped I decided to grab a shot of the construction site as well, shown here. The plant is well along and it will be exciting to see them roll into action. FYI, four wheel drive John Deere seen at the right edge of the frame is working on site prep for the loop track. Some of the loop already has a sub-grade of what looks like gravel installed, while the remainder is being graded. Finally I knew where all the ties I had seen stacked in Hallock were going. There is also a big stack of stick rail along the tracks in town, that has been there for a couple of months at least, which must also be canola-plant bound.





Since I'm going on about this plant, and managed to connect this stop to work, I'll share a photo of something other than a train. The pipelines that create my day job are usually buried, but the gas line serving this plant is under construction, and offered up a photo op during the stop. If you've ever wondered what butt fused 8" HDPE looks like, here's your answer. Someone's got some backhoe work ahead of them.





After lunch and an afternoon's work in Stephen, it was back on the road for Wadena. I believe I neglected to mention the unit train sitting on the loop at Argyle Monday, but it was still there with no power anywhere to be seen. I was wishing some GE's had shown up to take it east (south) along with me, but no such luck.



However, somewhere just south of Warren those GE's did show up. A pair of Dash 9's appeared, running light and headed toward Argyle. I've no way of knowing whether that was where they were going, but it seemed like the sensible destination to me. The crew noted a lone railfan with some bell and horn action as they passed by.





Being as how it is harvest season, and I've already deviated from the pure rail theme of this blog in this post, here's a second non-rail shot. Around Callaway a farmer was working at getting the wheat crop off and it was such a lovely scene it seemed like a photo was required. And who knows, the bounty of this field may well end up at the Callaway elevator and start toward its final destination on a CP train.





Finally, my scanner tipped me off to a Staples Sub westbound as I arrived in DL. The detector at MP 203 announced the imminent arrival of a train, so I decided to shoot him. Here, he's rolling into town, just across the highway from Lake Detroit and the Holiday Inn.





That's the story of my trip home from far NW MN. As is so common, the lack of train volume was balanced by interesting sightings. Always a great area to go and look for trains!

Graining on It

While trying to find a permanent home for the fertilizer plant I recently have been working on, it became clear that a person needs to work from the back of the layout to the front if you want to keep from destroying any detail items toward the front edge of the layout. In other words, do the backdrop and any scenery work that is close before turning your attention to the nearer items.

And so, after getting a backdrop in place and blue, scenery and structures behind the track in this corner were the next order of business. I turned my attention to a first attempt at a road on Saturday. (One shoulder has now been installed, but no photos exist at this time.)


It gave me a chance to break out the static grass applicator and again it impressed with its performance. It's obvious I need some more variety in grass than 2 mm though, not many road ditches and highway right of ways are so well manicured. But, the machine is doing its part, now its up to the modeler to use it properly.

The two tracks visible in the photo are the main and the siding for a grain elevator. This is a curved siding, with a radius greater than 30", but it's the place where a grain elevator will fit. Over the last few weeks I've fooled with a building and this weekend worked up the enthusiasm to paint the main structure. Here's a look at what I came up with, so far.


Pay no attention to the PVC pipe next to the elevator, hopefully someday it will be the first of a number of silos that will serve as additional storage for West Central Minnesota Grain.

I did have one problem, though. How did the grain get delivered from the farm, and where did the office staff sit while they counted the kernels, wrote the checks, and bitched to the railroad about the availability of grain cars? Hopefully the latest addition provides a plausible answer to all these questions. Today I shoddily painted the unloading shed and office, built a foundation, and placed it all on the layout for an in-progress photo.


The more that gets done, the more there is to do, it seems. Next up are driveways and parking areas, painting the foundation a more realistic concrete color, installing the really cool HO steps I made for the office, building and finding a place for a grain dryer, and some type of spout from the elevator for loading covered hoppers. Oh, and the extra silos and associated conveyers and augers.

All this just to get to the point where I can install a spur for the fertilizer plant. This modeling is a never ending task!

Sunshine! And Trains, Too!

After what has seemed an interminable cloudy and overcast period, the sun finally came out in Wadena this afternoon. Since Mrs. L4T and I were planning on a little ride and supper, we decided to hit up the Staples DQ and see if the BNSF was up to anything.

Crossing Highway 10 in Wadena, we spotted a headlight to the east. An empty coal train was waiting on Main 1. I shot him from a distance and continued east, figuring that a zipper would should up to overtake him on Main 2 before crossing over at Wadena.

Instead, the next train was another coal empty sitting at Oink Joint Road. Once again I took the chance for a nicely lit shot, and this one is worth sharing. Of course it would be even nicer with a nose logo on the leader.


It is so nice that the sun is coming back toward the north. Finally, some nose light.

We continued on to Staples, and checked out a number of trains in the yard, but took no photos. I noticed at least one each loaded and empty coal train along with what looked to be a manifest. Then it was off to DQ for supper.

Just as we approached the depot after supper the rear end of a westbound pig train was passing the depot. I figured this for the zipper that would pass the coal empties spotted earlier, and formulated a plan to shoot him west of Wadena, but rapidly pulled ahead of the train. By the time we made Verndale he wasn't visible in the mirror. Then the plan changed again. An eastbound worm train was passing through the sag. With two units up front I guessed there would be a DPU, and was lucky to find it facing the sun. So I sprinted to the other side of the crossing as the train passed to shoot this:


If you click on the photo to view the larger image, you might be able to make out the headlight of the pig train. It wasn't moving anymore. So a u-turn and visit to Verndale was in order, where I managed to get a shot from a good sized snowpile. The third unit is a warbonnet SD75.


He had to stop, as the two coal empties we had spotted on the way to Staples were still sitting there. Seemed to be the evening of snowpiles, as I found another one to shoot the first coal empty as he waited at the CTC signals in Wadena. The power was a matched set of GE's.


I like the way this shot catches some of the industrial trackage in Wadena. The siding that takes off to the right is the K line, which ends a few hundred yards further south but serves Drywall Supply and is a candidate to be extended to the new fertilizer plant that has been built in the Industrial Park on the south edge of town. The line that comes toward you is only used for MOW equipment when the crews are in town, but used to be the siding for the Peterson-Biddick elevator that was razed this winter.

So we managed to get out and see some trains in the sun, and enjoy some DQ food. Not a bad way to spend late Sunday afternoon. Hopefully this will become more common as the weather turns.

Oddities

Way back when, I used to frequent a website known as the Cyberspace World Railroad. One of the things I liked about it was that each month or so they would post an oddity-something seen along the tracks that made you go....hmmmm.

I've always liked that type of thing, and am on the lookout for something unusual whenever a train is about. One of the oddities I've noticed along the BNSF the last year or so is a sizeable number of late model covered hoppers with heralds that look like this:


I've conjured up a couple of theories as to what is going on with these cars. Maybe some elevator has a car mover that grabs the cars and pulls them ahead, and wipes the grime off the car where it is grabbed. Or maybe-well, I guess I only thought of one possible cause. And that one is, admittedely, a stretch.

Here's another example of what I'm talking about.


This next picture finally got it through my thick skull that the cars are having a reinforcement welded to the car body near the slope sheet. You can barely make the plate out in the photo above. This next photo is about the best illustration of the reinforcement that I have.


Next question was why is this being done? A (poor quality) photo shot as a train passed through Staples the day of the World's Greatest Hobby show proveded a clue as to why these cars are getting worked on. The area where the reinforcing plate would be installed on this car is kinked. That can't be a good thing.


That's my story of one of the strange things you might see while looking for trains. And it's an example of the reality that when you see something strange, keep looking. The answer is probably out there if we just keep searching.

Jim

Odds and Ends

A frenzy of running around has seriously limited railfanning recently, but I've managed to pick up a few shots during my travels. This past week I was in Fairfax and Hawley, and saw a train on each trip.

Tuesday in Fairfax, the TCW had a CAT powered GP unit hard at work most of the day. The elevator must have been loading corn, and the locomotive was shuttling cars around town from morning to early afternoon. This was shot pretty early in the morning:


The grain car fleet on the MPLI and TCW is a dukes mix-former cars of many types, most of them just patched into their new owner. I had to shoot the one just outside my workplace for the day as the early morning sun illuminated it. Mother Nature is the most accomplished weathering artist I've ever seen!


The Fairfax depot has been restored, and is protected by a semaphore that has recently had its blade repaired. I was wandering the town early that morning as the sun hit the lenses in the signal, and it seemed like a worthy candidate for a photo.


Wednesday morning dawned cloudy, and dashed hopes of a glorious morning shot on the way to Hawley. The further I went the heavier the overcast, and by the time I reached DL the fog was settled in. I encountered a train near Audubon, and had to try a shot in the fog.


And that's the entire take from almost 500 miles of travel over a bit more than 2 days. But fear not, there is always the chance of another train just around the corner. Never stop looking for trains.

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

Fairfax, MN

On occasion job duties find me in Fairfax, MN, a town on the former M & St L east-west line. Such was the case Thursday. Whenever I'm there, I see the depot and think about how it must have looked to my Grandpa at times. He was a section hand and section foreman for the "Mained and Still Limping" and later the C&NW for 51 years, and during some of those years my dad has told me that Grandpa certainly passed by, and almost as certainly spent time in, the Fairfax depot. It still looks pretty spiffy:


This line, which I think is identified as the Minnesota Prairie Line, is operated by the Twin Cities and Western. One of the things I like about these short lines is the variety of grain cars they have bought at, seemingly, yard sales and auctions. You never know what you will see. The first car is a wonderful prototype for someone who really knows how to create that rusted look.


There must be some hoppers with the "PEAVEY" billboard lettering to serve as a starting point for this car.


I was lucky enough to be meeting with clients at the power plant in Fairfax, which is right next to the tracks. The people I work with never cease to be entertained when I leap up at the sound of a locomotive horn to rush outside and take a picture, only to return and take up where we left off.


The rest of my day, including a stop in New Ulm and a drive to the Twin Cities, turned out to be trainless, so you've seen all I have to offer from a Central Minnesota Thursday. But who knows what might have popped up during the trip home on Friday? Stay tuned for the next installment.

The Long-Lost Staples Saturday Morning

In the past, fairly frequent reports of Saturday morning sojurns to Staples have been a look4trains.com "staple". However, this year it seems there have been other priorities which have limited Saturday morning activities. Last night it sounded like the weather might be agreeable for such a trip so before drifting off to sleep Mrs. L4T was informed that I just may crawl out of bed early and head east.

Sure enough, the morning dawned clear and bright, and the relentless humidity had eased. What better way to celebrate the improving weather than to go out and document the action along a section of railroad? And so the previous evenings warning was made good. Sort of like Gilligan, I set out on a three hour tour.

I was out the door before 7:00, and crossing the tracks on Jefferson Street a headlight to the west gave indication of a train headed into the sun. The power was an exciting sight and seemed worthy of a bunch of photos in a number of locations-there is even some video to be shared later. Here's what got me so fired up early in the morning:


5 engines (and four of them EMD's) in 5 different paint schemes. Not something you see everyday along this stretch of track. Heck, let's leapfrog up to Staples and shoot him as he approaches the depot, too:


That's not exactly the shot I had in mind driving over, but then I didn't know the yard would be a parking lot this morning either. Notice that CN unit poking his nose out? That's one of the SD70-2's I spotted yesterday, on my way over to Perham. Must have had a quick turnaround somewhere!

While I was waiting at the depot, a guy showed up to clean up the grounds and inside. He was part of the depot committee for Staples, and after visiting with him for a few minutes I learned that the Staples depot is in good shape financially and should be seeing continuing improvements in the future. With the new roof, they can concentrate on other needs knowing the structure is protected. Sounded like good news.

Here's an interesting tidbit-there is a jigsaw puzzle on a baggage cart in the waiting area, and every day he disassembles part of the completed puzzle-maybe a hundred pieces or so. He told me that every morning when he stops back, it's been completed again. While I was wondering if ghosts were responsible, he mentioned that waiting passengers seem to enjoy having something to pass the time. All this interesting converstation caused me to miss an eastbound stack train, but since it was behind a pair of H2 GE's I wasn't too upset. Better things were coming.

The next train was a coal empty off the Brainerd Sub. Ho-hum, another peach MAC. Nothing to see here. But wait, turns out it was the same train I shot on my way home Thursday, when a loaded coal train posed in the Staples yard against a dramatic sky. Here's todays shot:


And then, the treat of the day. ATCS tipped me off to a westbound, which I was trying to figure out how to handle given the fact he would be coming out of the sun. I decided to try and catch the train coming up from the south by shooting him from near where the Brainerd Sub switch is. I figured a "down the throat" shot might have at least some nose light. So that's what I did. Imagine my surprise when I zoomed out as far as I could and saw this approaching:


And it wasn't just one of the Green Giants, but a pair:


(Note: I forgot to tell you that the coal empty had a Grinstien pusher, which made for BNSF paint scheme #6 for the day, so the appearance of the 60M's pushed my paint scheme count to 7, in just over an hour.)

Anyway, the appearance of the 60M's definitely called for a chase. Racking my brain for a way to get a decently-lit shot, I somehow settled on trying a few pans. I shot this set in about 4 locations between Staples and the Highway 10 overpass, and I think this is the one that turned out the best:


After a call to Mrs. L4T to let her know I was going to wait at Perham for a couple of eastbounds, it was back to work. Just after filling with gas, a grain train with a foreign unit second out closed in on me. I got him just east of the overpass:


...and then once more, this time as the GE's on the front worked to lift the train out of the Leaf River Plain:


This train had a long string of brand new covered hoppers in the middle of it and I had to grab a few photos for historical reference. Here's one:


I was about ready to call it a day, but the detector at MP 174.1 announced the arrival of another eastbound. Who can resist the attraction of one more train? Not me. This time, the canadian visitor was from the other road, and was also familiar, being part of the CN power set I had shot yesterday on the coal empty.


And that was it for my Saturday morning outing. I was more than pleased, with the 7 paint schemes, 5 trains, and nice weather as entertainment. Time between first shot and last shot-3 hours 7 minutes. For those of you who convinced yourselves to read the whole thing, thanks! If only every trip trackside could be like this.

Jim