A westbound Mankato, MN to Aurora, SD train enters Lake Benton while passing the town's namesake lake.

MNAU winds its way through the Buffalo Ridge on the final stretch to Aurora, SD late on this extremely muggy evening. The mosquitoes were an absolute pain at this spot, but it was worth the wait.

MNAU heads west out of Springfield.

RCPE 3437 smokes up a storm heading up the grade into Lamberton.

The Mankato to Aurora manifest heads west on the Tracy Sub on a brutally hot and humid summer afternoon.

The Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern's train from Mankato, MN is nearing its destination of Aurora, SD as it drops downhill west of Elkton.

The verdant hills of the Buffalo Ridge observe the passing of a westbound train on the former C&NW line to South Dakota.

A westbound RCPE train rolls through downtown Tracy, MN. Some of the buildings in the background have seen the passing of many trains, going all the way back to Chicago & North Western days when t... (more)

The RCPE's westbound Mankato to Aurora train is nearing its destination as it blasts through downtown Elkton, SD on a beautiful spring evening.

A couple of horses pause from taking a drink to cast a curious eye toward the strange bearded man holding a camera nearby. The RCPE's westbound Mankato to Aurora manifest slowly rolls toward Tracy... (more)

The Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern's trackage rights train from the Union Pacific interchange in Mankato to Aurora, SD is in the hole at Cobden to meet CPKC's eastbound Tracy to Chicago manifest tha... (more)

My 2,000th photo on railpictures: A westbound Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train makes its way through the hills of the Buffalo Ridge at one of my favorite locations to photograph trains in Minnes... (more)

With four SD40-2s on the point and 92 cars in tow, this westbound Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train makes a fine sight as it negotiates the rolling countryside of southwest Minnesota on a perfect... (more)

RCPE's Mankato to Aurora turn heads west out of New Ulm with a matching 5 pack of SD40-2s, thundering upgrade with over 100 cars.

The Rapid City, Pierre, & Eastern's M MNAU pulls to a stop as it approaches Tracy, Minnesota at the ESS Tracy switch where they will meet the tied down M AUMN. The conductor is riding up to throw ... (more)