Midweek Photos 4/18/2018

Nice photos and info.  Thanks.

I continue to enjoy spring where I live--there was a blizzard over the weekend that dropped 14 inches of snow along with 50 mph winds.  The interstates were closed, as well as all the highways in southwest Minnesota.  I still got out and took a few photos although no trains were running on Saturday--no way to shuttle the crews around.  On Sunday I called two of the local trainmasters I know and asked about snow plows, and both said they had no plans to run any.  Oh well.  The Minnesota roads opened around lunch time on Sunday, and a few trains began to run even though the weather and roads weren't all that great.  It snowed another 6 inches today.  Summer is only two months away now.  (Maybe.) 

1.  Ruthton, MN.  First train I spotted emerging from a white-out as the storm was winding down, a short n/b manifest train on the BNSF Marshall sub.

2. Cottonwood, MN.  BNSF train 8099 continues north, busting drifts as it goes.

3. Granite Falls, MN.  I drove a couple of miles on an unbroken road to get to the only remaining hump bridge on the Marshall sub.  The snow was over a foot deep but my Subeeboo Forester made it OK.  If I had become stuck it would have been a long walk to the closest farm!

4. Hanley Falls, MN.  I saw a lot of trains parked in sidings waiting for a crew.  Here's an ethanol tanker parked near Hanley Falls.  The black tank melted the first snow & sleet and it ran down to the trucks where it quickly refroze.

5. Sherman, SD.  The tracks were empty during the blizzard.  The wind was blowing so hard I had to park my car on the road and use it as a wind break to take the shot.  After I took it, the wind caught my car door as I was getting back in.  The door hit my head really hard, nearly knocking me out!  I found the first aid kit my wife gave me, and placed a "Hello Kitty" band-aid (her sense of humor) on my forehead.  I emptied a plastic bag and put a few handfuls of snow in it to use as an ice pack.  I started driving back home using one hand to steer and the other to hold the "ice bag".  Fifteen minutes later my phone rang--my wife!  She told me I should just stay in town and not try driving all over the place as it was really bad out.  She said, "You'll just get hurt out there!"  How did she know?

6. Sioux Falls, SD.  The falls on Saturday during the blizzard.  I was the only one there (everyone else had become stuck in the drifts.)

Kent in SD

Montgomery, Illinois - BNSF Light Move

Montgomery, Illinois - BNSF WB Freight w/ CN Power in the Lead.Rochelle, Illinois Railroad Park - Picnic ShedRochelle, IL - Eastbound UP IntermodalRochelle, IL - Westbound BNSF IntermodalRochelle, IL - Westbound UP Oil TrainRochelle, IL - Westbound UP Sand Train

Took a ride over to Kankakee, the other day. Caught my First Amtrak Sprinter Locomotive and a CN Mixed Freight and a couple of Norfolk Southern Units at the NS yard.

From the Keyser WVa CSX yard..waiting to go west. A very quiet Sunday.

Photos taken with permission.

Scale car. Maybe enough detail in case someone wants to make a model of this.

Ed.