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Construction at the Michigan Central Station

October 4, 2022 - The nickname for the Michigan Central Station is the Ellis Island of Detroit. This iconic building is where thousands of immigrants arrived from New York to find jobs at the Ford Motor Company building the Model T and much more. Yes I drive a Ford. The scheduled opening is for the fall of 2023.

1 F150 Michigan Station

2 River Side Michigan Station

3 Michigan Station Back Side

4 Ground Crain

5 Construction Sign

6 East Elevation

7 West Side Up View

8 CP Loco 8864

8 Auto Rack

10 Dump Train

11 Flags

Thanks for taking a look. Hope to see you out rail-fanning: Gary πŸš‚

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Images (11)
  • 1 F150 Michigan Station
  • 2 River Side Michigan Station
  • 3 Michigan Station Back Side
  • 4 Ground Crain
  • 5 Construction Sign
  • 6 East Elevation
  • 7 West Side Up View
  • 8 CP Loco 8864
  • 8 Auto Rack
  • 10 Dump Train
  • 11 Flags
@IRON HORSE posted:

Thanks for posting the photos and video.  Every year I say I want to see the train but have yet to do so.  These are great!

Mike

Hi Mike: Thanks for the kind words about the video and stills at the Holiday Train, Windsor Ontario. I would recommend you go see the Holiday Train next year. I also have video of the Holiday Train entering the United States from Canada via the CP Railway Tunnel under the Detroit River.

I will be posting this video, this coming Wednesday here on the OGR and my YT Channel.

I was standing track side and the USA Border Patrol in five enforcement vehicles gave the train a track side welcome. The announcement was made by the Border Patrol that the train would arrive in two minutes. The crowd started cheering and as the train came out of the tunnel and up the incline out of the tunnel, the cheering got even louder.

It was the most spectacular thing I ever seen as a rail-fanner.

Thanks again for checking out The Holiday Train

Well I was in Ft. Worth yesterday and traversing Rosedale Avenue which passes under the UP trackage leading to a local yard .  The yard is quite extensive and interesting that it borders what I would call the "medical" district that contains several hospitals and medical facilities.  As I went along the road and was about ready to pass under the railroad, I caught a lucky traffic light that allowed me to snap this picture out the window as the loco went overhead.   As you can see it was a beautiful sunny day and the locomotive looked brand new or at least newly painted.  I am  not enough of a diesel expert to guess what type it is but it sure looked pretty.

UP loco in Ft.Worth

Best wishes and Happy Holidays everyone

Don

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  • UP loco in Ft.Worth

https://youtu.be/bmADsckfOHo

Christmas Spectacular β€’ Canadian Pacific Holiday Train β€’ Windsor Ontario, & Detroit

In this video we see the CP Holiday Train in Windsor for an official stop with all the special sounds of Christmas.

Then I will take you to downtown Detroit to watch the CP Holiday Train emerge from the Detroit River Railroad Tunnel and rise out of the railroad trench to Bagley Street. When the train came out of the tunnel thousands of Detroiters were cheering. This was the most spectacular rail-fanning I have ever seen. It brought a tear to my eye.

Play time: 4 Minutes.

Hope to see you out rail-fanning: Gary πŸš‚

Last edited by trainroomgary

These aren't holiday shots like some of the great shots recently posted by others, but I'm just getting around to offloading a few photos from my Fuji XT1 and came across 2 from our visit to Harrisburg PA on our way to the York Oct meet. We've taken to staying in Harrisburg the night before so we can sit in the park on the east side of the Susquehanna River and watch trains going over Rockville Bridge. One is of a triple header going and the other a crossing on Roberts Valley Road.

I don't think it's a dream my wife shares, but as I get nearer becoming an old man (nearer...not there yet), I'd be content to have the house on the corner with a rocker on the porch so I could watch (feel?) the trains going by. I'd probably give up my O scale trains and just watch the real thing every day. For now a visit will do, but if she goes before I do, I'm calling the local realtor.

Now I'm not hoping she goes before I do, but...

DSCF5336DSCF5330

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  • DSCF5336: Railroad Crossing Roberts Valley RD Harrisburg
  • DSCF5330: Engines Over Rockville Bridge Harrisburg
Ihlen, Minnesota
BNSF Marshall Sub
Yesterday I headed north along the tracks to see if any trains were moving. The roads were terrible but passable. High winds were kicking up all the loose snow creating a pretty impressive ground blizzard. I was only able to average about 40 mph even though the roads were largely empty. I was told there was nothing moving that day as the line was drifted over to the north. I did find a parked grain train pointed north near the Cargill elevators near Ihlen, so I took a few photos. One of the problems taking photos in these conditions is most guys passing by and seeing your car stopped along the road will stop and ask if you're OK. It's just what we do here.
I went out again today to see if anything was moving yet and the roads had degraded from terrible to downright scary. The constant snow being blown across them was not only drifting but also making a highly polished film of ice on the pavement. I finally got to MN 23 and headed north on it but didn't get very far when I came across a BNSF track inspector stuck in a drift several feet deep. I offered him a ride back to Sioux Falls but he said he had a bigger truck coming to pull him out. I'm pretty brave in my Subaru Forester with dedicated winter tires, four off road traction boards, x3 25 foot tow cables, off road jack, and two shovels. Brave, but not stupid. The temp was 12 below, wind was blowing 30+ mph and not showing any sign of slowing down, and it would be dark in less than two hours. I turned around and headed back home. Will try again in the morning when the MN National Guard is supposed to be out plowing.


Kent in SD

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  • Blizzard2022MN
  • BNSFihlenBlizz
Last edited by Two23
@Two23 posted:
Ihlen, Minnesota
BNSF Marshall Sub
Yesterday I headed north along the tracks to see if any trains were moving. The roads were terrible but passable. High winds were kicking up all the loose snow creating a pretty impressive ground blizzard. I was only able to average about 40 mph even though the roads were largely empty. I was told there was nothing moving that day as the line was drifted over to the north. I did find a parked grain train pointed north near the Cargill elevators near Ihlen, so I took a few photos. One of the problems taking photos in these conditions is most guys passing by and seeing your car stopped along the road will stop and ask if you're OK. It's just what we do here.

Kent in SD

Kent - "cool" photos but I have to question your sanity going about in those kind of conditions.  I've been to the Twin Cities in January where the actual high was -20F. No thanks ... I don't mind the cold and snow so much, but that was downright nasty. My little central Michigan blizzard is quite pleasant, makes for taking great photos,  but I do not have 4WD anything, so just hunker down for 48 hours.  Maybe this afternoon I'll take a shot at clearing the snow drifts. Supposed to be 50F by Friday.

winter tree

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  • winter tree

Christmas 2022 at The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn Michigan

We start at the main entrance with my F150, could not park here. Let’s just walk around and see what we can find.

1 Front Door

2 C&O 1601

3 inside cab

4 Passenger Car Tail

5 C&O Tender Birds Eye

6 CP Plow

7 D T & I Caboose

Took a lunch break at Carters Hamburgers. A classic greasy spoon, which is open 24 hours. The inside is deck out for the Holidays. I order a burger and Coke. Having a fun lunch is all part of the rail-fanning experience.

8 Lunch Carters

9 Counter

10 Cook at grill

11 Lunch Burger

When I got home I played a few Holliday tunes, Playing the piano is very exciting and learning never ends. Merry Christmas from The Motor City πŸŽ„

12 Piano Christmas v4

Thanks for taking a look. Hope to see you out rail-fanning: Gary πŸš‚

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Images (13)
  • 2 C&O 1601
  • 3 inside cab
  • 4 Passenger Car Tail
  • 5 C&O Tender Birds Eye
  • 6 CP Plow
  • 7 D T & I Caboose
  • 8 Lunch Carters
  • 9 Counter
  • 10 Cook at grill
  • 11 Lunch Burger
  • 12 Piano Christmas  v4
  • 1 Front Door
  • 8 Lunch Carters
Last edited by trainroomgary

Hanley Falls, Minnesota



I headed back up the BNSF Marshall sub to see if it had been cleared. A guy cleaning out switches said he thought they were running a plow down from Wilmar today. So, I headed north. I got all the way to Lorne siding and saw a string of hoppers snowbound in the siding, engines attached. There was some heavy equipment trying to remove snow from the west side. I drove around to the west and found a section road that led to the tracks, and there was a BNSF crew sitting in a truck. I asked about the plow and they said they had to clear this mess first. It seemed to be taking a long time.   It was a long grain shuttle with engines and there was a LOT of snow. I asked if they would run it tomorrow on Christmas Day and they didn't know. One of them said the wind needed to die down a bit more so maybe Monday. They weren't overly helpful.😁 I've heard from a roadmaster they don't like running plows at night, so maybe they won't tonight. Maybe not tomorrow either but you know trains are piling up and at least the ethanol plants will need service soon.  I took a few photos of the snow blower from both sides of the train as they removed snow from the tracks and blew onto the highway.πŸ˜•  I plan on taking Monday off and seeing if the plow is running.  There are some pretty big drifts out there.

Kent in SD

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  • BNSFdrift
  • BNSFlorneDrift2

Christmas 2022 at The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn Michigan

We start at the main entrance with my F150, could not park here. Let’s just walk around and see what we can find.

1 Front Door

2 C&O 1601

3 inside cab

4 Passenger Car Tail

5 C&O Tender Birds Eye

6 CP Plow

7 D T & I Caboose

Took a lunch break at Carters Hamburgers. A classic greasy spoon, which is open 24 hours. The inside is deck out for the Holidays. I order a burger and Coke. Having a fun lunch is all part of the rail-fanning experience.

8 Lunch Carters

9 Counter

10 Cook at grill

11 Lunch Burger

When I got home I played a few Holliday tunes, Playing the piano is very exciting and learning never ends. Merry Christmas from The Motor City πŸŽ„

12 Piano Christmas v4

Thanks for taking a look. Hope to see you out rail-fanning: Gary πŸš‚

Wow, this reminds my wife of Bates Hamburgers in Livonia or Miller's Bar in Dearborn. We are already planning a trip down 96 to visit the Ford Museum and get some good greezy burgers!

@BKA posted:

Wow, this reminds my wife of Bates Hamburgers in Livonia or Miller's Bar in Dearborn. We are already planning a trip down 96 to visit the Ford Museum and get some good greezy burgers!

Hi BKA: This is a map of how to find Carter’s Hamburger. From The Henry Ford Museum. Drive out of the parking lot using the M39 Exit. This is also called the Southfield Freeway. Turn right onto the Southfield Freeway Service Drive. Drive south for about one mile. You will see it on the right at Outer Drive. 22990 W Outer Driver, Dearborn. Use their parking lot. Enjoy your burger. No Pepsi, just Coke!

They also have a web page: https://www.cartershamburgers.com/home

Map To Carters Carter's Home Page

Good luck: Look forward to seeing your rail-fanning photos. Right here on the OGR Rail-fanning Thread. Gary πŸš‚

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  • Map To Carters
  • Carter's Home Page

BNSF Marshall sub,

SW Minnesota



The wind finally quit blowing and drifting the snow and BNSF finally got the trains that were drifted in cleared.  After four days of being shut down it was time to plow the Marshall sub, Twin Cities division.  The plow started in Willmar, MN and headed down the line with two 6-axle engines for power.  At Cottonwood, MN the wing on the plow got bent downwards and chewed up about a dozen ties.  They did a quick field repair at the Marshall, MN depot.  That ate up nearly two hours of daylight though.  I followed the plow for over 120 miles and got a few shots.


Kent in SD

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  • Marshall2022cM
  • Marshall2022d
  • Marshall2022i
  • Marshall2022j
  • Marshall2022k
  • Marshall2022L
  • Marshall2022m
  • Marshall2022n-Standard
  • Marshall2022pM

The week after the preceding video was shot, the southbound Northeast Regional was captured slowing as it approached Newport News station.  Nice images of Lee Hall Depot station and the freshly restored C&O caboose that was installed in July.

A week later, I set-up to capture this same train.  Sadly, it never arrived -- several miles north a pedestrian was struck and killed.

Last edited by Pingman

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