Trackside Log for Sunday, May 24, 2009

Today I awoke to beautiful clear skies in Grand Forks, North Dakota. I set out fairly early to get to Canadian Pacific in Thief River Falls, Minnesota in good time. Since the tracks are aligned north-south I elected to visit there first to take advantage of sun angles. A southbound train was parked in the yard but I couldn't photograph it. However, I did notice a long line of stored power. While navigating to the east side of the yard I found an elevator switcher.

• 0819 CDT Thief River Falls, MN - elevator switcher - ILSX 1373 (photo)

Next I photographed the long storage line in the yard.

• 0827 CDT Thief River Falls, MN - CP stored power - SOO 6049-SOO 6026-SOO 6027-SOO 6040-SOO 6045-SOO 6059-SOO 6042-SOO 6044-CP 778-SOO 6036-SOO 6041-CP 5739-CP 779-CP 1512-CP 1513-CP 1511-CP 776-SOO 774-SOO 2403-CP 8270-CP 777-SOO 775

When Marcus and I visited in 2001 Independent Locomotive Services was using the old Soo roundhouse for maintenance. In 2009 they are now gone. Next to the storage line was a pair of snow plows.

• 0902 CDT Thief River Falls, MN - CP equipment - SOO 900078-SOO 900184 (photo)

Having photographed what I came for I started the drive back to North Dakota to locate the Northern Plains Railroad. Just before entering North Dakota I found another elevator switcher in Oslo, Minnesota.

• 1002 CDT Oslo, MN - elevator switcher - FECA 1920 (photo)

Why is everything so far apart in this neck of the woods? Eventually I arrived at Fordville, North Dakota, home base of the Northern Plains Railroad.

• 1103 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains power - NPR 3505-NPR 3503-NPR 3502-NPR 3509-NPR 2283 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4, photo 5, photo 6)
• 1111 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains power - NPR 5558-NPR 5556-NPR 5555-NPR 3501 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4)
• 1122 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains power - NPR 5557-NPR 3504 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3)
• 1125 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains equipment - CP 414651
• 1126 CDT Fordville, ND - Northern Plains power - MSCI 700-NPR 410 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4)

This little trip was so rewarding that I ran out of slide film while photographing the Northern Plains. At least I still had the digital. Having achieved all my shortline goals I drove to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline west of Fargo, North Dakota to see what action would present itself. I didn't have to wait long.

• 1437 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF westbound - BNSF 9960-BNSF 9231-BNSF 8866 (photo)
• 1453 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF eastbound - BNSF 4503-BNSF 5308 (photo)
• 1502 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF eastbound Herzog - BNSF 791-BNSF 1082 (photo)
• 1505 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF westbound - BNSF 1004-BNSF 7501-BNSF 5019-BNSF 4479 (photo)
• 1549 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF eastbound - BNSF 6609-BNSF 4096 (photo)
• 1554 CDT Casselton, ND - BNSF westbound - BNSF 9940-BNSF 8961/BNSF 9713 (photo 1, photo 2)

At 1600 I decided to call it a day. I had to catch a flight from Minneapolis to Boston the next day and wanted to get back before it got late. After a four hour drive along Interstate 94 I pulled into the Courtyard Hotel in Mendota Heights, Minnesota feeling very satisfied with a productive two days of photography.

Trackside Log for Saturday, May 23, 2009

Three days ago I flew from Buffalo, New York to Minneapolis, Minnesota to visit Compellent in Eden Prairie. Some folks from work and I spent two days testing their disk storage array. Everyone else flew back home but I had made arrangements to stay for the Memorial Day long weekend.

This morning I departed the Fairfield Inn in Eden Prairie in my rented Dodge Caliber. The weather started out overcast but I was looking forward to the skies clearing up later on. The first stage of my trip was to follow the Twin Cities & Western toward Appleton, Minnesota. The first town to present a photo opportunity was Glencoe.

• 0833 CDT Glencoe, MN - Twin Cities & Western power - RRVW 406-TCWR 1503 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3)

While searching town further I noticed a pair of slugs at Seneca Foods.

• 0844 CDT Glencoe, MN - Twin Cities & Western power - TCWR 201-NS 9830 (photo 1, photo 2)

I continued following the Twin Cities & Western west. I checked out the towns along the way but didn't find any interesting railway subjects until Montevideo, Minnesota where I espied the Milwaukee Road Historical Park.

• 1057 CDT Montevideo, MN - Milwaukee Road Historical Park - MILW X19-MILW 991960 (photo 1, photo 2)
• 1059 CDT Montevideo, MN - Milwaukee Road Historical Park - NSP X-5 (79 in number boards) (photo)

I followed the rails all the way to Appleton, Minnesota but did not see anything else on the Twin Cities & Western. My next target was the Sisseton-Milbank Railroad. While en route I heard a Burlington Northern Santa Fe westbound report clear of mile 600. I looked for the nearest mile board on the BNSF track next to me and read mile 590. The train was a mere ten miles ahead of me. I kept moving and caught up to it just before Milbank, South Dakota. I was able to get ahead of the train on the west side of town for a photograph.

• 1238 CDT Milbank, SD - BNSF westbound - BNSF 4390-BNSF 4980

I went back to Milbank and found the Sisseton-Milbank. The west leg of the wye was full of covered hoppers and the mainline was full of empty coal hoppers. I couldn't find any locomotives though so I followed their tracks to Sisseton. I found plenty of cars parked along the way but no power so I continued to the Canadian Pacific in Hankinson, North Dakota. Once again there were many parked cars but nothing of interest. Next I drove to the Red River Valley & Western's home base of Breckenridge, Minnesota where I hit pay dirt.

• 1512 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western power - RRVW 2001-RRVW 2002-ILSX 179-ILSX 180 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4, photo 5)
• 1517 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western power - RRVW 2005-RRVW 1276-RRVW 2051-RRVW 309 (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4)
• 1521 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western power - RRVW 303 (photo)
• 1536 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western power - RRVW 404 (photo)
• 1542 CDT Breckenridge, MN - Red River Valley & Western equipment - RRVW 113 (photo)

Wow, that was rewarding! Then I grabbed a bite to eat from the local Kentucky Fried Chicken and ate in front of the old station where a Great Northern caboose was on display.

• 1601 CDT Breckenridge, MN - preserved caboose - GN X111 (photo)

My next railway was the nearby Otter Tail Valley in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Soon after arrival I could hear them switching somewhere in town. I searched but couldn't find them. After the third time by their engine shed I got extremely lucky. They were just about to park three of the four locomotives inside.

• 1700 CDT Fergus Falls, MN - Otter Tail Valley power - MNN 1484-MNN 1463-OTVR 192

The MNN 1484 cut off the trailing two engines before taking off westward. The previously set off OTVR 3900 then joined the two geeps inside the shed.

• 1708 CDT Fergus Falls, MN - Otter Tail Valley power - MNN 1484
• 1710 CDT Fergus Falls, MN - Otter Tail Valley power - OTVR 3900

After some photographs in nice light I followed the Otter Tail Valley Railroad northwestward to Dilworth, Minnesota where I checked out the BNSF yard. There were dozens of engines but nothing photographable.

I decided that Grand Forks, North Dakota would be my final destination for the day. During the drive there I ran across an elevator switcher at the Alton Grain Terminal.

• 1917 CDT south of Hillsboro, ND - Alton Grain Terminal switcher - DLSX 2307 (photo)

When I got to Grand Forks I immediately drove to the old roundhouse which I knew from my previous visit in 2001 would be my only chance for decent light.

• 2006 CDT Grand Forks, ND - BNSF power - BNSF 3404 (photo)

That was it for the day's photography. I found a room at the America's Best Value Inn, filled the car with petrol and me with a sub before calling it a day.

Trackside Log for Thursday, July 12, 2001

• Leeds, North Dakota - BNSF Rolla Local east - BN 1538-BN 2813
• Leeds, North Dakota - BNSF ???bound - BN 7026-BNSF 6923
• Church's Ferry, North Dakota - BNSF Rolla Local north - BN 1538-BN 2813
• Church's Ferry, North Dakota - Farmers Coop Association switcher - FCA 8414
• Devils Lake, North Dakota - Northern Plains Railroad switcher - NPR 2283-NPR 2281-NPR 2297
• Lakota, North Dakota - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 1535-BN 1527
• Grand Forks, North Dakota - BNSF power - BNSF 2965-BN 2963
• Grand Forks, North Dakota - BNSF power - BNSF 2749
• Grand Forks, North Dakota - BNSF power - BN 2112
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - Independent Locomotive Service elevator switcher - ILSX 1373
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - SOO 414
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - Independent Locomotive Service power - MNN 901
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - SOO 543-SOO 532-CP 534
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - CP 8264
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - CP 785
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - CP 783
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - CP 6406
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - CP 784
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - Independent Locomotive Service power - ILSX 1381
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - Independent Locomotive Service power - ILSX 1360
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - Independent Locomotive Service power - BRC 502
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - Independent Locomotive Service power - BRC 511
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - Independent Locomotive Service power - BRC 514
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - SOO 402
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - SOO 770
• Thief River Falls, Minnesota - CP power - SOO 6240
• McIntosh, Minnesota - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 2933-BNSF 2961
• Grand Rapids, Minnesota - BNSF power - BN 2109

Trackside Log for Wednesday, July 11, 2001

• Glasgow, Montana - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 4518-UP 2280-UP 3453-UP 9246
• Poplar, Montana - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 4497-BNSF 4305-BNSF 4304-BNSF 6825
• Poplar, Montana - AMTK 7 west - AMTK 155-AMTK 170
• Culbertson, Montana - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 4814-BNSF 5371-BNSF 7890-BNSF 4548
• Bainville, Montana - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 2934-BNSF 1590
• Williston, North Dakota - BNSF power - EMDX 760
• Williston, North Dakota - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 4538-BNSF 999
• Williston, North Dakota - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 724-BNSF 4839
• Williston, North Dakota - BNSF ???bound - BNSF 4497-BNSF 4305-BNSF 4304-BNSF 6825
• Minot, North Dakota - CP power - SOO 4512-CP 3033