If not for your avatar photo, I would have had no clue what CLC meant... We recently had a good powder day on the Northgate Branch, pics coming soon!
I don't always shoot trestle pictures... Somewhere between Aurelia and Hartland, ND around MP 10, BNSF Crosby Sub. Oh, wait, yes I do! Another Aurelia shot with a different set of power:
A sequence of the Northgate Local in a snow storm, eastbound at Niobe, ND. The train is passing the junction of the Niobe Sub, where the Crosby Sub diverges west, out of service.
Probably my fav shot of the day, "The Other Side of Aurelia" which is like the title suggests, the opposite side of my fav bridge on the Northgate Branch.
I like the angle of that photo. Those GP60Ms still look good after thirty-ish years earning their keep. They would look even better with the original Warbonnet and a GP60B in tow...
Yes, nice shot!! Could pass for a model railroad! Can't believe your weather back there, been sunny and 60 here in Washington!
New material from a new branch! The Grenora Sub once terminated at its namesake near the Montana border, but now ends at Powers Lake, ND, from its origin north of Stanley. Light, stick rail, 4-axle power only and gross rail loads not exceeding 268,000lbs is the rule here, and 10 MPH the whole way. Out of service but not abandoned, it has recently been brought back to life for storage trains. Entire 110-car unit empty grain trains have been parked there, 3 trains so far. Unlike the Northgate Branch, this one is far from flat and straight. Ok, so parts of it is straight, but the entire branch is on a .8-1% grade, cresting around Lostwood, ND. Just out of Stanley, the weed route looks west: About 5-6 miles of this is largely straight, but climbs the whole way to Lostwood near MP 13. Near a location called Wassaic, a large slough is in the distance: Near MP 9, the storage train, protected by conductor in a hi-rail truck, shoves west: At Lostwood, and neat the summit of the climb, a slough and church frame the train:
Agriculture dominates the area, so cropland is everywhere. Canola is in bloom now in this view just north of Stanley: The weed route is weedy the whole way, as seen in this view of the descending grade from Lostwood westbound: The descending grade looks pretty steep in this view: The descent leads to Kittelston Slough, through which the ROW bisects: West of the slough is Lunds Valley:
There's several wood trestles, just like that on the Northgate Branch. Some are more remote than others, but here's one in terrible nose light. More canola in this unplanned grab shot: More weed route, another nicely-placed curve just west of Lostwood:
Wow! That's some beautiful country around there. They could use a hi-rail version of a ride-on lawn mower....
They spray weed killer on the ROW here. They may regret letting so much vegetation to completely overtake the tracks.
I wonder how many people in ignorant bliss believed this line to be abandoned. That is a word so badly abused by too many folks. So many tracks are actually out-of-service, or railbanked, but NOT abandoned.
"Go Long at Lunds Valley" A grade crossing tele from Lunds Valley as the storage train shoves in reverse. The weedy right of way and dilapidated elevators contrast with the bright, clean paint on the consist. Lunds Valley, ND on the BNSF Grenora Sub.
That old decrepit elevator just begs to be modeled... And someone get a lawnmower or a herd of goats in there!
Speaking of elevators.... Another trip up the Grenora Sub today for light power to grab empty hoppers out of storage... Lunds Valley: On the downgrade on a 1% eastbound grade, east of Lostwood, ND around MP 4.5:
I had a good chuckle after seeing that broom near by the switch. I wonder when was the last time those points were actually swept of snow?
Almost a decade ago, is my guess. If not for the switchstand and broom, it's impossible to see there's a switch there!
I learned the branch was abandoned in 2002 from Powers Lake to Grenora, and the rest of the branch is hanging on by a wing and a prayer... Some glinty views from Lostwood to west of Lunds Valley on the Grenora Sub: First light at Lostwood: Lostwood Hill west of MP 13: East of Lunds Valley about milepost 17: West of Lunds Valley around milepost 19: