Like Old Times

 The days are getting short. We lose daylight both morning and evening, which means it's usually dark when I get up this time of year. This morning was no different. 

A glimpse out the window as the sun peeked above the horizon showed a fresh blanket of snow, maybe 3 inches, and with flurries continuing. ATCS told me that a northbound was heading out of Superior, so with the OK from Mrs. L4T I bundled up and headed out into the snow. The roads were less than ideal, but I figured I had plenty of time to catch the train somewhere north of Proctor. That idea was dashed upon reaching Jeffery Road, as the train was speeding north. Pressing on, I made it to North Coons with but a minute to spare, and grabbed a shot of what I figure was the Ranier local based on the fact that the train had a pair of SD60's for power and only a few cars. 

With one headed my out of Superior, I backtracked with the intent of catching the next northbound somewhere closer to Proctor. I decided to swing by the yard on the way and managed to get a limestone train being made up while the customary switch engines stood by. A pair of DMIR leaders is always a win. 

Then it was off to Stark Road to wait for the northbound. Didn't take too long, but I heard him blow for at least 3 crossings before seeing him. Anticipation was killing me. Then this:

I planned to head home after that train, but with a southbound showing approaching Proctor, I texted the Mrs. telling her I would be a few minutes late and was rewarded with pellet loads.

 Made it home in time to get a text from Mr. Mackey informing me that the WC heritage unit was headed my way. Well, clouds and fog or not, that merited a return trip. Munger seemed like a safe spot to intercept that train. But first, the CN had to run this limestone empty to Proctor so why not shoot that too?

Then it was the moment we have been waiting for-the arrival of the WC heritage unit. I spent a little battery on that.

And that was that. I headed home with a good day's railfanning in the bag. Thanks to Dan Mackey for the heads up on the WC unit. Would have missed it without that tip. 

The title of this post is Like Old Times, because this outing reminded me of many trips I made to Staples while I lived in Wadena. It felt like I am starting to become familiar with locations in the Twin Ports area, and that reminded me of how I used to feel along the Staples Sub. Good memories. 

Sun, Snow, and Steam (and Clouds)

 Saturday morning October 24 revealed a clear blue sky and significant snow on the ground. Seemed like the kind of day that should be captured for posterity. What better way than to take some train pictures?

I had been sniffing around the former DWP main out in the Munger area and thought the snow and morning sun would make for a nicely lit backdrop for a southbound CN train. Off I went to the crossing Maple Grove Road, where I could sit and wait and observe the glory of a Christmas scene in October. 

The wait was relatively short, and I was ready when the southbound passed by a row of flocked evergreens. 

That zebra painted second unit inspired me to have another go at this train, so it was off to Becks Road, where I shot this at the overpass.

It's kind of crazy how just a little drop in elevation reduces the amount of snow on the ground. That shot looked more like early November than Christmas. 

On my way home, a stop at the overpass on the north end of Proctor Yard yielded a shot of pellet loads steaming alongside a tunnel motor leader pointed toward the range. The overcast had moved in by that time, giving the scene a wintry appearance. Why not capture that?

With that, my morning was complete and I headed for home thinking Santa would show up any day. Another railfanning outing in the books.

A Dream Trip

Today was a special day for a railfan (me). I received a call from Dan Mackey a couple of days ago, informing me that I just HAD to take Thursday off. When asked why, he just said to trust him, it would be worth it. Sure enough he was right.

The big surprise turned out to be a trip from the Depot in Duluth to Palmers, via rail. Specifically, a pair of ex-DMIR SD's headed up to grab a coal train that had been stored on the North Shore Scenic Railroad for the winter.

We started the day with a healthy breakfast at the Sunshine Cafe on Grand Ave in Duluth. Soon we were at the Depot, doing all the things that need to be done to prepare locomotives for work. Anyway everyone else was, while I mostly just tagged along doing what I was told. (That's a specialty of mine.) After what seemed like forever, much of that time involving things like locomotive inspections, adding 20 gallons of oil to one unit, and getting a track warrant, we were off. Engineer Mackey was sporting a fancy new Enbridge Rail North Dakota hat as we prepared for the trip through Duluth.

My co-workers heard the horn as we passed in front of my new office, the tracks just across the interstate from the downtown Duluth office where I should have been sitting. We got waves from a number of folks on the lakewalk as we passed. 

The further up the lakeshore we went, the deeper the snow got. Just a couple of miles before reaching Palmers, the track was completely covered and the pair of EMD's got a mini snowplowing workout as they cleared track unused since fall. After we arrived at out destination I jumped out and grabbed a shot of 316, which had led us up the line long hood forward and wore some snow on her pilot as a celebration of April in Minnesota. 

It was shortly after this that I learned my purpose for joining the group on this trip. Today was my first lesson in how to assist with a brake test. I also was reminded what it is like to wade through heavy, wet snow nearly knee deep. It's hard work that reminded me of meter reading back in the old days. It also reminded me of why I kind of appreciate an office job. Oh, and by the way, I also snuck away to shoot the power after it was coupled up to the train. 

I had to be back in the office by 2 PM for a VIM (very important meeting). One thing I DO know about railroads is this-late trains tend to get later. This one had left the depot just a bit later than I was comfortable with given the 2:00 deadline I was facing, and I chickened out and grabbed a ride back to town so I could be assured of making it in time. Before leaving, I noticed the sun had come out and blue skies were moving in, so I grabbed one more shot of the train. 

My apologies to Kevin Madsen for posting a shot with the door open :). But with a crew like this, whatcha gonna do? 

I made it back with 10 minutes to spare after having to park on the 5th level of the parking ramp at work. When I walked in the office, my co-workers were all a-twitter with questions about my adventure. They know more about the NSSR than they did before. 

All in all, a great day. It's a rare event to even get to see a pair of locomotives like this working together in 2013, much less actually get to ride in the leader. Wish I could have stuck around for the return trip, but duty calls and all that. Thanks to Dan, and John, and the entire crew at the railroad for making me feel welcome and actually finding something I could do to help. It was a memory I won't forget. 

Shall We Chase a Train?

Friday was the end of what seemed like a long work week to me. The trip home from Two Harbors was staring me in the face after meeting with some folks Friday morning, and that's a long ways from Wadena.

After a stop at Carr's Hobbies in Duluth, where I scored 7 decorated 53' trailer kits for an average price of less than $6 each, it was back on the road. At least I had my great buy on intermodal equipment and satellite radio to keep me company. Highway 210 rolled on and on, when all of a sudden, wait, isn't that a westbound coal empty peeking through the trees? Why it sure is! It should be easy to catch him and take a photo. First one is somewhere east of Tamarack:


The empty was moving right along, but the Escape was moving faster so the next shot came from the overpass at McGregor. The train was a bit sidelit, but that makes for interesting shadows.


I tried it as a black and white as well, not sure which one I prefer.


After a NASCAR speed pit stop at the Holiday station it was back in the saddle. Things worked out nicely as the train and I both approached Aitkin at the same time. A few miles down the road a crossing offered the chance to get a bit better lighting on the nose, although the clouds had really moved in by this time. Went from code blue to overcast in less than half an hour.


After a stop at the Menards in Brainerd the trip home continued. Once again I caught the train, this time as he was entering the Staples Sub. The clouds and poor sun angle didn't offer much in the way of photo ops. A stop in Verndale to reserve the park shelter for VR2K12 was too much to resist, though, and I shot him one final time. That makes at least four locations where this GE powered coal empty was photographed. That's the way to chase a train.

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

Stacks and Snow

With Mrs. L4T feeling well enough for a drive, we headed over Staples way this afternoon to see what was out and about. There was a yard full of trains, including a westbound manifest behind a pair of GP types and some coal trains tucked in behind him.

I expected another westbound at any time, and he showed up while I was in the former Radio Shack in Staples trying to find some cheap RJ12 jacks for the Digitrax system. They didn't have any, and to top it off now I was behind the train. Luckily it was a stack train and wasn't going real fast so I managed to get ahead of him before the curve at Aldrich. West of there the nose light is gone. Here's the shot:


Last night's light snow was fairly fluffy and so every passing train stirred it up anew. We basically paced this train back to Wadena, and met two eastbound coal trains in the process. The poor light angle and setting sun were enough to discourage us from trying any other photos.

It's not much, but it's the best I can offer today.

Jim

Winter Wonderland

After managing to re-arrange a scheduled day in New Ulm today, since the drive home after work looked light a bit dicey, I was tucked in the bedroom office catching up on a stack of that stuff you put off when more important things are calling, until it becomes more important itself. I made good progress before lunch, hardly looking up from the paperwork and keyboard, so when Mrs. L4T hollered that the soup was hot, weather conditions caught me by surprise. It was snowing like it does in Cass Lake!

After lunch was gobbled down ATCS showed an eastbound lined through Wadena. The combination of a train and the snow was enough to get me to play hooky for an hour or so. The eastbound and I arrived at the crossing similtaneously, so no shot in Wadena. The ultimate target was Staples, and with the road conditions there seemed no way to catch up to that train. He must have been running slowly, though, since by the time I made the four lane I was on his tail. I spent a lot of time in the snow covered passing lane but made it to Staples ahead of the train and jumped out of the Escape at the depot, to shoot these two as he approached:




The snow was really coming down at this time. It was almost snowing too hard to take a picture.

ATCS told me that I should soon see a westbound as well, so after a wait of a couple of minutes, here came a pair of ACe's. This COLX train only had the two units up front, as I waited through the blizzard to shoot the DPU and got nothing. The pine trees on the right edge of the shot make it kind of Christmas-y.


When I had checked ATCS earlier, another train was shown as waiting at a red signal on the Brainerd Sub. So I swung over to shoot yet another coal empty, this on led by a GE. Still snowing!


It looked pretty dead after this, so I decided to chase the second coal train back to Wadena. I still had some of the semi-important work to get done. I snatched one more photo on the way home, at Aldrich.


By the time I got home, the snow had ended. As long as it seemed over for a while I shoveled the driveway and then went back to work. I had a nice little break from the drudgery of the computer today!

Jim

Springtime in Wadena (Part II)

Two months ago, it would seem that I announced the arrival of spring to the Staples Subdivision prematurely.

On my way home from this week's road trip, a westbound coal empty coordinated its arrival at the Wadena interlocking with my own arrival at the First Street crossing. What better time to capture the flavor of early May here in Wadena?


No, that's not plain old Pentax noise in the photo. It's honest to goodness snow, and when I pulled up at home just a few minutes after snapping this picture, it was barely beginning to stick to the grass and still falling. The weatherman doesn't seem to think we'll get MUCH snow. That's heartening thought, as we sit here contemplating Mom's Day.

Jim

Brrr....

According to weather reports from the Wadena Airport, Wadena's low temp yesterday morning was -35 degrees Fahrenheit. What better way to celebrate than a railfanning trip?

Of course, a running vehicle is a prerequisite to "trip", and on this morning such a luxury was not to be taken for granted. As a matter of fact, for the first time ever, the Escape needed a jump. And after that effort, nothing would interfere with our mission to meet up with a bunch of railfans from the south somewhere near Lake Park.

Pointing our ride west, we paralleled the Staples Sub on Highway 10. Eastbound trains resulted in quick photography stops at the overpass between New York Mills and Perham, and between Perham and Frazee. The second stop resulted in this photo, along with some video I need to get processed someday.


And then we were off again, in a race with a third eastbound that was just leaving Dilworth. We arrived at the Lake Park S curve with minutes to spare, finding the Black Silverado already on location. After a brief visit, the eastbound train was spotted and people piled out of every door to populate the right-of-way. This shot of the train also includes two of the on location fans. This train also started the habit of greeting those who were out braving the cold with a blast of the horn.


Another shot, this time just the train. Dash 9's numbers 7 and 8 for me on the day.


The knowledge of an imminent westbound motivated Mrs. L4T and I to head directly to Hawley. As we entered town, a stopped cut of cars on the overpass made me wonder what was going on. After a brief investigation, I learned that there are in fact three tracks on that overpass. The siding serving the elevator in Hawley runs south across the highway. Who knew? Not me.

By the time that mission was finished, we had been overtaken by the railfanning combo of Jeremiah, Bryant, and Mike V. Setting up shop near the curve where the tracks enter Hawley, we spread out. Mike V. was deployed as an advance scout, and as the other three of us visited while we waited for the oncoming train, I was able to convince his partners not to leave him to freeze in the cold.

After what seemed like an eternity in the cold, but was likely only a few minutes, we spotted the headlights to the east. Railfans began taking test shots, adjusting cameras, and getting into shooting locations, when the advance scout let out with a cry of "IT"S THE YELLOW ONE!!!!" We had lucked into the one of a kind ES44DC carrying a unique yellow "wedgie" paint scheme.


This unique unit was leading a loaded grain train from Concordia, Kansas to Seattle. It was a very cool unit to spot. Great to have an advance warning from the scout too. Thanks Mike!


And then it was off to the first wood bridge west of Highway 32. What better place to spend a below zero afternoon in January than on a remote wood bridge? Especially when BNSF is kind enought to run a couple of trains for your viewing pleasure.

This eastbound manifest was led by an SD70ACe-kind of unusual power for a manifest train. It also had one of the increasingly common DPU's on manifest trains-in this case it was some variety of GEVO.


And then a westbound. Bryant staked out a location well to the east of the bridge for this one, just out of this frame. I saw a good deal of adventure in my young companions on this day. They all were willing to trudge through the deep snow for that unique shot, something your humble correspondent was less than anxious to attempt on this frigid day. Heck, Jer did it dressed like he was playing softball on a September evening. On one warm up break in the Silverado, the question was asked if railfans are a subset of idiots or if idiots are a subset of railfans. Since we all could identify non-railfan idiots it seems the first hypothesis must be true, at least for that group of railfans that is willing to venture out when the temps are WAY below zero.


And then, the dropping sun was bringing the day to an end. Mrs. L4T was kind enough to snap a group photo as we all stood on the wooden bridge.


I posted a few more of the "people" photos I took at this page.

Turned out to be a great day. It's always fun to share some time with others who are interested in trains and the relationships you build along the tracks are nothing but fun. Thanks for memories, guys, and let's do it again soon.

Jim

ISO 800

Just a quick note to share a couple of photos from the ride home today. I spotted a DPU crossing Highway 65 westbound as I neared the Highway 2 crossing. A short chase west allowed me to catch a westbound loaded coal train as it approached Warba. Must be a reroute of some sort-there is no reason to run loads west here, unless the Lakes Sub is tied up and they are trying to get to Cohasset.


The other train was stacker coming into Staples in snow flurries. Just a couple of Dash 9's but this what some of us are waiting for.


Both at ISO 800, which was unusable on my old camera. It's still noisy on this one but presentable.

All for now!

Jim

Changing Times on the Staples Sub

Given the variability in my workload, other obligations, and weather, I tend to railfan when I can, not always when I would like to. There are times when I will go for weeks with only a glance at the tracks to satisfy my curiosity.

This can cause me to not notice a change on the railroad until it darn near reaches out and slaps me. The most recent example I can think of is the disappearance of the once-common SD40-2 locomotive on trains travelling the Staples Sub. I made a post to the Outstate Minnesota Rail group observing that I hadn't seen many 40's recently and it came to light that they are either stored or being returned to the leasor, due to the economic downturn and the arrival of new power on the railroad.

Having been tied up for much of the fall with work issues, I had done very little fanning after we returned from our trip to Glacier in September. I decided to look back at the few photos I had shot to see when I had last photographed an SD40-2 on BNSF rails. Surprisingly (to me), it was while on vacation in Montana. The last 40 I shot on BNSF rails was BNSF 6994, which I caught as it passed through what Google maps calls "Badrock Canyon" just east of Columbia Falls, Montana. This is where the Flathead River, the railroad, and US Highway 2 all pass through a narrow valley.


At the time I had no inkling whatsoever that this would be my final mainline BNSF SD40-2 for, at best, quite a while. So the fact that Mrs. L4T and myself chased the train to Olney was purely coincidental, although now that the 40's are gone it seems only fitting that the last one I got to shoot deserved a chase.

We beat the train to Olney and I grabbed a going away shot, not for the historical value, but because the scenery was very un-Staples Sub like. I guess the fact it is going away is symbolic, isn't it?


Now I know that as that train curved out of sight on September 19, 2008, I had just released the shutter on the last BNSF SD40-2 I would see in mainline operation for what now looks to be a long time.

This all made me go back and take a look at some of my favorites SD40-2 shots. Here are a couple of them. The first one is a Z train approaching Lincoln in the fall of 2006:


Here's one passing through Wadena in a snow flurry:


I miss them and I hope we see the need to get them back on the high iron soon.

Jim

Snowy Saturday

First, no, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I have been fairly busy with work related tasks over the past couple of months, as well as challenged by some of the most miserable photography weather I have encountered in a long time. Thus, the lack of posting in October and November.

The recent snow has rekindled my railfanning bug, though. Some of the photos I have seen have inspired me to go out and try my hand in the snow, and this Saturday morning dawned with a couple of inches already on the ground and more coming steadily. With no other pressing demands, I thought, why not? And off I went.

My first location was the reliable old curve just west of Wadena. I set up in a heavy snow shower and waited. I expected to be surprised as I didn't trust my scanner to pick up the detector to the west, and had no hope of any radio heads-up from the east. Sure enough, I spied a headlight approaching from the west and jumped out to shoot him.


I didn't have to wait too long for another intermodal train to pass by. This one I had notice on as I had plugged in my external antenna and heard the 174 detector go off. I was on the other side of the tracks as this old warbonnet Dash 9 blew by.


As the snow seemed to be getting stronger and there had been some trains tied up in Staples the previous afternoon, I decided to run over there and see what I could see. As I came into town the same two DPU motors as the day before were still resting on coal loads.


Next, here came a short merchandise train accelerating past the Dower Lake station sign. I decided to grab a shot.


A trip to the east end of the yard revealed that one of the loaded coal trains was preparing to leave for Superior. I walked down the north side of the yard to attempt a shot with a railroader out cleaning switches and throwing the derail.


Back in my truck, I heard the coal train ask the Staples dispatcher for permission to head for the Brainerd. The dispatcher told him he would have to wait for Amtrak. That perked me up some, and I called Mrs. L4T and told her I would be a little late getting home.

I parked at the 6th St crossing and walked back toward the depot. I could see the headlights of #8 as he drifted through the heavy snow. A couple of shots as he passed the depot:



I shot one more of the passengers loading, then set off at as close to a dead sprint as I could manage in the deep snow and my poor physical condition. My hundred yard time is probably longer than Ian's 800 meter time. I still made it just in time for:


You can see the coal loads waiting on the yard lead to head for Superior. The strange 3rd unit on the Builder is also evident. I shot him again as he passed by. This is the first time I have seen one of these units in a Builder consist, and I don't think it was on line, but I'm not sure.


That was all for the day as I needed to get back to Wadena. All in all a great morning, with a fair amount of traffic and something unexpected. I don't expect to have frequent chances to fan in the winter, given the short days and frequent clouds (not to mention the cold) but I have a few shots from the autumn that I may share, and still have the shots from our last day in Glacier I haven't posted. Hope you enjoyed this little sojurn.

Jim, out.