Working in the Evening

I'm sure everyone who take a minute to read what is posted here has a "real life", the thing that gets in the way of just doing what you think is fun 24/7. Once in a while this real life can get in the way of what we might prefer to be doing, which is exactly what has happened to me recently. Go here, go there, do this, do that. All of a sudden you take a breath and realize that days have passed since you have had much time to concentrate on "fun".

But the flame still flickers, even though a strong wind tries to blow it out. Case in point: on Tuesday an evening meeting called me to Perham. With the days getting longer and the sun angle improving the hope of a train photo existed. Sure enough, a baretable train was passing through town as I headed up Jefferson. This night luck was with me as I beat the power to the Bluffton curve.


Under normal situations, the chase to catch the head end would have taken almost to Perham, but a slow order due to bridge work in Bluffton allowed me to catch the train as it snuck around the corner and entered the Leaf River plain.

Once the tail end of the train cleared the bridge, the hogger was back on the throttle and I was back in a photography position, this time near Perham's "Big Woods". The train was making up for lost time as he flew by me with a long string of empty well cars.


And that was it. After a meeting at the Cactus, where the 250 or so attendees were reminded of the importance of calling before they dig, it was back home for another late arrival. Someday I have to learn how to schedule.

What I Stumbled Across this Weekend

The furniture quest continued on Saturday, as Mrs. L4T and I made the trek to Perham to check out 4 floors of stuff at Karvonen's in Perham. It's nice stuff, too, but we still didn't find just what we were looking for. Still the trip wasn't a complete loss since it was a lovely day and I got to shoot a train. Twice. First near the Highway 10 overpass:


And then once more, this time close to Wadena. I might have passed this one up but with a pair of H1's in the consist it seemed worth shooting.


A heads up from Jer on possible unusual traffic across the Staples Sub this afternoon resulted in a short railfanning trip. With ATCS showing a pair of westbounds after lunch, and me not knowing which one might be the mystery train, I headed out to investigate. The first train was another Dash 9 powered manifest, but the second was worth shooting. Loram was moving a grinder around and I got them at Bluffton.


Railfanning was capped off by COLX loads that must have met the grinder close to the 174.1 detector. I shot him at CR 75 west of town, which was the best I could do for nose light on an eastbound at this time of day.


With that, it was home again to work on the ceiling some more.

To Perham

Mrs. L4T and I were contemplating a place to take sustenance earlier today, and part of the research involved a look at ATCS. With a pair of westbounds showing, I proposed that we make Perham our ultimate destination, after a stop or two for photography. So we were off.



First stop was the Bluffton curve, where we waited impatiently for the train. Finally he was in the plant at Wadena, and I dismounted to await arrival. The horn for the Highway 75 crossing presaged the new gates at Black's Grove Road dropping, and then he swept around the corner and into my view:





In the meantime it looked like another train had joined the parade, coming off the Brainerd Sub. I decided to wait for another train at this location, and after a few minutes here he came. This time the train crept rather than swept around the corner, as he must have on the blocks of the first train. Doesn't take much of an excuse to grab a few frames of a 60M:





The sun had been buried behind a massive fluffy cloud not more than 10 seconds before the shutter was released for this shot. I was alternating glances between the sky and the tracks, wondering if there was a chance for a sucker hole, and sure enough a crack in the clouds allowed a bit of sunlight to illuminate this one.



With that we were off to Perham for a DQ stop. After quickly picking up our food (and a gigantic smoothie) it was back to the tracks. The rock train passed by us just as we reached the tracks, leaving me thinking that there was still a coal empty coming. Sure enough, after a couple of chicken strips and some fries, headlights popped up to the east. It was an EMD led coal empty from MERC:





I think Mr. Pentax's focusing system fell in love with the milepost on that shot.



That was it for our brief railfanning outing while grabbing supper. Tonight the BNSF treated us to some traffic and even a cascade green unit in good light. The food was good, the smoothie was better, and the SD60M was best!

Over and Over

This morning found me in Perham to conduct a morning training session. The folks I was working with had their own work to do, and were in a hurry to get done, so a relatively early trip back home was in order. Sometime between 9:30 and 10:00, while leaving the shop in Perham, I heard a horn. This called for an investigation.

I found the Wadena local sitting in Perham, pointed east. With a set of old grungy hoppers in tow, an imminent departure seemed likely, and sure enough they started to pull before I even got a shot. Traffic was wild on crazy days, and it seemed like the train would get well ahead of me, but as quickly as they started, they stopped, and uncoupled from the train on Main Two at the east edge of town. I reached the crossing in time to see them back into the trailing point spur, grab a few more of what I believe were tie cars, and run back up to the main, as seen here.


Just as all this was going on, a headlight appeared at the curve near the Ottertail River bridge. Although the light was awful for a westbound, the power was unique enough (for Perham at least) to warrant a shot. For the second day in a row CP GE's graced the lens of the Pentax.


With the crew putting the local back together, a quick trip a mile or so east found me at the bridge. Before I knew it, the GP's came flying down the hill and around the curve, surprising me so much I only got this shot showing the dark side.


Hopping back in the Escape I gave chase, finally getting a bit of breathing room east of New York Mills. Here comes the local once more, undulating across the swales of the Staples Sub.


I figured if I hurried I could get him once more as he rounded the Bluffton curve. Sure enough I was in place with a minute to spare. They still had these GP's wound up as the train climbed out of the Leaf River Plain.


It's always enjoyable seeing how the train works Wadena. To the best of my knowledge the only run-around that is available is down by Drywall Supply, and when I stopped to watch them work, I found that track occupied by a covered hopper being loaded with what I think is edible beans. This is again new business for Wadena to the best of my knowledge.


This raised the question of how the hogger would get his power on the proper end of the train. As they backed into the spur, it seemed that somehow the loading operation would be interrupted. Was I ever surprised when, after clearing his warrant, the dispatcher and conductor started talking about work they had to do in Staples! All of a sudden they headed up the spur, light power, and indicated they would be leaving as soon as everything was properly lined.

With that I was off, intending to grab a shot of the pair of geeps as they made their way east. It was a competitive chase, and I barely managed to get ahead of them on the west side of Verndale. In fact, this was shot out the car window as there was no chance to dismount.


Well, now you know the story of shooting the Wadena Local "over and over", plus what happens where Jer gives me free reign to shoot red GE's. Thanks for looking!

West

Destination, Lake Park. Purpose of trip, work. Ancillary benefits, chance to see and photograph a few trains along the Staples Sub of the BNSF.

Yesterday morning I set out under mostly overcast skies and pointed the Escape west. The first train popped up before reaching CR 75-a manifest led by a pair of MAC's. After pulling over to the side of the road and jumping out the following photo was made:


Back on the road, no more traffic was spotted until reaching the other side of Perham. When a headlight popped up on the long straightaway, I made my way to the far side of the tracks at a crossing to await the train. The short wait was worth it, when a repainted Dash 9 in the H3 scheme showed up as leader.


And then, before reaching Frazee, another headlight appeared. Once more a path to the light side was found, and a very short wait yielded the "slot machine" behind a matched set of SD60M's.


Lots of radio chatter on the CP channel indicated a busy DL sub, but I didn't have time to go looking for the trains. A massive MOW crew west of Audubon was tieing up Main 1 as well, and I didn't see anything else until the afternoon.

I heard KAW on the radio talking to BNSF 7828 at Aldrich, and decided to sit and wait by the crossing in Wadena for him. In less than 5 minutes the headlight appeared and the silent "hot rail" call was made, and soon after I got this:


With that, it was time to call an end to a long railfanning day.

Exec MAC's

Lots of people bash the "Grinstein" paint scheme that BN applied to new SD70MAC's when they started to roll out of the factory almost 20 years ago. I believe they are wrong. In my opinion, the "Exec" paint scheme is one of the most fitting applied to a locomotive in many years.

I'm sure almost every railfan knows the pioneering role the SD70MAC played in American railroading, introducing AC traction motors to the industry. The upsurge in coal traffic from the Powder River Basin created a need for locomotives that were designed and built to haul heavy trains day in and day out, and from I've read, the MAC fit the bill pretty well. BN must have agreed, given the number of units they purchased.

This unique locomotive, serving in a relatively new role, deserved its own paint job. No one could mistake the fleet of MACs as they pulled coal trains across the country.

These engines must have a lot of miles on them today, and newer EMD and GE products seem to have allowed the railroad to assign them to service besides coal trains, but they are still predominantly coal haulers. Thing is, they are mixed up with the H2 MACs, the GEVOs and the ACes these days, so we don't see solid sets of green and cream too often anymore. That's the reason for this post. In the last week, I have been fortunate to catch two coal trains headed up by (almost) matched sets of Execu-MACs. This first photo is from the Highway 10 overpass last Sunday, and it was purely luck that Mrs. L4T and I happened by just as the train approached. Different power would have still merited a photo, but I would likely never have posted it.


A week ago today, I passed through Staples early in the morning and an eastbound coal load was resting in the yard behind a trio of these units running elephant style. The sun was out, and you bet it was worth stopping for a photo. You never know how many more shots you will get of consists like this one:


You can likely tell that I really love seeing these units in action. BNSF did an awful thing when they peeled the nose logos off, but the paint job remains. I can promise you that as long as these units run in my basement, they will maintain a place of honor on the point of the train.

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

Friday the 13th, Under the Overcast

After my trip to Virginia, I had one last little jaunt for the week. I needed to pick something up in Perham and bring it back to Wadena. So Friday morning, I was off under a leaden sky. I still brought the camera with, because who knows what you might see?

With no ATCS on the track between Detroit Lakes and Wadena, I was at the mercy of the BNSF as far as trains. The track and the highway separate so Highway 10 can loop around the north side of New York Mills, and darned if I didn't spot a stack train headed east as I neared the tracks on the west side of town. The light was funky, and I wanted to try a shot, so a quick u-turn put me in hot pursuit of the eastbound. I caught up with him before reaching Bluffton, and got this shot.


Now there is one complication to this that I haven't yet mentioned. While I was running this train down, I met a standard coal empty east of Mills, in one of the spots where it's hard to see the power. I got a glimpse of the GEVO leader, and passed him up. But as he passed I swore I saw a CN unit in the consist, and it seemed to be too far back to be the second or third unit. I filed this under "interesting things I see along the tracks" and continued my pursuit of the stack train.

After resuming the trek to Perham, I caught up with the MAC that was pushing on the coal empty. I whipped the Escape to try and run down the lead units, and sure enough something was strange, although I couldn't tell exactly what. Since it was Friday the 13th I sailed past Perham on the bypass and caught the headend on the other side of town. After a couple more miles, I was able to get to the north side of the tracks for a shot.


Of course I had the wide lens on, and you can't see what I wanted to show, so I grabbed a going away of the rear 3 units in this consist-a CN GEVO and a pair of SD70-2's. Now that's odd-unusual-strange or whatever you want to call it.


I know these are terrible shots, but I had to post them as there is a "to be continued" element to this post that requires me to include the story of the CN locos. You'll have to wait for the next report to hear the rest of the story...

Jim

Sneak a Peek

One of the great things about living in Wadena is the proximity to the Staples Sub. That is especially true anytime you approach the tracks at a road crossing. There is always a good chance that peeking down the right-of-way will reveal some evidence of a nearby train-whether that evidence is a lit signal, a FRED blinking in the distance at night, the single headlight of a DPU pushing, or best of all, the triangular glow of an approaching train.

Since my Friday started out with a trip to Perham for work, I was anticipating a glance down the tracks as I approached the Jefferson Street crossing in Wadena. The sunshine that was dancing around looked to be short-lived with a cloud bank building in the west, so I figured a perfectly timed eastbound might be my only chance for a nicely lit shot today. Sure enough, fortune smiled on me as the crossing revealed the headlight of a train approaching from the west. Reminded me of the CP "one unit wonders" I read about so often from the railfans just to the south. This train was passing through the part of Wadena hardest hit by the June tornado. As you can see there is still a lot of work to do before Wadena returns to anything near normal.


In Perham, I came across an interesting sight. Seems that one of the BNSF's Aeroflo coal cars got tired and decided to give up the ghost. The first picture below shows how repair crews transferred the load to another similar car (notice what the load in the right car looks like). They then pulled in the side that was bowed out and secured it with a chain, as you can barely see in the second photo.





Finally, on the trip home, I again sneaked a peek down the tracks, this time as I crossed over the tracks on Highway 10. Since another train was approaching I decided to make a quick detour to the Hagerman Road crossing, where the gates were dropping as I arrived and this appeared outside the driver's window:


So that's the story of another day in the life of a Staples Sub railfan. It's a great place to live and to look for trains.

Jim

Verndale Rail Teaser

But first, a cloudy morning backlit shot from my trip to Perham this morning:


I'd love to live on the farmstead where the old collapsed barn rests at the left edge of this photo.

After work today, here's the view that greeted me when I logged onto ATCS (click on the image, and take in the fleet of westbounds SWA had lined up):


That many westbounds that close together just cries out for a quick railfanning outing. Mrs. L4T was agreeable, so after a rushed supper it was off to the east. I had hoped to make it to Staples before meeting the first westbound and shoot BNSF 4444 east but no such luck. A COLX empty had us making a u-turn at CR 9. We shot back to the Wing River sag to shoot a Verndale Rail preview.


Knowing that we would see at least one or two more trains, it seemed appropriate to work from Verndale. The next train I shot at the east crossing, a location I have used probably a hundred times before.


Just after this train passed, an empty off the Brainerd Sub passed the detector at 151.6. Here's an attempt to make the location of the photo very evident.


And again, in short order the detector west of Staples announced the impending arrival of another westbound. This time Mrs. L4T suggested trying a shot near Bluffton, so off we were, to the Bluffton curve. This odd little train was led by a pair of SD70MAC's and consisted of some RRVW ballast cars, a couple of loaded coil steel cars with no covers, and a bunch of old ATSF and BN steel coal hoppers. Oh, how the mighty AC power has fallen.


The first shot of the evening, at the Wing River, was shot at 6:10 PM, while the final shot at the Bluffton curve was time stamped 6:54 PM. I guess trackwork is good for something, that being bunching up the trains. Not a bad 45 minutes of railfanning.

Hopefully this whets your appetite for some Staples Sub action at Verndale Rail 2010. I know I'm looking forward to it.

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

West of Wadena

A trip to Perham last Friday morning (April 9) gave me the chance for a little incidental railfanning between Wadena and my destination. It's just barely over 20 miles, and travelling at freeway speed the trip is less than half an hour, but as I approached the overpass west of New York Mills I was lucky enough to spot an eastbound headlight. Turned out the train was a GEVO led bare table, headed who knows where at a good clip.


Morning light is just about perfect in that location this time of year. I also like seeing the Perham water tower in the distance, along with the large crane working at the site of the new Perham hospital. The little farmstead peeking through the trees is just a bonus.

On the way home after lunch, I chased a worm train out of Perham heading east. By this time the sun was pretty much gone for eastbounds but I caught him in New York Mills anyway. The train seemed to be slowing as he passed me, creating hope for another catch somewhere near Wadena.


However, I soon passed the train as it drifted to a stop just outside New York Mills. The plan of shooting him again near Bluffton was dashed.

It soon became clear why he was stopping-another train was stopped as well, just a couple of miles in front of him. This one turned out to be a unit DDG train. Throttling up just as I approached, he called for quick work, and I barely beat him to the CR 75 crossing just west of Wadena. Here the pair of Dash 9's have just made it to the top of the short grade out of the Leaf River valley, and are working at picking up speed as they approach Wadena.


And with that, another short railfan adventure on the Staples Sub was concluded. Three trains in less than an hour on a work-mandated journey are hard to beat. I'm a lucky guy.

Jim