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Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

A cloudy winter day in Macomb sees BN train 5 waiting to depart the station. The brakeman is looking through the steam for the highball towards the end of the line at Quincy. Number 5 by this time was cut back to Quincy and was combined with the Nebraska Zephyr from Chicago to Galesburg. West of Galesburg it was just a couple of coaches and no food, as the dinette coach went west to Lincoln on the NZ.

This was a BN train by this date in 1971, but still looks CB&Q with the E9A still sporting Burlington Route paint. My dad doesn't remember why he was in Macomb in early 1971, but was probably making a trip from his house in Peoria to visit Burlington on this cold afternoon.

Photo by Bob Madsen.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

Although my dad favored passenger trains, he would point his camera at freights too. Here CB&Q SD7 314 leads another high hood freight motor over Main Street and into the yard at Burlington, IA on an summer evening back in 1962.

Interesting looking at the scene on Main Street in Burlington, IA 55 years ago. I would end up taking countless pictures myself of the BN/BNSF during the 1990s and 2000s, while visiting my grandparents in Burlington.

Photo taken by Bob Madsen.

Missabe Road posted a photo:

With Hallett Dock sending its former DM&IR switcher (HD11) to Dock 6 to work their new storage yard, that left just green HD12 to handle Dock 5. With increased limestone business Hallett needs two units at Dock 5 when they occasionally load two cuts of cars at the same time. Plus, having two units at Dock 5 protects against mechanical issues should one unit go down. To solve that problem Hallett picked up this former CP SW1200RS from NRE. Expect to see it active soon.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

CN SD40-2W 5349 lugs an empty taconite train up Proctor Hill on 7/19/17. CN still employs older EMDs to pull ore trains out of Duluth and Two Harbors on the former DM&IR. Consist here at Spirit Mountain on 7/19/17 was CN 5349, IC 6256, 6264 on train R922 (16:00 Proctor Roadswitch).

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

DMIR 400 and 418 lead a northbound I/D into the curve at Lauren, just south of Highland, MN on July 2, 2003. The 400 ended up getting a headlight between the numberboards, after a run-on with a loading chute at Minntac IIRC. It started its Missabe life with a nose headlight like the rest of the 401-409 series. For some reason I never got many shots the 400 in maroon Missabe paint, but it looks nice and clean here in the last summer of the Missabe.

The lead 400 survives working ore trains for the CN today in the black/red/white, while the trailing 418 (former SCL SD45-2) was retired by CN in 2007.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

After weighing out at Highland, the grubby pair of DMIR 401 and 414 head south on their final leg for Two Harbors with 116 loads back in June 2002. The piles gravel pit here at Lauren used to provide elevation for shooting the I/D trains on the Iron Range Division when it was still the Missabe.

Fifteen years later you can still shoot tunnel motors here on the CN, but not the 401 or 414. The lead 401 would eventually meet its demise in CN paint just a few hundred feet north of here when it was part of the CN head collision on of Sept. 30, 2010. It was a trailing unit on a northbound when a southbound left the scale and siding of Highland without heeding their after arrival authority. All six units involved in the collision were scrapped on site. The trailing 414 would earlier be scrapped by CN wearing DM&IR paint in Chicago during 2008.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

Soo GP9 414 and GP9R 4202 lead the 5 car 630 MNS High Line through MNS Jct. in Crystal back in July 1995. Through the late 90s, CP ran two jobs down the MN&S, the 630 High Line and 1201 MN&S. I never had good luck getting the 630 with the short hood leading. I guess looking back at this time the MN&S was a busy line on 1990s weekdays with the two MNS jobs and a TCW Camden turn in the summer months.

Guess I should have headed down to Richfield on the actual High Line more to get the proper direction of the units. Only did that once and was stuck with a bandit switcher.

Back 22 years ago, high sun and long hood forward didn't deter me like it might now. I guess that is OK as many things have changed in the shot here including the power, the signals, and the pole line here at MNS Jct. Now CP runs one job down the MN&S only three days per week.

shawn_christie1970 posted a photo:

A loaded T-bird heads south toward the United Taconite Fairlane Plant.

Missabe Road posted a photo:

Shortly after the bankruptcy court approved GATX's purchase of Reserve Mining's SD38-2 fleet and they were released from Proctor with GATX markings, a pair handle a train at Cass Lake with head end gondolas filled with limestone for the sugar beet processors near Grand Forks.

BN snapped up the SD38-2s in a long term lease with GATX and the taconite 38s were common power in Minnesota for years after (local Missabe officials were distressed when Pittsburgh would not allow them to bid on the SD38-2s, which were patterned after DM&IR 209-213).

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

TCW GP20C 2005 and CF7 302 pull grain cars out of Skunk Hollow and towards the former Milwaukee Road mainline at St. Louis Park, MN back in July 2001. The grain empties were unloaded at River Terminal in Minneapolis at Camden. The TCW also used Skunk Hollow to reach Port Cargill in Savage. The former MN&S was used to reach both of these grain terminals.

The track I am standing on is the connection to the former MN&S at Milwaukee Jct. I found out last week that CP still uses that part of Skunk Hollow to serve Hill Salt with their MNS Job.

There was talk about the Twin Cities & Western running again to Savage this year, but so far nothing has come of it, and the track the 2005 is pulling down is covered in heavy rust. Not sure the last time TCW went down here.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

CP 3057 has left its train on the MNS Spur at Milwaukee Jct. and shoves down towards Skunk Hollow on July 12, 2017. The MNS Job has one car to spot and two to pull from Hill Salt down at Skunk Hollow down by Methodist Hospital. Milwaukee Junction and Skunk Hollow was the interchange between the MN&S and Milwaukee Road back in the day.

I don't recall catching the CP/Soo shoving into the Skunk Hollow when I shot down here in the 90s. I know they sometimes used Skunk Hollow to reach Hopkins and St. Louis Park after the Depression Line was severed in Minneapolis. I did catch the TCW down in Skunk Hollow many times though when they used it to reach Camden with grain.

Missabe Road posted a photo:

This northbound all-rail empty for Minntac would meet 403 at Kelsey. A winter back-lit shot but I'm glad I pressed the shutter as it shows 404 with its 3-chime horn and bell mounted on the cab, soon to be replaced by DM&IR's melodic cast Nathan P5 and the bell relocated under the frame. Following are DM&IR 400 and WC SD45s 7512 and 7500. DM&IR 404 is already showing the grime from automatic sanders associated with the CLC wheel slip control system DM&IR had VMV install on their SD40-3s. CN would replace CLC with Q-tron on the first ten Missabe SD40-3s (400-409) but determined that converting the remaining ten (410-419) to be too costly so they were scrapped.

Missabe Road posted a photo:

Only a few weeks on the property and still assigned to break-in runs on the Missabe Division, DM&IR 403 leads SD9 142 and an SD38 south near Zim with loads from EVTAC. This is a rare shot that includes 142. It and sister 166 were the last two units to wear their original as-delivered paint scheme before the delivery of the 400s resulted in their retirement/sale. The first batch of 400s were soon assigned in pairs to handle I/D trains on the Iron Range Division out of Two Harbors. Of course 403 today is arguably the most photographed DM&IR unit in history. Code blue!

Missabe Road posted a photo:

Todd R enjoyed a pair of green SD40-2s at Carlton this past weekend (July 15, 2017) as they handled the westbound Grand Rapids Local. A nice sight in 2017, for sure. Going back a few decades to April 1987 finds an all-rail ore train headed through Carlton with horsepower payback Soo Line (Milw) SD40-2 135 helping. The train is curving through the new control point of Chub Lake, added after BN removed the double track on the Lakes Sub west of Carlton in 1984. Interestingly, both BN SD40-2s were originally built as C&S units.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

My dad and I spent a few hours following the MNS Job in the western suburbs last week. Here CP 3057 and 3040 clumps across the branch line crossing with the UP Golden Valley Industrial Lead on July 12, 2017. I like the matched pair of later Canadian GP38-2s. They are a nice break from the Eco Geeps we usually get up in the Twin Ports Next stop for the MNS is the small yard at Western Ave. to sort out the 10 car train.

CP runs this job down the branch three days a week, I believe.

Kevin Madsen posted a video:

CN 3091 South rolls along the former Missabe, crossing Highway 133 between Kelsey and Alborn. The six car passenger train orginated that morning in Ranier and carried symbol P30081-17. Video taken by my 10 year old son Marcus with the phone.

shawn_christie1970 posted a photo:

A loaded taconite train is getting ready to depart the United Taconite Fairlane Plant and head south toward Proctor. Shortly afterwards an empty T-bird will head back north toward the Thunderbird mine.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

BN 9244 East barrels through Hastings with a CP 882 train on June 23, 2000. Was rare catching a trio of same BN SD60Ms around the Twin Cities at this time so I chased this COLX Columbia coal load off the Wayzata Sub. all the way down to Hastings here where it was a CP train. This was the final stop on the chase as I had to get to my summer job by noon.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

BN 9280 West passes Division St. as it departs St. Paul, MN back in July 1998. Usually it was an EMD Oakway that wrecked a nice matched Cascade Green consists on coal trains back on the BN/BNSF, but this time it was an EMDX SD40-2. The blue SD40-2s weren't common in coal or ore service. This BNSF COLX empty has just departed Dayton's Bluff, after the CP brought it up the River Sub., and the fresh crew will take the empties back home to Willmar.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

CP Train 883 takes the East Main at Shoreham with an empty coal train on a morning back in July 1995. BN 9257 & 9295 have just left the BN trackage at University in Minneapolis and the crew will run to Glenwood. This empty coal will return to BN rails at Aberdeen Line Jct./Nashua, MN. At this time there were six sets of coal hoppers cycling between the Columbia plant south of Portage, WI and the Powder River Basin. Two of the six sets ran via the CP west of the Twin Cities for interchange via the Paynesville Sub. for a few years. Was always nice seeing the Powder River coal trains and BN power on the Soo.

The would move all the sets back to the Wayzata Sub. and then eventually to the Staples Sub. before BNSF lost the Columbia contract. Now the Columbia trains run on a UP/CP routing via Clinton and LaCrosse and miss the Twin Cities. Even the normal CP westbounds still usually don't use this route up the East Main (later renamed West Runner), as the Paynesville Sub. westbounds run via Cardigan Jct.

Also looks like the Monticello Local in the background getting ready to depart with a high hood GP9. Should have chased that back to Northtown in the afternoon that day!