Some Recent Trains

I wanted to share a few trains I saw recently. I parked near Diamond with my laptop at noon time on the 23rd, hopping out to shoot trains as they went by. Not a bad way to spend a noon hour.

First up was CN 103, which showed up just as I arrived near Diamond. CN 2296 was the lead engine.

CN 8837 was mid-train. Note the "new tire" on the rear of the truck.


CN 8012 was pushing on the rear.


About an hour later, the Canadian came rolling along.


This was still a summer consist with 20 cars... not bad.


About 15 minutes later, CN 104 came rolling in with two SD70s for power. CN 5619 was on the head end...


... and Illinois Central 1039 was behind her. I miss the black IC engines but this doesn't look too bad.


I didn't realize they were meeting CN 199 until I noticed that CN 5619 had her headlights dimmed. I wasn't quite in the right place to catch the actual meet.


Nice to see those BC Rail units still kicking around.


That was the end of trainspotting for me for that day. It was nice to get out and exercise my new lens. I'll have to write about the lens soon. :)

Shoot It While You Can

In a recent post I mentioned I was at Mortlach, SK on July 14 and shot a train there. Afterward, I decided to head to nearby Parkbeg to photograph the elevator there...

This is what I saw:

The elevator was gone! I was shocked. I had driven by this elevator quite a few times over the years, and even stopped there once, but I had never photographed it. Now I can't.

Here's a Google Street View from just about the same spot showing where the elevator was.

It just goes to show you - shoot it while you can.

Here's a nice photo of the former Parkbeg elevator I found on Flickr.

Photo by Gregory Melle.

Here's a video of the demolition, uploaded on September 6, 2011.

Another grain elevator came down on September 4, near Winnipeg. It was the Paterson elevator at Marquette on the CP Carberry subdivision. Fortunately I did photograph this one.

John over at the CP Rail Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision blog wrote a great post on the demolition, complete with photos of the demolition.

I've been photographing a bunch of elevators but there are so many more to see!

After this disappointment, I returned to Mortlach for more trains.

Bakken Crude By Rail? Under Review

In the wake of the Lac-Mégantic disaster, many people have many questions. People are asking what traffic rolls through their communities, agencies are reviewing emergency response plans, people are wondering whether rail or pipeline transport is safer, new regulations were rushed out, and even the Canadian Senate was involved.

Omnitrax
In August, Omnitrax Inc., owner of the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill, announced they were planning a test shipment of oil to Churchill for export. The plan was to ship 330,000 barrels* of oil to Churchill for loading on a tanker. About $2 million in upgrades to port facilities were required to increase the pumping capacity there.

Groups have come out in opposition to this plan, including the Wilderness Council and the province of Manitoba. This is natural, considering what happened in Lac-Mégantic. One has to consider a few points, though:

• the Hudson Bay Railway is already shipping light petroleum products (gasoline and diesel) to Churchill;
• the Hudson Bay Railway has had reportable accidents every year from 2003 to 2012;
• emergency response to a spill on the line could be very difficult as much of the line is in very remote areas.

I just don't know whether it is a good idea or not. The railway needs the traffic but I think they need to provide some convincing assurances that it will be transported safely.

Irving Oil
The CBC is reporting that Irving Oil is shifting "away from rail to transport crude" and will be doubling the amount of oil they will be receiving by barge from Albany, NY. Currently they are receiving a shipload of oil from Albany via the tanker Afrodite every 8 days, and the article says this will double shortly with another ship being added to the route.

The article is very misleading as it does not ask how the oil gets to Albany. Very likely it is being shipped by rail in the United States.

Quotation
Incidentally, I was quoted recently in the Portland Press Herald in regard to idle tank cars in Maine.

* there is some confusion about whether the plan was for 330,000 barrels or gallons. Personally I can't imagine it was gallons because that's about 10 tank cars and hardly worth mentioning.

Photos of New NB Southern Slugs

Railway photographer Mark Perry photographed two of the CN slugs purchased by NB Southern in Winnipeg and gave me permission to post them here. Thanks, Mark!

By the way, Mark has some great photos up on Flickr and a book. Check them out!



Note the raised headlights on ex-CN 269, absent on 501. As I said before, the 2xx series slugs seem to be used for road service and industrial switching, not for humpyard work, so they need visible headlights for crossings.



You can read about the slugs that NB Southern purchased.

Upcoming Winnipeg Railway Events

September 21-22: Winnipeg Railway Museum - Railway Days -10 AM-5 PM at the VIA station downtown at the corner of Main St. & Broadway, admission by donation.

As well as the usual special displays by railway enthusiasts and vendors and SIG's, the new model railway layout enclosure will be operating.  It's still a work in progress but quite impressive. All being well, the VIA Churchill train will be on display on Saturday, and a modern engine and caboose from BNSF Manitoba will be there both days.

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October 19-20: Manitoba Mega Train, sponsored by Vector Garden Trains and the Winnipeg Model Railroad Club. 9 AM-5 PM at 1871 Ellice Avenue (near the airport), admission $5, $3 for children 3-12, family pass $15/day.

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November 16-17: Selkirk Christmas Show, sponsored by the Selkirk Model Railroad Association. Selkirk, Manitoba. Details not available at this time.

A Spiritual Moment

This summer we drove from Winnipeg to Banff to spend a week in the Rockies. We stopped in the Regina area going west and going east, and I took the opportunity to go see some trains while we were there. This post is from July 14. We were staying near Pense, SK about halfway between Regina and Moose Jaw.

I set my alarm for "bright and early" because I wanted to maximize my time before I had to be back for other activities during the day. I stepped outside just after sunrise and the combination of the fog and the sun on the horizon made me get my camera out and start shooting before I even left the driveway. This is my favourite of the shots.

Not bad, eh? If you like it, you can buy a print.

I decided I wanted to shoot the grain elevators at Mortlach and Parkbeg, west of Moose Jaw, so I headed out on the Trans-Canada. At Belle Plaine one can sometimes see a train waiting for a meet, and sure enough there was CP 9719 and CP 5959 waiting in the fog.


I didn't hang around. I carried on past Moose Jaw, pausing to photograph this modern Cargill grain elevator just west of the city. The canola was in fine form this year.


After some more driving, I arrived in the small town of Mortlach. As Prairie towns go, it was quite nice, with two intersecting main streets and a few local businesses in the town.

I found what I was looking for, the Paterson grain elevator. Unfortunately I missed the Saskatchewan Pool elevator, which was demolished in September 2011.

The elevator had a few beat-up gondolas beside it.


I found a big puddle from the rain the night before to use for a reflection. I took a number of photos and after about 10 minutes, I heard a horn in the distance. Soon CP 8773 East came rolling through.

Link to buy the print

Canadian Tire on the move...


The mid-train engine was CP 8778.


I have to share. That was a transcendent moment for me. Everything just lined up so nicely and I was so pleased with the photographs. I'm not a religious person but that was... spiritual.

Oh, here's the video.
All right. After that, I decided to keep heading west to Parkbeg to shoot the elevator there... read on!

CN Slugs Going to NB Southern

NB Southern has purchased four CN slugs. The four are CN 251, CN 269, CN 501 and CN 508. Two are currently in Winnipeg (CN 269 and CN 501) and the other two are in Edmonton.

The four were part of a long list of units for sale on CN's web site this summer.

A little history of these units:

• CN 251 was converted from a GP9 in 1990.
• CN 269 was converted from an MLW S3 in 1991.
• CN 501 and CN 508 were purpose-built as slugs in 1978 as  CN 261 and CN 268 and were renumbered in 1990.

You may recall that NB Southern bought a CN slug, ex CN 519, and it is now NBSR 008.

I understand the four slugs needed some work before they were road-worthy. I don't know when they will be heading east but I expect it won't be too long.

Personally, I've only seen CN 501 (my picture above), both times working the hump at Symington Yard here in Winnipeg. Two 5xx slugs are paired with two GP38s to work the hump yard. The 2xx units are usually paired with a GP9 or GP38 and work industries, as far as I have seen.

Two Trains

This is just a short post recounting the two trains I saw on Friday morning.

I saw train CN 111 rolling west along the CN Rivers subdivision just after 9 AM. It had CN 2274 in the lead.


One challenge with shooting into the sun like this is to avoid blowing the sky out with the high contrast between the dark train and the bright sky. Typically I would focus on the side of the train, which is much darker than the sky. I used the exposure compensation on the camera to step it down 2/3 of a stop.

CN 2529 was the second unit and has something odd on the side of the engine over the "5". Is it a rear-view mirror?


After the head end passed, I drove west to catch it again. I was surprised to see a train coming the other way. It turned out to be CN 102 and I had just a few seconds to pull over and shoot it.

Note the lack of any class lettering under the "5611" on the side of the SD70I.

I did get ahead of train 111 and shot it approaching Diamond.


I decided to do a pan shot of 2274 this time. I set the shutter speed to 1/80s.


After I watched the train pass for a bit, I saw the mid-train engine, CN 8938.


While I was in the panning mood, I shot this CN container. "We Deliver!"


The train rolled off into the distance, and so did I.

More Photos of Lac-Mégantic Engines

Jody Robinson and Gary Lee both photographed the same train that Steve O'Brien saw in Fredericton Junction, with the two (ex?) MMA leased engines CITX 3053 and CEFX 3166 and the MMA caboose VB-1 (not VB-4 as previously reported). These were posted to the excellent RailsNB Facebook group.

Jody photographed the train in McAdam.

Nice photos, Jody!

Gary Lee was positioned at the St. Croix River, right on the border between Canada and the USA. He had some great light! Note the Canadian and US flags on HLCX 6319.

Great shots, Gary!

Gary also posted a video of boaters on the river with the train rolling past.

PS the MMA is saying they need to rebuild the line through/around Lac-Mégantic to make themselves more salable. Makes sense, but of course there are questions about how polluted the site is and whether it will be on its original routing or around the town. The Lac-Mégantic mayor, Colette Roy-Laroche, is quoted as saying restoring rail service is one of the town's main priorities.

PPS the Canadian Senate's Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee issued a series of recommendations for transportation of crude oil and natural gas. It's important to note they started this process months before the Lac-Mégantic disaster, although Lac-Mégantic is certainly mentioned in the report. Here's the full report.

Lac-Megantic Engines Visit Saint John

The MMA engines from the Lac-Mégantic disaster visited Saint John, New Brunswick last week. The five engines and the remote control caboose were at the NB Southern shops on Wednesday August 14, reportedly for inspection by the Transportation Safety Board. You may recall the engines and caboose were:

• MMA C30-7 #5017
• Remote Caboose #VB-4
• MMA C30-7 #5026
• CITX SD40-2 #3053
• MMA C30-7 #5023
• CEFX SD40-2 #3166

Here's a photo of the ill-fated train somewhere near Farnham, Quebec on its way east showing that MMA 5017 was in the lead. This was prior to parking the train at Nantes and the subsequent runaway and derailment. This photo was taken by Richard Deuso. I don't know who took this photo.

Eagle-eye Steve O'Brien saw the caboose, CITX 3053 and CEFX 3166 depart on a westbound NB Southern train on Friday August 16th. He spotted the train passing through Fredericton Junction at 08:35 and snapped a few photos with his camera phone. The train had six SD40s in total, with a green NB Southern leased SD40-2 leading, HLCX 6340, HLCX 6332, HLCX 6304, then the MMA leasers CITX 3053 and CEFX 3166 followed by the caboose VB-1 and the rest of the train.

The three MMA C30-7 engines are still in the NB Southern shops as of August 20. It is not known why they are still there.

Here are some of Steve's snaps of the train as it crossed the river into Fredericton Junction.

NB Southern leased SD40-2 leads a westbound freight. Photo by Steve O'Brien.

CITX 3053 in Fredericton Junction. Photo by Steve O'Brien.

CEFX 3066 in Fredericton Junction. Photo by Steve O'Brien.

MMA caboose VB-4 in Fredericton Junction. Photo by Steve O'Brien.

Thanks for sharing those, Steve!

PS Note the caboose on this train was VB-1 yet the caboose on the Lac-Mégantic train was reported to be VB-4.

EDIT: Gave credit to Richard Deuso for his MMA photo. Thanks to Steve O'Brien for the update.

Fight Over Lac-Mégantic Cleanup Costs

The Quebec provincial government has added CP Rail to its list of companies deemed responsible for the cleanup of the Lac-Mégantic disaster. The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) is on the list, of course, as well as the Western Petroleum Company (owners of the rail cars?) and World Fuel Services (the purchaser of the fuel).

The finger-pointing is in full swing. World Fuel Services says they aren't responsible, since they dealt only with CP, and CP subcontracted to MMA. CP is appealing the decision and says they aren't responsible. At least the MMA is not denying they have some responsibility.

Let's face it - nobody is going to step up and say they are responsible if they can avoid it. The cleanup costs are going to be huge (estimated at over $200 million) and the class-action suit(s) are going to pile on too (they're already going after CP). It would be crazy for any company (except MMA) to pay now, before any official reports have come out about the accident.

Fortunately, the water quality is improving. There's no word yet on the tons of contaminated soil in the "red zone" (explosion area) and what is to be done with that.

In other Lac-Mégantic news, the MMA may get an extension to their operating permit since they have said they still have liability insurance. They can operate to October 1 provided they can prove they have liability insurance by August 23.

The CBC is reporting that J.D. Irving is considering purchasing the MMA rail lines. This makes a lot of sense, since the MMA line provides their only direct connection with CP in Quebec (see map).

Here's a few other blogs who have done some analysis of the Lac-Mégantic incident:

• Thomas Blampied's Railway World
• CP Rail Manitoba and Minnesota Subdivision
• Road Wolf

Aside: When did the NB Southern web site start referring to the NB&M Railways instead of NB Southern? It looks like someone did a massive search and replace. I looked at archive.org, and apparently the NB Southern web site still said NB Southern on June 21, but now it says NB&M.

The End Of The MM&A?

The recent railway disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec has ended the lives of 47 people, changed the lives of the town's residents forever, and now it may spell the end of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway.

On Wednesday August 7, the railway filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the USA and simultaneously filed for relief from credits in Quebec provincial court. They disclosed the following:

• their Canadian liability insurance (through XL Insurance) does not exceed $25 million;
• their Canadian net worth is about $18 million;
• their gross revenues have declined from about $3 million/month to $1 million/month post-accident; and
• expected cleanup costs are expected to exceed $200 million, much greater than the value of the insurance plus the value of the company.

Under this protection, the company can continue to operate to attempt to operate, provided the judge permits it.

However, another blow was struck on Tuesday August 13 when the Canadian Transportation Agency revoked the MMA's license to operate due to a lack of liability insurance. This is an obvious step, since their liability insurance will be fully committed to the Lac-Mégantic cleanup and they're not going to be able to get more insurance. The railway has until August 20 to wind down its Canadian operations. The Agency is going to review other federally regulated railways.

This marks the second time that rail line's owner has gone bankrupt, since Iron Road Railways went bankrupt in 2002.

Inauguration of l'Amiral Excursion Train

Saturday (July 27) marked the inaugural run of the l'Amiral excursion train in the Gaspé peninsula. The train left New Richmond and traveled to Bonaventure and back. They offer coach service with finger foods as part of the ticket price, with beverages available to be purchased on-board.

Here's their promo video:

There are two upcoming public runs (schedule):

• August 15: New Richmond - Bonaventure
• September 22: Gaspé - Percé

It looks like they are hoping to catch some cruise ship traffic. Gaspé had 11 cruise ship visits in 2009 and I see there are six scheduled for September and October 2013.

For the railfans among us, the train has ex-CP and ex-NBEC 1849 for power, followed by a former CN steam generator car SFG 602 (now with a generator to supply power for the rest of the train), and three coaches (ex-AMT cars SFG 1059, SFG 1047, among others). The coaches have been completely refurbished from their AMT days.

Of course, they have a Facebook page as well as a Twitter account.

Thanks to Bernard Babin for the information on the power car.

I wish them good fortune!

Lac-Mégantic, Three Weeks Later

It's been 22 days since the terrible derailment and disaster at Lac-Mégantic. The community is no doubt still in shock and trying to make sense of the disaster. It is believed that 47 people died, although some have yet to be identified. The CBC says life is slowly returning to normal but I can't imagine the town will be anything like "normal" for a long time.

The federal government has promised $60 million in aid for the town, matching the province of Quebec's contribution. About 1,000 runners ran the 12 km from the Eastern Townships to Lac-Mégantic to raise money for the victims.

A lot of focus has been placed on the operation of MMA trains by a single crew person. This Eastern Railroad News article talks about the introduction of single-person crews. In theory a one-person crew can operate a train but I have questions about the operation of main line trains by single crews, mainly what might happen if the crew-person has health issues while operating the train.

The Transportation Safety Board has posted a Rail Advisory Letter after the accident, advising Transport Canada to consider reviewing its procedures on unattended trains. Transport Canada has issued an emergency directive disallowing one-man operation for trains with tank cars, as well as other directives for unattended trains. New Brunswick Southern Railway has announced changes to its operating procedures, although it never left main line trains unattended anyway.

Of course, the lawsuits have begun, with a class-action suit naming pretty much anyone with any involvement.

A fellow named Mathieu Huchette posted a photo purportedly of the lead engine (MMA 5017) on fire at Nantes, just prior to the train rolling away.

The MMA has laid off a large portion of its employees (19/80 in Canada and 79/179 in the USA) due to the continued closure of the line through Lac-Mégantic. The company is reported to be struggling financially, and its Farnham, Quebec offices were raided by police looking for information for their investigation.

Much more to come.

PS - Eastern Rail News have other related articles on their news page but they are subscription-only. Consider subscribing - it's quite inexpensive right now.

Two Plays at the York Street Train Station

I'm the Artistic Director of the NotaBle Acts TheatreCompany in Fredericton. You may or may not be aware that we have a play in our summer theatre festival, currently running through August 4, which takes place in the old (now restored) train station on York Street, and is in part about the history of the building from 1985 to the present day. If this is something that might interest you and any of your contacts, here is information on the show, which has two more performances (July 27 and August 1 both at 7 PM) and is running in conjunction with another show that takes place in the liquor store parking lot.  This information is also available on our website at www.nbacts.com

Street Scenes: Two Site-Specific Plays

Street Scenes annually stages new plays written for and about unique public locations in Fredericton. Join us for a truly original and unconventional theatrical experience.

Showing: Wednesday, July 24 & Thursday, August 1 at 6:30pm, Saturday July 27 at 7pm

Location: York St. Train Station (NB Liquor Building), 380 York St.

Tickets: $12 Regular, $10 Senior, $8 Student

Warning: coarse language.

The Station by Step Taylor, directed by Emily Bossé and Len Falkenstein

The changing face of the York St. Train Station provides backdrop for a man’s life, in this short play about lost love, questionable choices, and possible redemption. Performed in one of Fredericton’s most beautiful historic buildings.

Cast: Georgia Brown, Ian Goff, Jesse LaPointe

Alice Loves the Beach by Sarah Higgins, directed by Alex Donovan

On a stationary bus on a downtown street, two strangers share memories and discover a strange and moving connection with each other, one that prepares them for the journeys they must make in the future. A play on a bus that will take you to unexpected places.

Cast: James Corbett, Ida Orenbach

More on Lac-Mégantic

Many more details are emerging on the Lac-Mégantic disaster.

MMA's chairman, Edward Burkhardt, was interviewed about the accident. His position is that the railway followed generally-accepted practices. He said the practices were obviously not sufficient and they have made changes already: the train will continue on to Sherbrooke and not change in Nantes, and the trains will not be left unmanned.

Burkhardt visited the scene today, and during media interviews he basically said the engineer didn't set enough hand brakes. "It seems an adequate number of hand brakes were not set, and this is the engineer's responsibility. I don't think he'll be back working with us." Apparently the train engineer, Tom Harding, pulled nine of the tank cars out of the way after the explosions started.

Here's a good piece describing how train brakes work and how trains are parked. MMA officials said that all five locomotives had their hand brakes on, but it did not say how many cars also had their hand brakes on. The accepted rule of thumb is 10% of the cars plus 2 brakes. For a train of 5 engines and 72 cars, at least 9 hand brakes should have been set. The fact that the train was on a slope should have been considered as well.

There is speculation that the initial explosions were caused by propane cars in the downtown. This makes more sense than the crude oil exploding. Crude will burn, of course, but it is not that volatile.

The cleanup continues, and the grisly task of finding and identifying bodies is part of that. The Quebec police are currently treating this as a crime scene. Mr. Burkhardt said that MMA has not been permitted access to the locomotives.

Many towns with railway tracks nearby are now questioning the railways. Rothesay, NB is questioning CN and Harvey, NB already talked to NB Southern. So is Ste-Anne, MB. I think it's good that they are questioning, so they can update their emergency response plans and be aware of the risks. I don't think it is realistic to expect the railways to share the exact consist of every train passing through, but it would be helpful for the towns to know what kind of cargoes travel through.

First Thoughts on the Lac-Mégantic Disaster

By now I'm sure you have read the news reports about the Lac-Mégantic train accident.. but if not, here's the recap: a Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) freight train was parked a few miles outside of the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The engineer booked off and left, and sometime in the early morning the unmanned train rolled into Lac-Mégantic, derailed and a number of explosions occurred, followed by intense fires. At this point it appears that thirteen (13) people were killed but it is likely that this number will rise, as up to 40 are reported missing. The explosion and fires happened in the downtown core and the town is devastated, physically and emotionally. About 2,000 of the 6,000 people living in the town were evacuated and at least 30 buildings downtown have been destroyed.

From this press release from MMA and CBC and National Post reports, the timeline appears to be:

• July 5, 23:15: Train stopped and tied down by engineer at Nantes. The train had 5 locomotives and 72 car loads of crude oil, destined for Irving Oil in Saint John, NB.
• July 5, 23:30: Nearby resident calls 911 and reports a fire in the parked train. Firefighters respond and put the fire out. A track maintenance employee of MMA was present.
• July 6, ?????: Train starts rolling downhill to Lac-Mégantic.
• July 6, 01:15: Train derailed at Rue Frontenac crossing in downtown Lac-Mégantic
• July 6 (later): Firefighters battle the intense blaze through the day. 13 intact carloads pulled from rear of train by MMA.

From the second press release by MMA, it appears the engine(s) were shut down after the engineer left, presumably during or after the firefighters arrived to put the fire out. What is disturbing to me is that the MMA statement says that the shutdown "may have resulted in the release of air brakes on the locomotive that was holding the train in place". I am no railroader but section 112 of the Canadian Rail Operating Rules is quite clear on this.

When equipment is left at any point a sufficient number of hand brakes must be applied to prevent it from moving. Special instructions will indicate the minimum hand brake requirements for all locations where equipment is left. If equipment is left on a siding, it must be coupled to other equipment if any on such track unless it is necessary to provide separation at a public crossing at grade or elsewhere.

(emphasis mine)  The implication is that air brakes cannot be relied upon to hold a train in place. Again, I am strictly an amateur but this did catch my eye.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating and they have 14 people on the scene. I understand the locomotive event recorder has been recovered. That will help fill in the timeline as to when the train started moving, and most crucially, when the air brakes were released.

In addition to the tragic loss of life, the destruction of the town, there are concerns about water quality due to the quantity of spilled crude oil.

There are some railfan reports that the runaway train may have struck a set of propane cars that were in the town and those are what caused the initial explosions.

My heart is broken at the thoughts of the people killed and injured as a result of this terrible accident.

EDIT: More information here that confirms that the firefighters shut the engine down before battling the blaze.

Dilworth Yard Action

I mentioned that I was down in North Dakota back in May with my family. After I did some quick scouting, I spent some time in downtown Fargo shooting a few trains. We pick up there as I headed east from Fargo into Moorhead, Minnesota. Fargo and Moorhead and Dilworth (MN) are all basically stuck together and it's hard to tell where one ends and the next begins. BNSF has a yard that begins in Moorhead but the majority of it is actually in Dilworth.

I remember I stumbled across this pair of engines at the head of a coal train waiting to head west.


Remember that this was early in the morning (8 AM at this time) so the sun was still fairly low in the sky to the east. I was happy to catch a "Grinstein green" engine, more commonly referred to as the "BN Executive" scheme. BNSF 9528 is an SD70MAC.

Moving west, I came across the area where BNSF stages its engines for refueling, recrewing and so forth... here. There was a cluster of about a dozen engines, including BNSF 6672, an ES44C4. This is similar to an ES44AC in the GE Evolution series of engines, except that the middle axle of each truck is unpowered.


Slightly farther west in the yard, I saw BNSF 5520, a C44-9W.


I went down to the very end of the yard, where there is a large grain elevator and an overpass over the tracks. This is called WATTS, mile 1.0 of the K O Subdivision. I found BNSF 4852 (another C44-9W) at the head of what I believe was an oil train, at rest at 8:15 AM. I did not see any crew and it did not move.


To the east, a coal train was waiting to enter the yard, with BNSF 5884 (ES44AC) at the head. You can see that shooting into the morning light was not a great idea.


I decided to wait here to see what might happen. I was hoping for the oil train to start rolling but there was nothing going on there. After 25 minutes of waiting, my friend BNSF 4920 came rolling by with the same intermodal train I saw in downtown Fargo earlier in the day.


The only other activity was BNSF 2793 in the distance, working the yard with BNSF 2344.

After an hour of waiting, I decided to go up on the overpass and shoot the waiting coal train. With a bit of careful positioning, I was able to overcome the low morning sun at 09:10 and get a shot of BNSF 5884.


There was another "BN Executive" engine, BNSF 9442.


I came down from there and of course the BNSF coal train started moving then, so I missed them coming through the crossing where I had been waiting. Oh well.. here they are rolling past BNSF 2793, a GP39-2.


I was just about out of time at this point. On my way back through Dilworth and Moorhead, I stumbled across a steam engine on display in the "Whistle Stop Park". This is Northern Pacific #1068 together with caboose #1651.


On my way back toward Fargo, I saw BNSF 5884 and train waiting at the west end of the Dilworth Yard.

That was a good morning!

After some final shopping, we headed north from Fargo toward the Canadian border. Somewhere between Fargo and Grand Forks, I spied a southbound freight train. I pulled over and took a series of shots of the approaching train.


I took a pan shot of BNSF 5271 (C44-9W).


Sorry to interrupt this BNSF marathon, but when passing Drayton, ND I spotted a trio of engines with a Union Pacific engine in the middle! I'm not sure what UP 4061 was doing deep in BNSF territory...


*That* was the end of my railfan adventures in North Dakota. Good times.

Further Reading

• Grafton Bound
• A Few Hours Around Grand Forks
• North Dakota's High Line Bridge
• Grand Forks Sightings
• BNSF in North Dakota