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Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

MILW 78A leads an A-B-A set of F9s through Dubuque, IA back in the Summer of 1979. If my dad recalls correctly, he was in Dubuque to visit a fertilizer barge terminal as part of his job working for Cargill. We're not exactly sure where this location is but the McDonald smokestack should provide a clue for those that know better.

Photo by Bob Madsen.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

Cliffs Erie 4210 heads around the bend towards Cramer Tunnel with 12 loaded side dumps during the Erie Mining revival of 2008. This was the second pull of the day, as part of the operations where CE was trying to retrieve the chips/fines that they brought into Taconite Harbor earlier in 2004.

Consist here was 4210-4223-4225-4224-4211 on Aug. 20, 2008. The lead F9 survives in Indiana working for the Vermillion Valley RR and the trail F-unit EMCO 4211 survives at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth. Unfortunately all three of the B-Units here were cut up, but a different F9B #4222 also survives at LSRM.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

E&LS 600 and 402 blast through the Northwoods outpost of Pori, MI back on the evening of July 10, 2005. The light was fading quickly as the FP7/GP38 roared east through the backwoods of the U.P. on the former Milwaukee.

We had followed this job all-day, north out of Channing to Ontanogon and back with the 600 leading both ways. After Pori, all that was left was a few shots down at Frost when they set out that lead car for log loading. The crew would end up eventually getting relieved by the Channing night crew at Sidnaw. This was S.O.P. for the O&B Job in 2005 as it still ran 5 days a week to serve the mill in Ontonagon. The night crew at Channing would bring the train in from Sidnaw, switch it out at Channing, and park the train usually at Kingsford for the next day's crew to take it to Green Bay.

Picked this one out of many from this chase for F-Unit Friday as Joshua Dudinetz's shot in Pori last summer of the ELS special reminded me what a cool spot this is.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

BNSF’s Brainerd Local gets ready to head out of the little-used siding at Corona, MN, after meeting a coal load back in June 2003. Rebuilt GP30 BNSF 2411 leads the three times per week local west with the next stop at Aitkin to set out lumber flats.

Back then during my numerous trips to and from McGregor along Highway 210 and the Brainerd Sub., I would pass Corona Road or the Corona Greenhouse and think only of beer.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

Soo 6000 South blasts through Isanti, MN on BNSF's Hinckley Sub. with a loaded grain train almost 14 years ago. I followed this grain train (with 4 cars of paper tacked on the head end) with this trio of Soo sixties (6000, 6022, 6014) all the way from Superior to Isanti on this beautiful day of May 13, 2006.

Not sure how much longer the elevator lasted here at Isanti , but it now gone. CP still runs here on the Hinckley Sub., usually running a couple of times a week each way between the Twin Ports and Twin Cities.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

BNSF 9268 West races through Detroit Lakes, MN with a V-train back in August 2005. Back then I would try to make a trip or two each summer over from McGregor to shoot the SDs that still worked the CP Detroit Lakes Sub. Between the chase or two on the CP, you could also get some nice action on BNSF's Staples Sub. You could always shoot the depot or venture to the nice spots further west such as Lake Park or Hawley.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

Looking back at the Summer of 2008, Cliffs Erie was definitely the area highlight but some other cool things were still running around the.

Among them were a couple of SD9s still running around on BNSF. Here H1 SD9 1722 leads an 8 car Allouez Switch towards its namesake, passing through M&J Jct. in South Superior back on July 26, 2008.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

Rebuilt SD38-3 #1235 leads an EB passenger extra to Silver Bay back on July 12, 2010. This special for Cleveland-Cliffs execs is approaching the Cliffs Erie underpass in just about the middle of nowhere, MN on NSM's mainline between Babbitt and Silver Bay, MN. An interesting consist here with 1235 leading 5482 and five cars out of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum's collection

The passenger cars would stay around Silver Bay and be used by Northshore Mining to run passenger trains as part of Beaver Bay Days later in the month. Unfortunately they didn't keep 1235 down there and both ends of the train had leased SD40-2s, with no NSM markings or lettering (5482 and 655). Guess thinking back almost 10 years ago, it was cool they ran these passenger trains at all.

Was the only time I've seen or shot the blue 1235.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

NSM SD28 #1235 approaches the junction switch at MP 7 on Northshore Mining back in June 2003. This tailings train will take the mainline to Silver Bay for another load and has the 651 and an SD18 on the other end. No DP on the tails that day which was rare but not unheard of in 2003. The 653 & 654 were only distributed power equipped engines back then on NSM and they must have been in the shop. Once 650-652 were rebuilt in 2007-2008 they received NSM's simplified DP set up, and I never saw something like this again with 5 40s in their tailings pool.

More changes are on the way on NSM tailings trains with 5 former CSX/PRLX SD70Aces coming onto the property soon. The tailings trains are expected to run 1x1 with the Aces replacing the forties that have been a mainstay on the tailings trains since 2001, when 653 and 654 arrived the Northshore.

This rare model EMD still wore the maroon of predecessor Reserve Mining in 2003. It would be rebuilt into a blue SD38-3 five years later and still works for NSM, usually out of view on the mine property in Babbitt...as far as I know.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

A BNSF Dash 2 and a Dash 9 lead an empty Fairfield all-rail onto the Iron Range for loading on the former Missabe at Minntac. This was the first shot of the day for my dad and me during a productive morning of shooting on the Range before taking an afternoon tour of Hibtac back on July 23, 2004.

During this era the Fairfield all-rails were not our main target as we were out to mainly shoot the maroon, but we probably should have appreciated these trains more.

Wonder if BNSF ended up regretting buying the hundreds and hundreds of hoppers for this service in the mid to late 2000s. A few of these new 645000-series cars can be seen here on this train. These trains eventually quit and there was no longer the coal business to shift them too so many BNSF 3-bays are stored on sidings in Minnesota.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

A Wisconsin Central trio of power weaves into Gladstone, MI with the daily Sault St. Marie-Green Bay train back on July 16, 2005. Spent the majority this day following this train all the way from Gladstone to Peshtigo as WC power was disappearing rapidly under CN.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

DMIR 205, 408, and 416 lead limestone loads around the bend at Coleraine Jct. and into Alborn back in July 2005. CN was just over a year into their ownership of the Missabe but operations looked about the same. Still a daily afternoon departure out of Proctor “Minntac Limestone North” pulled by 8000hp maroon sets.

Missabefan posted a photo:

Oil wins as the southbound on the Rainy rolls past the northbound on the Iron Range

shawn_christie1970 posted a photo:

The CP Camden job with CP 4422 and CP 2294 switches cars while and empty oil train crosses the Camden Place Rail Bridge over the Mississippi river.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

Just outside of Superior, BNSF 1785 West speeds down the Lakes Sub. with a healthy Grand Rapids Local back on August 29, 2019. Every year at this time of year, I'm always looking forward to these beautiful summer evenings but especially now.

It was a fun late summer chase from Superior to Carlton that evening with Jon Clark. Hopefully, by this summer things will be "normal" again and can enjoy a meal in a crowded Streetcar in Carlton after a chase like this, which we did that night.

The Rapids is still a normal evening departure out of Superior, but 1785 is no longer around. It suffered heavy damage this past winter at the Minorca Mine pellet loadout north of Virginia and was sent from the Rapids/Kelly Lake pool for repairs.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

My last train I caught at BNSF Old Town was back over Memorial Day Weekend of 2019. It was noteworthy as it was the A-B-A set of Geeps that BNSF was using around Superior for a short time. Occasionally GP60Bs or this GP38-2B find their way to Superior, but they usually don't last long. Most jobs around Superior use two GPs and need to change directions so the B-Unit doesn't add much.

Here, 2984, 2249, and 1521 run around their train of grain cars at Old Town Yard on May 26, 2019. A week or two later, 2249 returned to Northtown never to been seen since.

Kevin Madsen posted a photo:

BNSF made a somewhat rare Saturday visit to the elevators in Old Town today on March 21, 2020. Heard the horns so Marcus and I went over to investigate as was a nice day to take a walk on the Osaugie Trail They wasted little time around Old Town and as far as we could tell just moved four covered hoppers over to Elevator M before running light back to the yard.

BNSF 2051 and 1525 were the power on this 110 Yard Job out of 28th Street. This blue BNSF Geep has spent lots of time around the Twin Ports the past couple of years, but I think this is the first time I've shot it.