Like an Old Shoe

For any readers of this blog who aren't already aware of it, I started a new job, working in the Duluth/Superior area, about a month ago. There is a thriving railfan community in that area, and I have felt very welcome. "Guided Tours" of a few areas have already taken place, with more in the offing. It's exciting seeing places in person that have only existed in photos for me until now.

The best part is getting to know some of the fans in that area. I've long felt that getting to know fellow railfans is the high point of the hobby and so far the Twin Ports have reinforced that belief.

However, the area I called home for 8 years still has a strong hold on me. Commuting back to Wadena on weekends has allowed me to stay in touch with that area. On my way home Friday evening, I caught an empty coal train between Staples and Aldrich. Racing along at highway speed allowed me a short lead by the time I reached Verndale. It only seemed right to stop for a shot at one of my favorite photo locations-the Verndale Sag.


The combination of nice evening light, a familiar coal train behind a pair of MAC's, and a well known location sure combined to make me feel "at home". It's just a matter of time before the Twin Ports are able to provided the same level of comfort. I look forward to it.

Nine Nine Nine Nine

Thanks to Jer for the heads up:


On Saturday morning, early, he texted me that the BNSF 9999 was stopped somewhere near Bluffton. Since I was still sucking on my morning coffee, the response wasn't timely. However, after a cup or two, curiosity got the best of me, and an ATCS check showed an eastbound just entering the plant. Off I went, and sure enough the famous (at least in my mind) BNSF 9999 was sitting west of the west crossing in Wadena. He stopped exactly where the pile driver parked on the house track would shade his pilot.

There is something about a loco numbered 9999. This is the fourth time I've captured this engine, once in Frazee, once in Staples, and as a DPU on a River Sub COLX train. Keep those tips coming, Jer.

Highway 10

Thursday was a LONG day. Beginning with a 5:45 AM departure for a meeting in Minneapolis, and ending with a 9:40 PM arrival home after said meeting, and one more in Randall yesterday evening.

Which leads to a lot of time on Highway 10. Everybody knows the Northern Pacific showed someone the route for a highway, and they still run together in most places. The result is any trip along Highway 10 is, by default, also an opportunity to railfan. I didn't get any done in the morning due an extremely tight schedule, but on the way back to Randall a couple of spare moments allowed a capture of this stack train, between St. Cloud and Little Falls.


It's kind of side-lit but not TERRIBLE.

There was a coal empty waiting for a light south of Gregory, and an eastbound about to make room for him. I flew right on by and arrived at Randall with time to spare. After a stop to make people aware the meeting was on, I ran north of town a bit to shoot the coal empty as it rounded a curve. I think this is a pretty good shot, and like how the ghost of the BN emblem still makes itself present on the nose of the MAC. Long live the BN!


A couple of trains interrupted my presentation at the fire hall, but that's all good. Anytime you can hear a train from work, it's worth saying thanks.

Coincidence

A couple of Christmas's ago Mrs. L4T surprised me with a wonderful Greg Garrett framed print showing a pair of MAC's bringing a loaded coal train through snowy western scenery. It was a fantastic gift, hangs in the living room where it can be admired on a regular basis.


It's hard to see but the leader of this train is EMD SD70MAC BNSF 9905. For many years these AC units have been among my favorites, but with more than 800 of them on the BNSF roster catching any specific unit is like finding a needle in a haystack. Ever since recieving this gift I've kept an eye out for the 9905, and last Monday I finally caught it rounding a curve between Lake Park and Audubon.


Now I have a photo of the same loco pictured in the print. Next up, finding the same engine leading in the snow, with another orange MAC trailing.

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.

Summertime at the Sag

Summertime, and the shootin' is good, at the Wing River sag. Mrs. L4T suggested a ride, and after a check of ATCS I agreed. We headed east, and I pulled off just outside Verndale, spotting a headlight approaching as we crossed the tracks. Here it comes:


A preview of Verndale Rail 2011.

When we got back to town, I had to stop by Drywall Supply to shoot a couple of the 8 tanks of magnesium chloride the Wadena local had delivered for transloading. Talking to a truck driver earlier in the day I learned that this product will be used on gravel roads in the Park Rapids area to keep dust down. The modeler in me really liked the rust on this one:


And the other white car was decorated by taggers.


This is the first time I have seen this take place in Wadena. Hopefully the local has found some new business that is sustainable. According to the driver I visited with he will have them all unloaded this week. That's a good number of trips to Park Rapids.

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.

An "SD" Kind of Day

SaturDay, Mrs. L4T and I headed over Brainerd way after lunch to get some things taken care of. Since the sun was out, I brought the camera (OK, I would have brought the camera regardless-"Pentax: don't leave home without it!")

My first victim showed up as we pulled into Brainerd, where a set of vintage SD's were sunning themselves on the east end of the yard. I crept up on the pair from the south to snap a couple of photos without disturbing them.




The rails were quiet the rest of the way to Brainerd and almost all the way back to Staples. As we approached town from the east, a loaded coal train was announced by the presence of the familiar trio of headlights. This one had an ACe and MAC up front. I decided to wait a bit and see if there was a DPU to shoot. Sure enough, this time they left it pointed the right way. I failed to anticipate the glare off the windshield, though, and this is all I have to show for the wait.


An eastbound was passing through town, staying on the Staples, as we rolled by the depot. For some reason I kept on going, and it turned out to be a good decision as we spotted the tail end of a coal empty before reaching Aldrich. Immediately thoughts turned toward the Bluffton curve, and even with a red light in Wadena I had managed to open a big enough gap on the train to make it there with a couple of minutes to spare. I shot him as he approached the new crossing gates there, with plenty of sun to illuminate the pair of ACe's leading the train.

That's all the railfanning we managed this weekend, as the clouds rolled in on Sunday and I got occupied with the models. It was fun to see a great selection of EMD's fine products on display along the BNSF on a sunny spring Saturday.

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.

Who Says BNSF has no Heritage Units?

What a 2011 it's been for me so far, at least from the railfan perspective. On New Year's Day, I kicked off the year with the Amtrak "monster train", a weather-induced combination of #7 and #8.

After taking a break Sunday to watch the Vikings season come to a welcome end, it was back to the grindstone of work yesterday morning. In the afternoon, though, Mrs. L4T and I had to make the drive to Brainerd to see the Doc. The roads hadn't improved much since Saturday, with a substantial coat of ice on much of Highway 10 slowing traffic and lengthening our commute. Light snow did nothing to help the situation. It was, all in all, a winter day. However, my railfan senses were still at high alert as we approached Staples. We soon spotted the tail end of a loaded coal train, with an SD70MAC pushing in DPU mode. Nothing so unusual there. Then, just as I passed the Dower Lake station sign, I let out a cry that quite startled my companion: "It's the vomit bonnet!" (with apologies to Russ). The look on Mrs. L4T's face made it clear she suspected I had finally gone 'round the bend. The chattering anti-lock brakes on the Escape left no doubt that photography would be attempted from the edge of an icy, partially snow covered Highway 10, and here are the results:


BNSF 9647 sports a one-of-a-kind paint job, supposedly designed to pay homage to the classic "warbonnet" lines of Santa Fe units while at the same time conveying the message that the BNSF is (or once was) a new, cutting edge transportation gargantuan. In my opinion, the warbonnet deserves to be done up in red and silver, and this attempt to morph the exec paint with the classic lines just didn't work.


Oddly enough, it was one year earlier, to the day, when Mike Vandenberg announced the arrival of another of BNSF's locomotives sporting an experimental paint job as a group of railfans huddled against the cold in Hawley. The cry of "IT'S THE YELLOW ONE" will live in the ears and minds of those who were there to witness it for decades to come. Spotting another of the units that fall outside the norm for my favorite railroad couldn't help but remind me of that special day.


We were on a tight schedule, due to having to make it to the Doctor's appointment, and so this was all I had time to shoot. I know it's not the most attractive MAC on the system but it is unique, and I've never seen it in person before.

For the second time this year, my railfanning has produced a sight I've never seen before, and in the case of the Amtrak train, something I'll very likely never see again. The year can likely only go downhill from here.

Here a Coal Train

There a coal train, everywhere a coal train. Last Saturday, Mrs. L4T agreed to a quick trip to Brainerd. Luckily, there's a railroad to watch for most of the way.

We spotted a BNSF westbound before reaching Staples, but poor light and a tight schedule prompted me to pass him up in the hope that something more interesting might come along. Sure enough, a Becker load was leaving town just as we passed through. That's not really interesting, but the DPU was, to me at least.


One of the very few MAC's I've had the chance to shoot in the wedgie paint scheme. Not sure if I've shot this one before, but the paint looked fairly fresh so perhaps not. While the exec painted units have always been a favorite of mine, MAC's in wedgie paint are a close second, if not a new leader, especially since the cream and green units have been vandalized by the removal of the nose logo.


Well, that was a nice surprise. We quickly continued on to Brainerd, where Home Depot and Mills Fleet Farm were priority stops. Just a few minutes before leaving Fleet Farm, I though I heard a train blow for the 371 crossing but didn't know which way he was headed. I learned it was an empty as we approached Staples on the way home. The empty was crawling towards town. I quickly made my way to the east crossing and waited for the ACe leader to arrive. He promptly stopped. I responded by taking a picture of the stopped train.


Another eastbound load was heading down the Staples Sub, so I waited for him to pass and chatted with another railfan. All of a sudden a westbound Z sailed into town on Main 1. No wonder the empty was stopped on the Brainerd Sub. The dispatcher was making way for the Z train.

The short, fast moving Z was gone in a flash. Fort Worth quickly lined the switch for the empty, and he approached as the load was still passing. This offered the chance at a shot of the "meet"-the head end of the empty passes by the DPU of the load headed down the Staples Sub.


And that was it as we headed for home. It turned out to be a somewhat productive railfanning outing, even though we didn't start out with that as a primary purpose. Sometimes you see more trains by accident than by design. Keep looking!

3 Pairs

As we've suffered some might poor railfanning weather in the past 10 days or so, posting here at look4trains has been non-existent. The combination of clouds and work have left me with a desire to shoot some train photos so this afternoon Mrs. L4T and I checked out the ATCS, put fresh batteries in the scanner, and taking into account the late autumn sun angle, pointed the vehicle west.

With not a lot of traffic showing up on the computer I fell back on my normal plan-drive until you find a train, then decide what to do. We met an eastbound just past New York Mills, but the combination of an unnatractive consist and poor lighting led me to pass it up. Crossing fingers, we continue west. And the other side of Perham, I heard the dispatcher give a warrant to BNSF 8943 East. Maybe a coal train, and I can shoot him somewhere near Frazee where there may be at least a little nose light. First up: Acorn Lake, and a matched set of Halloween painted MAC's.


I've always wanted to shoot a train here when the water is dead calm. That would probably involve me getting up real early in the morning, and a train being there at the right time, but someday these things will come together.

As soon as he passed, we raced back east to try and beat him to the S curve. It was a losing race, by about 60 seconds. I stopped to shoot him just a bit east of the curve, shown here:


Since the track is still real close to north/south here, for a few miles, it seemed worth trying one more shot at the curve between Frazee and Perham. I beat the train this time, by 30 seconds or so.


Since we were already so far west, it seemed only right to sniff around Detroit Lakes for a bit. We may have just missed a CP train, as both signals near the Holiday Inn were yellow as we drove into town, then dropped to black as we passed them. A train at the diamond was the only explanation I was able to come up with, since there were no other BNSF trains nearby at this time.

After a stop at Menards to pick up some winter gloves and a drill bit for use on the model layout, we were greeted as we left the store by a coal empty passing through town. The DPU was a exec painted MAC, but I didn't get a look at the head end and learned there was an ACe up front only after he cleared his warrant. By this time I was hot on the trail of the train, with a goal of intercepting him in Hawley. I debated on the wooden bridge shot, but decided to get him entering town instead. Here's the first attempt:


And again as he passes, this time showing the matched power on the head end of this train.


On the way to Hawley we met a V-train, behind a pair of Dash 9's but those two were not matching-one each of the H1 and H2 paint schemes. But the matched units weren't done for the day. When I turned around in Hawley, there sat a rail train (stretched all the way across the highway bridge, which carries a siding as well as the two main tracks) behind a couple of green giants. The leader was a triclops, so even though the light was awful, I had to shoot this train since it fit into the theme that had developed. My third pair of the day:


With that in the bag, and light starting to fade, a stop at the Hawley DQ rounded out the trip west. By the time supper was finished, the light was pretty much gone. I did spot one more train on the way home: the Z train that Todd shot earlier in the day, this one sporting three matched Dash 9's on the point. A three of a kind seemed like a fitting end to the day of pairs.

Jim

Like it Used to Be

No doubt, Staples yard has seen its share of SD40-2's over the years that venerable locomotive has been in existence. Only 5 years ago, they were very common on trains through this area, especially stack trains and vehicle trains. The arrival of new GE units and the drop in traffic during the economic downturn about killed them off.

Like a Phoenix, though, they have (barely) risen from the dead over the last few months. Although far from common, it's no longer a surprise to see one or two of the units on the Staples Sub. Such was the case Friday as I travelled home from the Cities.


Obviously the Heritage paint scheme on the rear unit plays havoc with my "like it used to be" theme, but still. Spartan cab EMD's, that's a nice sight regardless of whether or not they are green.

That shot also included a set of three Grinstein MAC's, just the way they were intended to look with the exception of the patches under the windows and the travesty of the missing nose logos.

Then, just as I was basking in the sight of all these EMD throwbacks, what had to appear but a manifest train behind a pair of GE's-Norfolk Southern, to boot! What a way to rain on a parade. I guess we just can't have nice things.


Since the first couple of shots were so badly backlit, there was no option but to creep to the edge of the woods and grab one last photo from a different angle. I'm sure there will be other chances to shoot a consist like this, but each day that passes makes it less likely. So if you find 'em, shoot 'em.



Signed,

One happy railfan.

ACe's and MAC's, Oh My

Bright and early Wednesday morning I pointed the Escape east, destination Duluth. The weather looked promising, and an early start allowed time for photo stops if the opportunity presented, which it soon did.

Matched MAC's were muscling a coal load out of Staples onto the Brainerd Sub. First stop, just east of Staples:


The Hinckley dispatcher was busy with at least a couple of eastbound loads along with track inspectors, and the roll-ups helped me track the progress of the train as made its way through the fall foliage. I decided to use up my spare time waiting for a shot near Aitkin, where the clouds decided to thicken as the train approached. Drat.


After a meeting in Superior, and one more in Duluth, it was back on the road to Wadena. I had a random encounter with yet another load at Woodbury, where the leaders were backlit:


But the DPU looked a good bit prettier to my eye:


After that, things quieted down until I neared Pilager, where yet another loaded train was making its way east. Once again, a backlit shot of the leader.


That's all I have from my journey along the final leg of the "Coal Trail". Next time, a visit to Fairfax, where my Grandpa may have worked more than 75 years ago.

Jim

The Coal Trail-Part 2

Yesterday I promised a surprise in my report of the second day's journey along the route coal from the PRB takes as it journeys to the Staples Sub. I'll no longer keep you in suspense-here it is:


A side trip through Bismarck, where Mrs. L4T and I first set up housekeeping oh so many years ago, yielded the chance to shoot this former CN wide cab GP40, now hard at work in its second career with the DMVW. While I'd seen reports of these engines back at work in North Dakota, I never expected to see one on a rainy Thursday. It was such a surprise I stepped out into that rain for the shot.

And then, seeing a street sign that read "Soo Line Drive", I made a right turn on the off chance it might involve something railroady. After one left hand curve I was face to face with this sight:


Two pleasing discoveries in one day!

Meanwhile, back on the interstate, the miles melted away as we travelled east. An occasional train on the BNSF entertained, but offered no photo opportunities as they seemed to know just when to appear-usually 1/2 a mile or so after we passed an exit, with no chance to get off I-94 within the next 10 miles, and no knowledge of how to access the track even if we did leave the interstate. Combined with overcast, rainy, hazy conditions, there was little incentive remaining to try and track down one of these trains.

I was frustrated once when we were west of Jamestown, as I spotted an empty coal train crossing the causeways that span the prairie potholes in the area. Seemed like a great and scenic photo location, I told Mrs. L4T, and someone should be taking advantage of it. Turns out, someone was, and only a couple of days earlier, when the sun was out. Nice job, Mike. Once again you have made me jealous!

Before we knew it, we were back in Minnesota. I stopped at the hobby shop in Moorhead, and had to give MN Chris a call to check out how good a deal a certain HO engine was. As we talked a manifest freight passed heading east, and once more my railfan juices were flowing. After retrieving Mrs. L4T from the Moorhead Target, we swung by Dilworth yard in time to see loaded coal train leave with two Exec painted MAC's leading and another pushing. I figured he wouldn't make much time going up the hill, so we visited Watts, where I shot a westbound manifest waiting to enter the yard.


Next up was the coal train. It was still raining on and off, so the best spot to shoot him seemed to be the Highway 32 overpass near Hawley. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare, and when I got out of the car to assess the situation, I heard a westbound blowing as well. The wait seemed to indicate they would meet close to my location. The coal train won the race to the bridge.


It was a close race, though, with the meet occurring just east of the bridge. Turned out to be an all-energy theme, with coal loads going up the hill and crude oil empties drifting downhill.


Most crude trains I have seen have a DPU, so I waited and this one was no different. A final shot as the DPU trails the train into Hawley:


Seems that while this route is still primarily a "coal trail", it's also become something of an "energy trail" as well, with the regular crude oil trains now running these tracks.

We met one final coal empty as we pulled into Wadena, which seemed appropriate given our theme for the previous two days.

That's the story of our journey along the tracks that are travelled by coal trains as they reach this corner of the world. Hope you've enjoyed it.

Jim