Two things that are rare (for me, anyway) on the RCP&E: finding a set of matching power and finding a train that's actually moving. Well, I got half of what I hoped for. A trio of blue and yello... (more)

An eastbound train with RCPE power slips through New Ulm, passing alongside a bike trail and a public works building. They've clearly been doing some tree trimming in town. The extra elevation w... (more)

For the second year in a row, I was in Florida in January for continuing education. This year I only spent an hour or so trackside at the Delray Beach passenger station. First up was this southb... (more)

Eastbound grain empties briefly disrupt the morning activities of downtown Benson, Minnesota. While it's no longer plying the rails for its intended purpose, this BN caboose is certainly faring mu... (more)

Ethanol tanks for the plant at Fergus Falls venture across the frozen western Minnesota landscape just north of Baker.

My second empty grain train of the day curves into Wahpeton, North Dakota. It's not apparent from the photograph, but all the track visible actually belongs to the Red River Valley & Western. Th... (more)

Exhaust condenses in the frigid air above two DMVW SD50Fs as they make quick work of lifting 50 coal empties out of the James River valley. This train runs between a mine north of Bismarck and a ... (more)

My last shot of the day and of the OTVR 1483 was appropriately a backlit sunset shot south of Lawndale. Originally built for the Nickel Plate Road almost 60 years ago, this veteran of the rails h... (more)

The Otter Tail Valley Railroad's high hood GP9 leads a train of ethanol tanks south on their former Great Northern line from Moorhead to Fergus Falls, MN. They're seen crossing the south branch o... (more)

The Red River Valley & Western's Hankinson Turn is hot on the heels of a southbound BNSF empty grain train as they accelerate out of Breckenridge. It will be a quick trip down to the junction wit... (more)

The entirety of a southbound manifest is visible as it swings around the big curve just south of Ruthton, MN, and enters one of my favorite areas of the state to watch trains: the Buffalo Ridge.

The climb to Florence from Marshall is nearly complete for this southbound manifest as it crosses a creek north of town.

I came to this location the first time over a year ago to wait on a northbound, but the light ran out before the train came. After running a couple of errands in Marshall, I saw on ATCS that anot... (more)

A pair of EMDs, including a former ATSF snoot-nosed SD40-2, are seen working in the yard at Willmar. The Dash 9s continue to sit on the sidelines.

A train from Delhi slowly rolls through North Redwood, MN. The small stone monument along the tracks beneath the tree marks where the Minneapolis & St Louis Railway depot once stood. A young man... (more)