Happy, Snowy, New Years

Seems like it's a New Year tradition to look back. I plan on making the traditional "best of" post soon, but this isn't it. This is the story of 2010's final railfan outing. One of my catches reminded of the importance-and rewards-of looking back. I present you a stack train parked in a snowy Staples yard:



If not for for the engine numbers, you could imagine this photo from nearly any of the past 30 years or so, I expect.

But I get ahead of myself. Before the opportunity to shoot that photo presented, I had to get from Wadena to Staples. Here's a look at Highway 10 around 8:30 this morning:


Between Wadena and Verndale, a headlight announced an impending westbound train. With most of the crossings between the west and eastbound lanes not yet plowed, the only option was to pull over and make my way out into the ditch to try an unplanned backlit shot. Obviously the lack of railfanning is driving me to do ridiculous things.


At least that is over with.

Arriving in Staples, the Dower Lake crossing was blocked by a stopped east bound manifest. This gave the opportunity to check out the yard, which was when the first picture of the greenies above was snapped. The dispatcher was talking the eastbound train by a red signal and giving permission to hand throw the switches on the main, which slowed his progress enough to let me get in position for shots at 6th St and 7th St.




In the last shot you can see the conductor who just lined the switch to stay on Main 2. The train stopped so he could re-board.

There was also a section crew waiting for time and track to begin clearing crossings. I talked with one of the section gang and he didn't seem to mind waiting, since it was time and a half today. He did share that it could quit snowing anytime.

Since the railroad would be tied up for a bit due to this MOW work, I headed back to Wadena. Just east of Aldrich, I came upon another waiting train, this time a short Z. I finally found a spot to make a u-turn and came back for a shot of him.


And then, it was home. My last railfan photo of 2010 is in the bag, hopefully 2011 will be as entertaining as 2010 was. Thanks to everyone who reads this blog, and have a Happy and SAFE New Year!

Jim

Before the Storm

With Mrs. L4T recuperating from surgery to remove her cantankerous gall bladder over the last few days, railfanning has been replaced with housekeeping. This afternoon, after spending a few hours working from home, I was dispatched on some errands around town. A couple of inches of light fluffy snow earlier in the day had everything looking Christmas-y around Wadena.

After stops at the bank, post office, library, and grocery store, I allowed myself a glance down the tracks on the way home. A headlight rewarded the afternoon's tasks, so I pulled over and grabbed the camera to capture a mixed freight as it sailed east through its own personal ground blizzard. The first long distance shot catches the train as it passes by the former Leaf River Ag spur. It's not likely this spur will ever again see revenue service, as the fertilizer plant destroyed by last summer's tornado is being rebuilt in the industrial park on the south edge of Wadena. Rumor has it that a segment of the former GN line to Eagle Bend will be rebuilt to serve the new plant.


After backing away from the tracks, I waited as the train approached to catch the power in a more wedgie configuration. Quite a mix it was, with the Dash 9 leader, an ES44AC second, and a pair of cascade green units trailing. The train was a mess as well, with a lot of coal loads mixed in with tank cars and covered hoppers.


Then is was off for home, to carry in the groceries and report on the activities uptown. The big snow is due tonight, so perhaps I will venture out tomorrow for some actual railfanning.

Jim

The Scenic Route

I was nearing Karlstad early Thursday morning, when my beleaguered eye detected what appeared to be a headlight far to the north on the tangent CP track in that area. After crossing the tracks at the first available county road, a short wait allowed me to catch one of the CP's famous "one unit wonders":


Any of you who have had the opportunity to travel Highway 59, especially during this time of the year when the amber waves of grain have been harvested, the leaves have mostly fallen, yet the first flakes of snow have yet to hit the ground, probably figured out the title of this post was written somewhat in jest. Regardless of what anyone might try to convince you of, this is not a very scenic area. Pretty flat, with scrub forests mixed among fields, their isn't much to try and include to add interest to a photo. Maybe that's why we have trains-to give the photographer and rail enthusiast something to focus on while trekking through just this type of area.

It's not a photo to be celebrated, but then neither are many of the trains we see. It's part of America (and in this case Canada), part of the civilization and culture we live in. And that's enough to make it interesting and worth the hard drive space to me. It's a train, and while some are prettier than others, I like 'em all.

Jim

Green Giants

I left for a trip to Wisconsin around noon today. Cloudy skies in Wadena didn't offer much railfanning hope for the trip, but of course the camera was handy anyway. A westbound near Aldrich and a couple of trains in the Staples yard didn't inspire me to stop, nor did the coal empty that was parked under the overpass at Lincoln.

Passing through Randall, I spotted the tail end of a southbound and got a look at the power about halfway to Darling. Bingo! I sped up to beat him to the station sign, where I unlimbered the camera, cloudy or not. And the result is:


The last few hundred miles of the trip offered very little of a railroad nature, with the exception of a couple of trains in south central Wisconsin spotted in the distance, moving the opposite way from me, just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

It was still a good day of railfanning, though.

Jim

Close to Home

Railfan Craig from Thunder Bay was in the area this past weekend, and a phone call from him was enough motivation to spend early Sunday morning along the tracks right in Wadena. We were lucky enough to get 4 trains in that time, and three of them were headed into the rising sun. Here you go:




That second coal train was kind of nice, with decent morning light and a matched set of power. Could have been ACes instead of GEVOs though. A good railfan always finds something to whine about. I've got that part of the hobby pretty much down pat.

Mrs. L4T agreed to a brief evening outing on Sunday, and we headed to Staples after hearing that an H train was preparing to leave the yard. First, at the Dower Lake crossing:


And then after a short drive, a shot to try and catch the 5 unit set of power at the Bluffton crossing.


The time of year is coming when shots any further west of CR 143 get tough, as the nose light is going away. A sure sign of fall.

With work to do and time wasting, we headed home after stopping at Wadena's Original Fresh Freeze for a Sunday supper. The fleet of westbounds passed as the sun was setting with no one present to shoot them.

Jim

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

"Check, Please."

That's what I said to the waitress at the Spot Cafe in Staples as a pair of warbonnet SD75's drifted west through town this evening. But let's back up just a bit and set the stage.

Mrs. L4T had managed to pry me away from a frenzy of benchwork building, as I strove to complete a mainline run around the half of my basement that has been taken over by model railroading. So it was that we headed to Staples around 4 PM to take nourishment and see if there were any sights to behold. A paucity of westbound trains motivated us to eat as soon as we arrived. We were entertained while we ate by a pair of eastbounds-the first one a manifest train headed up by a pair of SD75's and a third unit in a GP30 body, and the second one a stacker behind a couple of Dash 9's. We were finishing up supper as the stack train passed, and while it was rolling through Staples, the westbound showed up. As I said earlier, this 364 axle manifest train had a pair of warbonnets for power. We quickly got our check, paid, and made chase.

Building clouds were playing havoc with the sun from time to time, so with the chance to shoot the train during a sunny interval I quickly pulled over at the location of the detector at MP 151. Here's the shot:


I had been able to overtake the train due to his slow speed through Staples. By the time he passed the detector this had all changed, and it was a race to get ahead of him again. I finally passed the head end just outside Verndale, but once again fell behind passing through Wadena. The train didn't have to stop for a pair of red lights.

I had hoped to shoot him near Bluffton, but no joy on that. I didn't catch the power again until New York Mills, and decided to chase him to Perham and try a photo on the west bank of the Ottertail River.


I was again lucky with the sun, and we decided to call it a night. Back home it was, to spend a little more time thinking about the best way to build that tricky piece of corner benchwork. All for this time.

Jim

Return of the SD75M

Way back on Tuesday, February 2, BNSF Jake posted a photo of a flock of BNSF SD75's on the move down the Staples Sub. The word on the web was that these engines were to be returned to service in various locations on the system. Sadly, my own trip down the Staples Sub that morning was much too early to get a look at this group of engines as they moved from Minot to Northtown. However, I did get a chance to spot the SD39-2 pair 8012-8018, (working?) behind a pair of SD70MAC's on an eastbound manifest early that morning. This train was stopped near Clear Lake when I shot it just before 9 AM Tuesday.



It's not a conventional or traditional power set, but hey, it's an all-EMD powered freight train. Can't kick about that in the year 2010.

Fast forward to today, or more specfically this afternoon as I returned home from a three day tour of Southeast Minnesota and the Twin Cities. Just west of Becker, a headlight lured me off the well traveled asphalt of Highway 10 for a shot of what turned out to be an eastbound manifest under the charge of two of the aforementioned SD75M's.

Although the overcast ruled out good photos, I simply had to shoot this pair of EMD's. I take it as nothing but a good sign that business is picking up if the railroad is re-activating units that had been mothballed for what seems like a year.



I also spotted a pair of eastbound manifests on my trip home, both led by assortments of Dash 9's in various H1, H2, and warbonnet paint. The last train I spotted was a COLX load just south of Randall. Sadly, they heavy overcast was enough to discourage me from further photography attempts.

Monday I leave for Hallock, so hopefully I will get something on that trip. Who knows, with any luck I may even stumble across that rumored CP windmill train that is supposed to headed this way.
Jim

Just Like Old Times

An afternoon trip to Perham resulted in my most exciting photo opportunity so far this year. A headlight approaching from the west as I topped the overpass between New York Mills and Perham provided enough motivation to quickly pull over and slip on my winter boots. After a short trek through the snow I was in position to shoot an eastbound manifest train behind BNSF 8018, one of the former SD40-2's that is now plying the Staples Sub. But what made it really special was the collection of classics behind the lead unit-three more SD39-2's, and GP38-2 2284. The consist was set up BNSF 8018-BNSF 8012-BNSF 2284-BNSF 6821-BNSF 1777. I never, ever thought I would see a train powered by a consist like this again on the Staples Sub.


Just the sight of all those curved fuel tanks in a row sends chills down your spine. Or, maybe that was the weather?


These kinds of power sets were uncommon when I moved to the Wadena area more than 5 years ago, and at least to me, unheard of now. Of course I'm sure that some of the units were being moved, as the train certainly didn't seem long enough to require that amount of power, but it was exciting to see an all-EMD lashup once again plying the rails!

And if that wasn't enough of the EMD's, when I arrived in Perham the Wadena local was working with a pair of GP's. I got a shot out the window of the Escape as I crossed the tracks.


Westbounds were out in force on the way home, with an intermodal flying through Perham, a manifest with DPU near New York Mills, and the returning Wadena local just west of Bluffton. But I was chasing coal loads, and managed to get in front of them at Bluffton, for a backlit B&W shot.


So, all in all, a very cool afternoon, with two all-EMD powered trains totaling 7 units sighted, and in the sun, no less! Kind of gets the juices flowing for some more adventures out along the tracks.

Jim

Frosty Friday Morning

Early Frida morning found me bound for Hawley in the fog. Although the forecast called for clearing skies, the same system that moved the clouds out allowed it to get cold enough for the moisture in the air to condense. Thus, the fog. And along with the fog came hoarfrost.

As I approached the Highway 10 overpass between New York Mills and Perham, a headlight was peering out of the gloom to the west. After quickly pulling over and a mad dash back to the bridge, I was able to shoot a manifest train as it approached.


I had been hoping to meet him bit further west, but no such luck.

I missed another eastbound in very nice morning light as I passed through Detroit Lakes. The skies were nicely cleared up but I was stuck on Highway 10 as a long stack train sailed under the Highway 34 overpass. I figured there was no chance to catch him without a lengthy chase, which I didn't have time for.

A stop at Menards for new sunglasses allowed a westbound time to catch up with me. He was passing by as I came out of the store, so off to the races it was. I managed to reel this train in just as he neared Boyer Lake. It was still fairly frosty at this point.


Decided to wait for him in Hawley, and a short wait it was. I spotted a road that heads south just east of the tracks and set up near the flange greaser south of the overpass for this. As you can see, the skies were in "code blue" condition by this time.


I headed for home after lunch, and once again encountered a train in DL. This time, a chase was feasible, and the chosen intercept site was Frazee. Sitting at the S-curve, I was surprised when a westbound crept up on me. It was backlit, but I shot the unusual power anyway.


The tail of that train and the head end power of the westbound were both visible momentarily as I waited for the shot below. While foreign power is far from rare on the Staples Sub, it's a bit out of the ordinary to catch two consecutive trains with no BNSF units in the consist. The CN and CSX units in the train above were complemented by a matched pair of NS GE's on this train.


I met one more Z train entering New York Mills, but with the track angling to the north he would have been in poor light by the time I caught him so continued the drive home. That was all the trains for today, but it was a good day. Trains, sunshine, and some frost make for a pleasant drive along the Staples Sub.

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.

A Run to Staples

A glance at the weather, a quick discussion with Mrs. L4T, and a couple of trains on the way west were all the inspiration I needed to scamper over towards Staples after supper tonight.

I guessed that there might be a westbound switching when we left, and sure enough he was pulling a long cut of cars out of the yard shortly after we arrived. The locomotive stopped just short of the Dower Lake crossing and I shot the unusual consist-and SD75M in nice warbonnet paint leading a CP AC unit, with a Dash 9 pumpkin rounding out the power.


After a wait of a couple of minutes, the second westbound showed up on Main 1. I was a little concerned about getting blocked out, and I have shot the Dower Lake crossing quite a few times anyway, so we decided to head west for this train. I picked the last crossing before Aldrich as the tree line is well back from the tracks and the sun was getting very low in the sky.


Nice looking GEVO on the point of this mixed intermodal. Mostly stacks with a few trailers thrown in. The dispatcher treated him like a Z train, and he had the power as well, but the Z's I usually see have more trailers and less stacks. So I don't really know what this was.

I debated waiting for the manifest, but the sun was going away fast. We headed for Wadena, but met a loaded 1x1 coal train just west of Verndale. My attempt at getting a shot involving the setting sun and this train didn't pan out.

Another coal load and a Superior empty passed through Wadena before we made it back. So it was a busy evening on the Staples Sub.

I've got some photos to share from this week that I will try and get posted over the weekend. Just to keep your interest up, one is pretty unique for me.

Jim