The Deadliest Catch guys sometime say "stick and stay and make it pay." That's what I did on Monday at Luverne. After waiting in the sun with seemingly every insect on the hillside trying to eat... (more)

Eastbound oil loads soar across Lake Ashtabula on the BNSF's ex-Great Northern Surrey Cutoff between Minot and Fargo.

A long hike along frozen Lake Ashtabula gives a good vista of an eastbound Z train crossing the impressive former Great Northern bridge west of Luverne.

After a healthy hike on the frozen lake, I made it around the bend and found a spot that I visited when the weather was a tiny bit warmer. The parade of oil continues out of North Dakota.

A westbound empty unit tank train crosses Lake Ashtabula in nice evening light, seen from beneath one of my favorite trees. Here's the summertime view: Railroad: BNSF Railway
Locomotive: GE ES44AC
Location: Luverne, North Dakota, USA
Locomotive #: BNSF 6208
Train ID: Unknown
Photo Date: February 23, 2013

Seen from frozen Lake Ashtabula, an eastbound zipper rushes across BNSF's large bridge west of Luverne.

The view from the surface of Lake Ashtabula on a perfect February afternoon as an eastbound crude oil train soars overhead. Days like this make enduring winters on the northern plains worthwhile.

Thanks to Bryant, we made the choice to hike out onto the lake and use the bridge to our advantage. As the sun starts to sag, a loaded oil train heads east over the two foot thick ice.

An eastbound priority intermodal train quickly crosses the Luverne trestle as I try to figure out how many animals have already been in my spot this winter...

A eastbound BNSF oil load passes over the big trestle at Luverne,ND on a cloudy summer day. Photo taken on 8/1/12.

BNSF's Grace City Local rolls West with a short train over the spectacular trestle in Luverne.

Oil empties roll West to Trenton, ND for another load of Bakken crude, with lost coal power doing the dirty work.

Bakken crude oil loads for the CSX and ultimately St John in New Brunswick (Canada!) cross the spectacular Great Northern creation over Lake Ashtabula.

A westbound grain train rumbles over Lake Ashtabula on the large bridge built by the Great Northern 100 years ago.

Unbelievably, the wind stayed calm (especially by North Dakota standards) all day, providing great reflections of BNSF's former Great Northern bridge at Luverne and the clouds that lazily made the... (more)