Staples Sub Redux

I lived along the Staples Sub for 8 years. Spent a lot of time railfanning the tracks in the Wadena area over those 8 years, in fact, the majority of the posts on this blog are related to the Staples Sub. In a way, it was and always will be my railfanning "hometown". All this means that cutting ties with the area is bittersweet. And yesterday Mrs. L4T and cut our final material ties with Wadena when the sale of our house closed.

That meant a trip over to Wadena, with the attendant visit to the Staples Sub. MN Chris has joked I don't know how many times about my comment on crossing the tracks and seeing a headlight. Well, yesterday I didn't even make it across the tracks before a headlight showed up, just as we were approaching the Staples depot. After some fancy driving I found myself in position to fire off three quick poorly lit, badly composed frames, which caught the entire consist of a track inspection train headed east on the Staples.

I made it all the way to Dower Lake before being distracted once again. This photo was shot on the trip home, but is an overall view of what that distraction was. What strikes me about this is change-whereas it used to be expected to see a number of coal trains staged in the yard at Staples, currently you are much more likely to catch it with oil trains in residence, as we did yesterday.

That north train had interesting power as shown here. I haven't had the chance to feast on NS heritage units as many of you have, so this was a must-shoot for me. Viva Penn Central!

We arrived in Wadena with a bit of time to kill, and one way we did it was to get a shot of the pair of GP50's on the Wadena local. Not sure what was going on that kept them tied up the entire time we were there, but something unusual was in the works. Anyway, here is the mismatched couple:

And then our closing was pushed off for an extra hour and a half. With nothing to do, a ride west seemed to be in order. We made it to New York Mills and were on the way back when we encountered a classic Staples Sub coal empty passing through Bluffton. A true reminder of times past.

Then it was time for business, followed by the long drive home. A couple of poorly lit eastbounds accompanied us to Staples, where we took the diverging route the follows the Brainerd Sub east. That was quiet with the exception of a loaded coal train encountered near Deerwood, which we chose not to shoot. 

It was a day that brought back many good memories. I will always look back on the time we spent in Wadena fondly. While I know I will railfan the Staples Sub again, it will be as a visitor, not in my backyard, and that will be different. 

Old Days

One of the great blessings of my railfan "career", if such a thing exists, has been the willingness of Mrs. L4T (that's my wife for those of you who have always wondered) to humor me by tagging along on "train hunting" expeditions. We have explored nearly every inch of the Staples Sub together, and she has gotten to the point where she occasionally sees the train before I do. She even questions why I am taking a shot from time to time, commenting that "the light is no good here". We've been great friends as we cruise up and down Highway 10, always on the lookout for the distinct pattern formed by a headlight and a pair of ditchlights.

With an impending move to the Twin Ports just a few weeks away now, something Chris Muller posted on Facebook today inspired me to check ATCS, and sure enough, the westbounds were lined up all the way to Gregory. Mrs. L4T and were out the door with visions of GEVO's and ACe's dancing in our heads.

My first move was east. It seemed a good bet we could catch the leader of the pack the other side of Verndale, but he beat us to the punch and surprised me just outside Wadena. If not for the glorious consist of new BNSF covered hoppers I would have passed, but these cars called for a u-turn and chase. The slow order near Bluffton allowed us to just beat the train to a crossing.


Hoping to beat something to Staples, we once more headed east, and this time made it almost all the way to Aldrich before a Z train sailed around the corner. Once more we were ready.


The action was pretty steady at this point, as the next train was approaching Dower Lake when we got there. This time is was a crude oil empty, led by a GEVO. You might also notice a blur of color in the distance that will come into play a bit later.


But the interesting unit was third out. For the third or fourth time I got the H3 painted 8987, an SD70MAC. The paint sure holds up nice, as this is at least two years old.


One of my goals for the day was a shot from the new overpass in Staples. Alas, it was not to be, as the final westbound was passing the depot as we neared the parking area. Plan B took us back to the Dower Lake crossing, where we captured a manifest with lots of oilfield traffic, including pipe, sand cars, and empty tanks. I even noticed an ADM car placarded for crude oil in this train.


This thing got me excited. I wonder what it hauls and where it hauls it?


The treat of the day was next. A manifest train sat on Main 2, sans power, just west of the Dower Lake crossing. It was only a few minutes when the power for the train ran back west from the yard. It was great to see a 4 unit set of SD40-2's "leading" this power as it backed up onto the train. What a sight! I hollered "Nice Power" to the conducter as he passed by and got a smile and wave back.


After getting the air pumped up and the train underway, we were able to swing by the Staples yard and shoot three more classic EMD's sitting at the west end, including a fairly uncommon GP40. Second one I have seen this week, the other was in Superior.


And so you have the story from today. We probably won't get many more chances to fan the Staples Sub, but I'll always remember this one and the day Mrs. L4T once again brought me luck!

Never Again

No, I haven't done something I regret. In fact quite the opposite, in looking back over some old photos I find things I'm thankful to have taken the chance to do when I had the opportunity. You can probably guess from the tagline on the photos I somehow ended up rp.net tonight and wound up nostalgic.

The changes I have seen in my few years as a serious railfan are truly amazing. I can remember when a GE Dash 9, while not a surprise, was a refreshing change of pace on the Staples Sub. The SD40-2's I expected to dominate the railroad forever are pretty much no more, with the exception of transfer, yard, and short distance service. Not so long ago, this was a fairly common site on one of my Saturday morning trips to Staples (which are pretty much history as well!)


At the very least, these road numbers have been usurped by GE's, along with a place on the hot trains operated by the railroad.

In some cases it's more than just the railroad itself that has changed. Wadena is a prime case, where the former feed and seed plant that made for a nice photo backdrop is no longer. Many's the time that I waited for a train to show up so I could try and work the mill into the photo. Those were pre-ATCS and in some cases pre-scanner days as well. It all worked on this day:


The idea that there would come a day when catching a pair of green 40's on a V train would pass never crossed my mind when I tripped the shutter.

A lot of the change is in motive power. Of course the SD40 series dates back to the 60's and 70's, older than many of the fans out chasing them (not me, though). Everything has it's day in the sun, and those engines day was longer than most. However just being newer is no guarantee of a long career. Here's a string of power that stopped to rest in Wadena one day a few years ago. Of the nine units shown, only the MAC is still doing what it was intended to do that day. I believe the SD60's and 60M, along with the warbonnet, are going, going, gone from BNSF. Not sure what happened to the maroon leaser, and the 40's on the tail end might be sporting numbers borrowed from a former SD9 or somesuch and a horsepower downgrade.


Here's one more that will likely never be repeated. This has always been a favorite of mine, not because of the quality, but because I remember how lucky I was to get the chance. While on a trip to Cloquet, with little time to spare, the train showed up at just the right time. This trio of EMD's will likely never polish the rails of the Brainerd Sub again.


A look back sure can reveal a lot of changes, even over not so many years.

Independence Day

The fourth of July always brings to mind a day 5 years ago now when I shot this photo. Oddly it's not the only Independence Day shot I remember. This one from 2009, and this 2008 shot from Verndale are both products of the fourth as well. Last year I must have been in the basement working on the now-defunct West Central Minnesota Railroad.

All of which is a long introduction to this morning. For some unknown reason I checked the status of the eastbound Empire Builder, and sure enough it was late. In fact it should be in Staples at about the time that would allow me to attempt to duplicate the 2007 shot linked above. And so I was off. I decided to wait for the train at Wadena, where the dispatcher had him lined to cross over from Main 2 to Main 1. Consider that shot accomplished.

Then it was off to the races. Amtrak was making great time, and even risking a speeding ticket wasn't enough to keep pace. By the time I reached Aldrich he had built up a fair lead, but I knew (or hoped) that I could stop faster than the train, and would make up time as they approached the station. Sure enough, the head end passed the station about the same time as I did. There was only one fly in the ointment, though-for some reason the dome car was at the end of the consist, so the conductor decided to stop with the final car of the train at the platform. As a result the power was blocking the crossing east of the depot. Here's the shot I was able to come up with, which I didn't like near as much as the one from 5 years ago.

Finally, in that shot, there was a coal train waiting to cross over and take the Brainerd Sub. This year the situation was reversed, with an empty waiting to get onto the Staples after Amtrak cleared. I decided to shoot him, and after getting home and looking at the photo, was glad I did. Strange, strange power on this coal empty. Been a long while since I caught a coal train with DC power, much less a GEVO. In fact this may be one of a kind for me, certainly worth the "oddity" tag.

With that, it was off for home to work on the house. Now, after mowing, painting, and trimming hedges, I've squeezed out a moment to post to this long-neglected blog. More is coming, when time allows, including my report of the greatest railfanning day of the year, VR2K12. All for now.

National Train Day

Seemed it would be a mortal sin to not railfan a bit on National Train Day. (Was that over two weeks ago already?) An invite to Mrs. L4T was turned down due to her busy schedule but since she understands the sanctity of the hobby, she encouraged me to venture out all by my lonesome on Saturday evening. Here's a story of what I managed to see.

Since there wasn't much traffic showing on ATCS, I decided to run to Staples. Even if nothing was moving there just might be a train to shoot there. Sure enough, this crude empty behind a pair of Horseheads was tied down in the yard alongside a loaded sister. I grabbed a tele from the west end of the yard.

If you haven't been to Staples lately, you would hardly know the place. Work on the overpass is progressing swiftly, creating new photo angles. Here's one, from the top of a huge dirt pile on the south side of the yard.

While I was up there, I grabbed one more looking north across the tracks and Highway 10.

I was just about to give up when a coal empty on the Brainerd Sub rolled up a warrant to somewhere east of Motley. A chance at a westbound! Here's my first shot, east of Staples.

And then he had to stop before entering the Staples to wait for one other train. This gave me the chance for another shot. You can see the new signal that is waiting to be cut in.

Finally, my last attempt at the Verndale sag. My final shot from NTD.

Anyway, it was worth the trip. Always fun to get out and take train pictures.

Duty Calls

And I answer.

First off was a trip to Austin early Monday morning. Staples didn't have a whole bunch to offer other than the couple of sets of coal cars that seem to have taken up permanent residence and the occastional bare table train that is stored there. The only out of the ordinary thing I spotted that morning was a bare table with power intact-in this case a pair of AC units, overkill for the train it was tied up to.

Oddly enough, I encountered this very same train eastbound on Wednesday, during my trip home. They were sailing along between Randall and Darling going one way and I was sailing along going the other way. No photos that time.

Thursday morning it was off again, this time to Duluth. Now it seems to me that the DEEX trains have been a little less common lately. I've read where coal traffic is down for the railroads, not sure if that applies here or I'm just imagining it. Either way, the Brainerd Sub was quiet almost all the way to I-35. Eastbound loads caught me a bit off guard when I came upon them about with about 10 miles to go. The trusty Escape sprinted ahead in time for a shot at the last crossing available. And I'll tell you what-I was glad to get the shot. The trees, the MAC, the cars-it came out nice in my opinion.

Given the ACe's I got on a manifest train last weekend and the MAC and GEVO AC on the baretable above, I have to wonder if the AC units aren't starting to spread out if coal business is actually slowing. It's been a while since I saw an SD40-2 as well. Maybe it's time to get out and shoot the Dash 9's while they're still here, before they go the way of the 60's?

Here's a question for all of you. We know that crude oil trains were unkown in this area just a few short years ago. And it seems that 2 bay covered hoppers are becoming more and more common through the area, I'm guessing with sand for fracking and other drilling tasks. Nationwide, natural gas production is up and prices down, to the point that gas is displacing coal in some electrical generation service. Given all the above, are the changes a positive or a negative for the railroad industry? For the Staples Sub?

One thing about railroading, blink and things change. That goes for Staples, too, as overpass construction continues and will soon change the landscape there forever.

Squiggiling Through Staples

Wednesday afternoon was my annual trip to the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety spring conference. For, me it's kind of like Verndale Rail, just less fun, as I see a lot of people I know.

Anyway, you can't get there from here without going through Staples. And wonder of wonders, just west of there I overtook an honest-to-goodness worm train. Not one of those mostly worm trains with a few white cars mixed in to spoil the effect, but the genuine article. New cars and all. It was worth a delay arriving at the meeting to shoot him.

In the second shot, you can see a couple of the new, but different, cars, that were the only flaws until the very end where two of the older and dirtier red cars were the final revenue generators before the third Dash 9 pushing.

And that's all for now. Blogger has made some changes and I have no idea how this will come out.

Amtrak Under the Overcast

I was minding my own business in my happy place (the basement, working on installing turnout controls) right after lunch when Mrs. L4T came roaring down the stairs, hollering something about a phone call. When I answered, it was Bryant on the other end, bearing news of a very late Amtrak train he had just spotted rolling under the overpass near Dilworth. My schedule became adjusted.

After another hour or so of tinkering with tiny bits of wire the Mrs. and I hit the road, headed for downtown Wadena and hopefully an appointment with the Empire Builder. The phrase gets overused sometimes, but sure enough, when we crossed the tracks I spotted a headlight to the west. Racing to the east edge of town and pulling over, we were just in time to catch not the Builder, but a crude oil train headed down the Staples Sub.


Mrs. L4T commented that the train I just shot bore no resemblance to the Amtrak train I had promised. My response included a plea for a little patience, and we relocated to a spot closer to the crossover as I suspected the Builder would be going from Main Two to Main One at Wadena. That suspicion was soon confirmed by ATCS, and before long another headlight appeared to the west. This time it was the Amtrak train.


Since she had been so patient it only seemed right to reward the wife with a ride. We took off chasing the Builder, and paced him at about 73 mph between Wadena and Verndale, where he didn't have to slow down for the cop (who is our friend, by the way.)

I was able to maintain "track speed" longer than the train could as we approached Staples, and so managed to get across the tracks during his quick station stop. Here's the Empire Builder one more time, as he throttles up and pulls away from the Staples depot.


A big thanks to Bryant for his tip on this train. Without that I would likely have spent the entire afternoon in the basement, not to mention how much Mrs. L4T enjoyed the opportunity to get out trackside for a bit.

A Randall Run

Here are a few shots from today's trip to Randall. Nothing special, but proof that the BNSF continues to run trains on the Staples Sub.

This first one is a bit of a throwback. The power on stack trains used to often be a pair of EMD's, and a look at this one sitting in Staples this morning had the look of one of those "vintage" consists. Heck, the lead 40 still carries its original road number. At least the GE's haven't taken over the 8000 slots yet.


Since the leaves were kind of pretty it seemed a trip through the back roads was in order. At the Quicken Road crossing a red signal foretold the approach of a westbound. It was backlit but the only chance to really include a bit of color in the shot.

The leader of that train seemed familiar, as did the first four cars in the consist. After checking the camera, sure enough, this was one of the coal trains I had caught loaded yesterday. Must have unloaded at Becker for the return trip.

Last, but not least, was an eastbound on the way home. Again, this one was backlit, and I won't bore you with the power. I was already back on the road when the end of the train rolled by, punctuated with this interesting sight:


I had to stop and get a photo of that UP autorack, obviously worse for the wear. Looks like it fell off someone's layout.

All for today, tomorrow I head back to Randall and on to the cities so may get a chance for some shots then as well.

Creature of Habit

In the last almost 2000 days, a lot of things have changed, both in the railroad world and in my own little world. I have a new job, lots of new friends (some of them thanks to this very blog, which is also something new within that time), new interests, a new camera, ATCS and radio traffic, and new traditions (see Verndale Rail, Granite City, and Rollag as examples). The railroad world has seen changes as well. BNSF 7802 used to be an SD40-2, but now is a GEVO. The handsome nose logos are gone from the SD70MAC's. But not everything has changed.



On July 15, 2006, at 7:05 AM I shot this photo. It was one of my first two shots accepted to railpictures, and I still remember how exciting that was. The excitement of watching the train approach and "getting the shot" lives on.





This morning found me in the same location, waiting for another BNSF train led by a pair of engines wearing the H2 paint scheme. I was a bit over a month and 16 minutes later, but the location is still one of my favorites. I am a creature of habit.





I still chase trains too. This one seemed like a prime candidate, and so it was off to the races, next stop the east end of the Verndale sag, MP 160 on the Staples Sub.





And with four lane highway between Verndale and Staples, it was easy to beat the train to the depot for another shot. This Superior-bound coal train crossed over from Main 2 to Main 1 at Dower Lake, offering the chance to shoot him passing the depot on the near track. BNSF even was nice enough to pose another engine in the yard, peeking around the coal train.





I left him to continue his journey east in peace. After walking through the Staples depot to check out the book sale going on in conjunction with Railroad Days, it was time to head for home. The radio surprised me when BNSF 1113 called approaching Staples from the east. Even though the shot would be backlit, a trip to the Dower Lake crossing was in order. At least I captured an oddity. Take a look at the nose door on this Dash 9.





That H1 paint is just killer, so one more shot between Staples and Aldrich. Strange how these engines can look so good when the H2's whether GE or EMD, look so scruffy.





That's it for my short outing this morning. An hour and a half from start to finish, in some ways it was a repeat of so many other railfanning outings, yet every one has its own twists and turns, revealing something new if we are but willing to look and listen.

The Long-Lost Staples Saturday Morning

A couple or three years ago, it was a common thing for me to head over to Staples on Saturday mornings to grab some kind of breakfast sandwich, see if the Staples or Brainerd Sub had anything much going on, and check out the yard and depot. Somehow I've gotten out of that habit. Today seemed like a good day to do it again, if only for old times sake. Cloudy skies nearly cancelled the trip, but when Mrs. L4T looked out and said the sun was shining I flew into action. After a stop at Holiday for vittles, it was off to the races.

My first train was this eastbound, holding at the Dower Lake station sign on Main 2. With the crossing blocked, it sounded like they were in a hurry to move, but the dispatcher told them to be patient. I got a shot anyway, to record the power:


A westbound was waiting as well, this one just before the switch for the Brainerd Sub. Since no attractive photo angles were in play, and the yard looked to have some interesting stuff, I passed right by. However, when I was shooting some of the yard trains they started to pull and I got this backlit shot under the clouds as they passed the depot.


When the sun peeked out, I managed to grab a shot of the trains in the yard. Here you can see a trio of Dash 9 led eastbounds waiting to head for Northtown and destinations beyond. Gotta love that H1 paint!


After that I swung over to the Depot, where renovation is still underway. A conversation with a caretaker clued me in that the ticket agent's room will soon house the Staples Chamber of Commerce. They are making progress.

I was waiting for the eastbound I had shot earlier to come by, and finally he did. The dispatcher had crossed him over to Main One at Dower Lake and he passed the depot on the near track, under stormy skies that the Mrs. informed me were producing rain in Wadena almost from the time I left.


After that, with ATCS showing nothing and rain approaching Staples, it was off for Wadena, where I set to work on a custom built grain bin that may some day approach completion.

And We Complain About FADED Paint

Shot this bad boy coming west through Staples this morning. Can't see the reporting marks in this shot but "PRLX" was stenciled below the cab window. Makes you look at peach MAC's in a whole new light.

Hey Mr. Cloud, Who's Boss?

Father's Day, what to do. ATCS shows three westbounds possibly "in range". With the first one getting fairly close it seemed only natural to set up at the Bluffton curve for a shot. It looked lovely sweeping around the corner, not so much when that big old cloud reached out and gave me a beating.


So, I'm 0 for 1. Let's go to Staples, and see if we can do something productive with the next train. I knew it would be tight timewise and sure enough a headlight appeared as I neared Dower Lake. After a short hike through the ditch a pile of ballast provided a perch for shooting the train.


The Staples DQ provided supper, which was consumed while sitting at the Dower Lake crossing. I was hoping that the Ferromex unit in the yard would head west, but an eastbound cleared up a warrant so after a short wait I got to try an artsy backlit shot that focused on the rail that had been replaced but not yet picked up and hauled away.


There was a DPU facing the right way on this Becker train, and that gave a chance for a nicely lit going away shot. At least the clouds let me have this one.


Mrs. L4T and bumped into someone we knew at the Staples Depot and had a nice conversation. Time flies when you're having fun, and soon enough the last westbound showed its face for me. Once again, Mr. Cloud showed who was boss.


Having given up hope that the visitor from the south would come out and play, I had to try one shot of it hiding behind a bare-nosed MAC. Here's what I came up with.


With that we headed for home. Even though the clouds reminded me once more who was boss, it was a fun outing.