Twin Cities part 2

[Railnut]

On Monday, we went to the Mall of America (I didn’t really want to, but went anyway hey, they had Dale Earnhardts car, and a Nascar simulator!!). After, we chased an inactive CP line just south of Burnsville. Everything was intact, but the crossings had signs that read “exempt”.
We then, after a short break back at the hotel, drove over to Rosemont to see where the college was. Lets see, cornfield, cornfield, college, cornfield, lol. The college (Dakota County Technical College) was literally in the middle of now where, but they have their own little fleet of railcars, and a track mobile to move them, for use of the conductor training class.
On our way back to Burnsville, we stopped in Rosemont to get pic’s of Progressive Rail 38, which I guess is either and MP, or SW1500. It was sitting on the CP line on the east side of town.
We then decided to run up to St Paul to look around. We ate at a Mc D’s on 7th street, which has a CP (Soo) branch running behind it. We sat there for 15 min’s, and, as we were pulling out, Andrew shouts TRAIN! So we chase it east to Homer St to get pic’s. The Power:
CP 4615 GP40
CP 4616 GP40
30+ racks.
The railfan bug had bit, so we decide to go up to get pic’s at the Minnesota Commercial’s roundhouse. We went in to ask permission, the answer-“No, and you are not wanted on the property”, ok, scratch that great photo op.
After getting our railfan attitude kicked in the balls, we ran up to the Amtrak depot with our tails tucked between our legs. I got some pic’s of the 2 private passenger cars, and we headed back to our hotel.
On our way back, we passed over the above-mentioned CP branch; its western terminus is an auto plant (not sure which of the big 3 owns it). They load auto racks there. And the operation was big enough to warrant a yard tower/office, a CP switcher and a Soo caboose!
Later that evening, I was looking at the map as Andrew delt a game of war. Just as I saw the UP line, a 1/3 of a mile north, I hear horns! Unfortunaly, we were both tired, and it was dark. So we stayed and continued to play various card games while watching the cable TV.
Tuesday was booked solid with me taking a cpt, as well as the scheduled college visit (which went to 5:30). So we got dinner (a pizza and 5 arbys melts) and went back to the hotel and veged out. We did go check the UP line out, but never saw anything, back to the hotel.
Wednesday, our last full day in the area. We had to go over to West St Paul (more college stuff), but had some time after to railfan. The first place we went was CP’s (Soo) Pig’s Eye Yard. At the hump office was Soo SD40 # 776, switcher 1429, and another Soo Cab.
At the shops were a couple of CP GE’s. We also got pic’s of a northbound (westbound) CP train, with BNSF SD40-2’s 7034 & 8002. We figured we would chase it north, but after getting lost in St Paul, we deviated, and went to the Jackson St Roundhouse museum.
The museum is excellent. It is home to the ‘Hustle Muscle”. They have a model board from a nearby tower, a working semaphore, an old Milwaukee Road Signal, and a locomotive cab that you can sit in, work the control stand while watching a cab view video of the CP line through town! There is also an exhibit showing the different tools and equipment employed by the gandy dancers of old, including a speeder and 2 velocipedes!
And after looking over the dozens of other artifacts and exhibits, we got a tour of the “shop” section of the roundhouse. In hear is an old Rock Island GP7 (later CNW, currently lettered for the Soo, and is in maroon and gold paint). There is also another former Rock Island engine, and EMD end cab switcher, currently in the paint and lettering of the Lake Superior Terminal RR.
They also have a former Wabash (N&W) NW1, currently lettered and painted for Anderson Windows. A former Great Northern (nee Milwaukee Road) coach, and a former Northern Pacific “pacific” type steam engine in the process of being restored for active use. The boiler recently had received an ultra sound, and checked out good, now they need to tackle the asbestos around the firebox.
We then got a tour of the machine shop, and then we went out into the yard. Out there, they had a BN SD9, and small GE switcher, and another EMD end cab switcher. They have another former GN (nee MILW) coach, several boxcars and various other passenger cars. One of the boxcars (a modern 50ft, just recently retired) was in full GN paint, Sky blue with the goat on it. It is modern enough to fit in any boxcar pool, and we joked about the reaction if it ever did reenter the boxcar pool.
We, soon after, had to run back down to Burnsville to return the rental car, a 15 minute drive on a good day (we had 20 min’s) .As an added note, while at the museum, we did catch an eastbound train roll by, with LLPX GP38-2’s 2257 & 2238.
On our Daytona like pace back to Burnsville, we caught a westbound UP train at Mendota. The power was UP GP39’s 1231 & 1243. We didn’t get any pic’s though.
While waiting for the eastbound Empire builder come into St Paul Thursday morning, we watched 2 Minnesota Commercials GE’s switch their yard in front of the depot.
We observed the following engines in the MNNR yard by then roundhouse:
T1-Slug (exCR?)
313 – C424
48-???
2156-???
1969-???
5935-???
55-C36-7
75-???
There were plenty of other old GE’s and Alco’s, including 2 exCR GE’s and a former BN B30-7AB.
Further south, there was a set of CP AC4400CW’s waiting to pull their train into Pig’s Eye. In Pig’s Eye:
CP 4600 GP40
CP 4617 GP40
CP 86xx-AC4400CW
Soo 6000-SD60 (one of many stored-serviceable)
Soo 776-SD40
Several CP end cab switchers and old Soo SD60’s
Farther south at Red Wing was Soo class engine 4400,a GP38-2. Winona played host to Soo GP38-2’s 4410 & 4511, also at Winona was a DME train waiting to get into the CP yard, and a BNSF northbound Intermodal on the other side of the Mississippi River.
At La Crosse was a MOW crane sitting next the foundation to an old roundhouse. Also in town was a set of Soo GP38-2’s tied to a caboose behind the depot. From La Crosse south to Sparta is an old railroad grade (now a rail trail) that parallels the CP line. In Sparta is a spur going southwest off the main, which the grade curves into. Also, south of Sparta is an old RR overpass, the bridge is still there, but the grade is grown over.
At Portage was a good line up of power:
BNSF 8905 SD70Mac
TFM 1607-GE
BNSF 9615-SD70Mac (Still in BN paint)
Soo 6022-SD60 (Stored??)
Soo 4427-GP38-2
CP 6031-SD40-2
CP 6066-SD40-2
Between Portage and Milwaukee, we passed Soo 4437 working an elevator. South of Milwaukee we passed one of the Hiawatha’s (northbound). We also met a northbound CP train, the power:
CP 9712-AC4400CW
CP 6022-SD40-2
We also passed former CR (now NS) GP15-1# 1408 just north of the junction into Union Station at Chi-town.
As train 354 (the Wolverine) prepared to depart Union Station in Chicago, Amtrak EMD end cab switcher 790 was building an outbound consist.
South of the depot, an IC switcher was parked in one of the many intermodal yards we would pass through. BNSF 2415, an exATSF GP30U was parked among NS power at the south end of the same yard.
A little farther east, NS power was working another intermodal yard:
NS 1403-GP15-1
NS 9274-GE
NS 9995(?)-GE
End cab switcher 1011 was working at Inland Steel, with another farther in the yard. We then, just to the east, passed a westbound NS (NS,NS,CEFX,GATX). At another steel complex was a DMIR SD9 (or18) working the yard there. We then passed 2 westbound CP’s, running nose to tail.
Last big set of power we passed was near Gary. It played host to NS GP15-1# 1402, and 7 other engines (1 BNSF SD70Mac, 2 NS GP15-1’s and an NS GP38). Just before Porter, we passed a westbound NS.
The rest of the trip was quiet, passing the 355 near Kalamazoo (IIRC), and a CN Auto rack train in Battle Creek. We also went through an NS yard near Dearborn with 2 NS GE’s and an old CR GP40-2. Man was it lonely being one of only 5 people getting off at Pontiac. Also, there was another train in Pontiac, empty, anyone know why?
Thus ended a long, exhausting, but fun trip, hope I didn’t bore ya.