Wednesday has almost come and gone, but so far no "Midweek Photos?" Geepers, where's our leader, Tim? 
Maybe he was at the rail museum taking a shot of the inside of a firebox, and someone inadvertently shut the door behind him? 
If we haven't heard from him by the end of the week someone should go look for him! 
At any rate, looks like it's up to me, the back up guy, to get the train started on time this week. I might have a few--I'll take a look.
It's been a tough winter on the Northern Plains, but winter has been easing its grip in a see-saw battle. Much of the snow around me has melted. We are entering the "brown & gray" time of year, my least favorite. Might as well shoot black & white, might as well shoot at night. I guess there's always shots to be made no matter what. That's what I like about living in South Dakota--each season dramatically changes the landscape, giving me new opportunities. Some shots:
1. & 2. On Saturday I again headed up into west central Minnesota, following the DME/CP tracks east to New Ulm. Once again I was skunked--did not see a single train. SO, I headed back west to the BNSF Marshall Sub. It never disappoints! This time there was trouble on the line though. A heavy n/b manifest train had stalled out on the long hill going up to Garrettson, SD. They had only one working engine (out of three) and that wasn't nearly enough power. The crew was on the radio with mechanical for nearly two hours trying to get the thing moving. The dispatcher was getting nervous as trains stacked up in both directions and crew hours were growing short. Finally, out of desperation he had the Sioux Falls local shove their little train into a siding, cut the power off, and rescue the stalled manifest. That pulled the plug and trains began to roll! 
However by then it was getting late into the night, so I only stuck around to catch a n/b grain train near Jasper, MN. This bridge was a wooden trestle one until about two years ago when BNSF replaced it (and all the others nearby) with a pre-fab concrete one. It's not nearly as cool, but it will do in a pinch, I guess. Take a look at the cab. I'm including a close up of it. Note the crew was staring back at me! Crews do this because they want to be seen in the photo. It's their route to fame! 
3. I climbed half way up a glacial morraine near Ruthton, MN to get a shot of a s/b train. As a foamer, you rarely know in advance what you're going to get. Imagine my surprise when the engines began coming around the corner one after the other! There were a total of seven. It turns out that only two were working, the rest were dead in tow, being hauled from the overworked Northtown Shops in Twin Cities to shops further south. This winter has pounded equipment and engine after engine failed in the double digit below zero cold.
4. Same train continuing down the glacial valley near Sherman, SD. I used my new Nikon 80-400mm VR lens for this and above shot. It's very sharp and I like it a lot.
I suppose that's enough for a start here. I am planning on going out a few nights yet this week, before the daylight starts sticking around too long into the evening.
Kent in SD
