Great pictures, Dan! That "Electric Trains Stop" sign is kind of funny because, whether or not the engineer obeys the sign, his train is GOING to stop. Doug
A Sunday afternoon trackside and a SD40-2W leads the L56391(Cedar Rapids local)back to Cedar Rapids, IA. Was told by the engineer that these ole girls are getting rare to catch. Alburnett, IA 12/22/19 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"One Mile to Max" Dakota Missouri Valley Western way freight to Bismarck leaves Max behind on former Soo Line trackage behind a pair of 'Barns.
Nice work Hemi -- I'm really enjoying your winter scenes on the Dakota Missouri Valley Western. That 'CPRS Junction Track One Mile' sign looks like a phony addition using Photoshop, with its generic font and clarity.
Also it doesn't have the same angular perspective as the legs it supposedly is attached to. I agree, something looks fishy.
The story behind the tunnel motors is great. I remember first reading about it in MR many years ago. Doug
NYS&W 3000 throttles up switching cars at Binghamton, NY in May 1983. She's a former NYC Alco C-430 built in '67.
Normally such a sign is not quite this size and simply states "Junction One Mile". It will not show with what or whom, as that is designated in the timetable. Nor will it use the word "track", as that is quite unnecessary.
Bridge 4 on the BNSF (Nee: BN, ex-GN), in Ballard (Seattle), WA. This historic structure is slated to be replaced soon. The new design is very different. Some preliminary work has already been done.
Thanks for the compliments, guys. The sign is legit, if lacking some character. You say cold? This is MP 470, in the middle of nowhere between Max and Garrison ND. I almost literally raced, on sketchy roads, to the next spot from here, thinking they would be making more than 12 MPH. They weren't! Bisecting a small stand of trees, and the only vertical scenery from Max to Garrison, ND, a Dakota Missouri Valley Western way freight to Bismarck tiptoes through the windswept prairie. These fields of wheat should be stalks chopped off at ground level by a combine, but due to poor harvest conditions (wet weather and exceptionally-muddy soil), many crops remain unharvested this far into December.
It is a shortline, and slow speeds should be expected, I figured 15-25 MPH would be the plan, but they really crawled. I don't know if that track is that bad, as it certainly didn't look like it. They did a maintenance blitz in 2018 to bring it up to a 25MPH railroad, but I don't know how far north they took that work. I saw it south of Lake Sakakawea. It could have been a cold weather precaution? "Uphill from the Lakes" Dakota Missouri Valley Western way freight to Bismarck enters the uphill grade to Coleharbor, ND and points south.
It might just be the snow, but look at these track undulations from that last photo. If the track is really that rough and not just an optical illusion or misinterpretation of the image, that could explain their low speed.
