The former C&NW 8565 is right at home hauling crude ore to the mines at United Taconite. Seen here between Wolf and Iron Jct blasting down the main.

The DM&E #6367 was the first engine that engineer Lohrbach ever ran, way back as a child growing up along the DM&E. Fast forward 20 years and here we see Will dragging the CP transfer back to Stin... (more)

Minorca loads blast down the hill with ballast cars from Prindle lurking in the background. Quite the hill here! Neat contrast between old and new cars!

"Normally" Two Harbors consists are flipped every day, lead up one day, trail the next. After seeing the #403 lead on Sunday, I held out no hope of shooting her today. But lo and behold for some r... (more)

BLE 904 strains to hold back 135 loads of taconite as she races the sun down the Minntac Sub heading for Two Harbors.

Q196 heads south with most of the CN's Executive Fleet. Not only were the cars spotless but the IC #101 was running! Isolated but still neat.

The Missabe was always known for having very well maintained rail and ballast. After the CN takeover, things went downhill. Just a few weeks ago an engineer remarked that he was amazed the Missabe... (more)

K-Mad snags his shot as the WN slowly rolls towards town.

More likea shortline than a tourist railroad, the North Shore Scenic Railroad is seen here bringing 123 of its 1200+ coal cars back out of storage.

You can put lipstick on a pig... with all of her hood doors open for ventilation this fresh looking unit guts it out up Proctor Hill. The #5264 kept overheating and the crew had to explain to the ... (more)

NS 1069 barrels through Cokato on the north end of 50 mph. Woke this small town up!

Last shot of the day for me as the NS 1069 comes blasting through Kandiyohi at track speed. More excitement than this little town has seen in a long time!

First worthwhile shot of the trip. Virganyan unit comes busting through the Cities. Most of the railfans here went for the dark side but I decided to try this side. Chase was on from here!

I had been trying to get corn in my shot all day! The Virginian heritage unit is a long way from the coal fields of Virginia! It was a great chase. Full sun, great power, tons of shooting spots, g... (more)

Fresh painted ATSF junk leads a limestone out of Proctor with ore cars while the difco cars are down for maintenance.